CALICO Journal, 28(1)

Software Reviews

Transparent Language System Complete Edition

(English)
Reviewed by

Julio C. Rodríguez
Iowa State University

PRODUCT AT A GLANCE
Product Type:
Autonomous learning (drill and practice, tutorial, facilitative tool; one of the 3 programs has
authoring capabilities)

Languages:
ESL for Spanish speakers (US variety)

Level:
Beginning (equivalent to a semester of beginning-level Spanish at the college level), adult

Activities:
multiple-choice, fill-in exercises, dictation, dialog repetition and role play, listening and read-
ing comprehension, vocabulary learning, and vocabulary flash-card database building

Media Format:
CD-ROM and 5 CDs with audio files in MP3 format

Operating Systems:
Windows XP SP2, Vista or higher

Hardware Requirements:
PC, 800 MB of hard disk space; microphone and/or headsets needed for some activities

Supplementary Software:
QuickTime (installs with software if not already available) and Adobe Flash plugin

Documentation:
Complete User’s Guide installs in HTML form

Price:
$179.95; no network version available

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Transparent Language System Complete Edition (English) is composed of three applica-
tions and 5 CDs containing a collection of audio lessons in MP3 format. The three applications

CALICO Journal, 28(1), p-p 216-228. © 2010 CALICO Journal

216
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

are: the Transparent Language System (TLS); a vocabulary flashcard program named Byki
(Before You Know It), and LinguaMatch.

The TLS application organizes content using a book metaphor. The 4 books, entitled Reading
Lessons, Common Words, Washington, D.C., and New York, respectively1 (see Figure 1), have
similar organization and interface features: they open with a table of contents with links to a
common introduction and resource section, and to a number of lessons. Users can mark each
lesson with status indicators that stand for “in preparation,” “ongoing,” and “finished.”

Figure 1
Transparent Language System Program Interface

The introduction and resources section is the same for all four books (see Figure 2). It con-
tains internal links to an extensive help section, an alphabet tutorial application, a grammar
reference application (GrammarPro), and a link to an external resource page at the Transpar-
ent Language website.

Figure 2
Sample Table of Contents with Lesson Status Indicators

217
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

The lessons in all four books are divided into three types of activities: vocabulary, reading and
speaking. The first book constitutes the core of the software (see Figure 3).

Figure 3
Lesson Organization

Lessons in all books are organized in the same way; they all feature three types of activities:
vocabulary, reading, and speaking. A few lessons additionally contain an external link to an
online quiz located at the Transparent Language website. Clicking on the “Vocabulary” section
of a lesson activates the Byki application in a new window (see Figure 4).

Figure 4
Byki Interface

218
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

The Byki application is a versatile flashcard program. The features and complexity of this ap-
plication alone warrant a separate review. Within the suite, this application opens when users
select the lesson activity named “Vocabulary” in the TLS which is automatically populated with
the lexicon of the lesson.2 The publisher’s website describes the Byki application as “a three-
step, flash card learning system powered by two proprietary algorithms. A proprietary spaced
repetition algorithm helps users learn words and phrases in the target language in the most
time-effective way, and a proprietary intelligent refresh algorithm enables users to retain this
learned vocabulary in their long-term memories.” The publisher’s website also states that the
customizable card lists can be created in more than 100 languages.

Selecting reading or speaking opens a new tabbed application in the same window (see Figure
5).

Figure 5
Reading and Speaking Activity Interface

The second book, entitled Common Words, contains three lessons, all of which are named
“the most common words.” The third and fourth books, titled Washington, D.C. and New York,
are organized in a way similar to the other two but additionally include a video activity. The
video content corresponds to documentaries on the featured east coast cities.

The third application of this suite, LinguaMatch, consists of a browser with hyperlinked scenes
and a collection of every-day situation dialogs (see Figure 6).

219
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

Figure 6
LinguaMatch interface

When users click on an element on the picture, a voice names that element in the language
selected. A secondary panel to the right displays a list of lexical items related to the scene or
topic displayed on the main window and a menu of situational dialogs. Another panel at the
bottom of the main window presents user choices for self-tests, such as drills, dictation, and
so on, based on the vocabulary presented in particular scenes or dialogs. A help section for
this application is notably lacking, especially given the amount of unfamiliar icons and intri-
cate functions.

Finally, the five CDs contain 20 lessons. These lessons start with a dialog followed by a series
of drills. The lesson topics in this collection of audio do not correspond to the lessons in the
software.

Documentation
The TLS features a guided tour and an extensive and detailed help section. Help within this
application is contextualized, that is, clicking on help within a particular activity opens help
content related to that activity. Users are urged not to overlook the guided tour. No other
documentation is provided with this product. The LinguaMatch program provides neither doc-
umentation nor a help section.

EVALUATION
Technological Features
For this evaluation, the software was installed in two PC laptops with Windows XP and Explorer
7. The installation wizard was in Spanish. The default installation of the Complete Edition in-

220
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

cludes two optional components: Lexicon and LinguaMatch. The system requirements listed
above are for full installation of the Complete Edition. Once the program is installed, first-time
users are urged to start with the guided tour and help section in the TLS application.

Principles of interface design state that “[t]he presentation of the program affects the way the
user relates to it, and this relationship strongly influences the usability of the product” (Coo-
per & Reimann, 2003, p. 103). Usability professionals call the stance of a program posture.
Cooper and Reimann identify two main types of posture: sovereign and transient. Programs
intended to monopolize the user’s attention are considered sovereign applications (e.g., a
word processor). On the other hand, programs that are activated to perform a supplementary
function are considered transient applications (e.g., the “find” or “search” dialog box in a word
processor). Although the suite of programs reviewed here contains applications of both types,
the hierarchical distinction between them—their posture—is not always clear.

Other factors that contribute to navigational opacity are semantic ambiguity, unclear visual
flow, and reliance on software parameters to define user interface interactions. An example of
semantic ambiguity can be found in the section called “Activities” (see Figure 3 above), which
contains links that open a window containing a tab that is also named “Activities” (see Figures
4 and 5) but that leads to sections that have different content. Aspects of visual flow that need
improvement can be observed in elements of layout, such as groupings, textual hierarchies,
and so forth. (Tidwell, 2006). Finally, an example of use of software parameters rather than a
metaphor is the fact that users specify the text selection they wish to work with by entering a
range of “segments.” Segments are not defined, so users’ choices are not based on informed
decisions. Similarly, vocabulary lists are divided into “parts.” Users are prompted to pick a
“part” without being given information as to what makes up a part.

A technical aspect of the Byki program that may puzzle users is related to the authoring of
flash cards. When authoring a flashcard, a transient keyboard application can be opened to
type text in Spanish. This keyboard does not contain an accent mark, which is necessary for
distinctions such as sí ‘yes’ and si ‘if/whether.’ Switching the operating system’s keyboard
language does not produce the diacritic marks either, but the system does provide a way of
entering diacritics and special characters for Spanish, namely by pressing the arrow keys to
scroll through a sequence of common multilingual diacritics. Incidentally, the language se-
lection options in the keyboard interface are strikingly odd: Colombian, latinamerican [sic],
Spanish, and Castilian Spanish.

One bonus feature that is worthwhile mentioning is that, when idling, the program displays a
screensaver that presents a series of fill-in-the-gap exercises whose answers appear after a
few seconds. Despite the unfortunate mistake in one of the items (the number 100 is errone-
ously translated into Spanish as ciento instead of cien), this feature is an ingenious addition
to the suite.

The LinguaMatch program presents users some challenges. The navigational structure of this
interface is difficult to figure out, possibly because of the overreliance on icons and tooltips
for program functions. There is no documentation accompanying this software and there is no
reference to it in either the help or feature tour sections of the main application.

Finally, the CDs with audio files are intended for use with an MP3 player. This portion of the
content of the suite does not appear to be thematically related to the rest of the materials.

221
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

Activities (Procedure)
The three programs in the suite, TLS, Byki, and LinguaMatch, and the audio CDs contain a
wide variety of activities, ranging from instructional activities such as translation drills, to
potentially facilitative activities such as flashcard authoring. Below is a brief overview of the
types of activities supported.

Upon selection of one of the lessons in any of the books in the TLS program, learners can
choose to work with vocabulary (Byki program), work on a reading, do a speaking activity
and, in some cases, do a self-assessment online or work on a documentary video. Each read-
ing lesson in the TLS presents a situational context (e.g., family and friends, at the restaurant,
the hospital, parties and social events, etc.). Even though the reading section of the lesson is
not listed first, this is probably the place where adult learners will want to start to get a sense
of what they will learn. The reading is divided into the following parts: (a) a list of objectives
in the L1 (sometimes described using functional descriptors and sometimes described using
target grammatical structures), (b) a grammatical explanation in the L1 with examples in the
L2, (c) a list of vocabulary and phrases in the L2, (d) a short reading in the L2, and (e) dialogs
in the L2. All the text in the L2 in this section is recorded and can be played back in multiple
ways: whole text, one segment at a time, one word at a time, slowly, and so forth.

When learners are in this interface, they have access to three other sections: activities, pro-
nunciation, and conversation. The activities section offers a range of vocabulary and gram-
mar exercises generated by the software using a range of segments from the readings and
dialogs in the lesson. Exercises include crossword puzzles, vocabulary translations, dictation,
verb identification, among others. The pronunciation section loads the content of the reading
section into the interface and allows learners to listen to recorded segments and record and
compare their own version with the native speaker’s pronunciation. Pitch comparisons be-
tween the native speaker’s and the learner’s output are visually represented in four different
ways. Although the literature indicates that learners perceive visual feedback to be beneficial
to improve their pronunciation, the type of visual feedback used in this software emphasizes
intonation contour replication. As Hincks and Edlund (2009) point out, “the type of mimicking
required to match a contour precisely is probably frustrating and counter-productive” (p. 33).
Learners, therefore, need a cautionary word as to how to approach this type of activity.

Finally, the conversation section contains a scripted role-playing activity in which the learner
can take different roles and use different parameters such as prompts in indirect speech (e.g.,
“say this …”), the text in the L1 or in the L2. After recording each utterance, the learners’ into-
nation contour is displayed above that of a native-speaker. The degree to which the contours
match is assessed with a gas gauge-like representation.

The Byki program, which opens in a new window when learners select “vocabulary,” contains
four tabbed sections for work with vocabulary lists: (a) learning, (b) activities, (c) evaluation,
and (d) editing. The “learning” section is organized into three steps: card viewing, recognition,
and production. In card-viewing mode, learners can browse the stack of cards which contain
a word or phrase in the TL with a translation into the L1. In recognition mode, the software
keeps track of learners’ responses and readjusts the sequence of cards accordingly. Learners
are presented with the L2 term or phrase and are prompted to think or say the correct transla-
tion. When the card is flipped, learners are asked to state whether the response was correct.
If the response is not correct, the card is reshuffled into the remaining cards in the stack and
so is presented to learners again. Finally, in recognition mode, learners are presented with the
L1 word or phrase and are prompted to think or say the correct translation in the L2.

222
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

The activities section in the program contains five types of exercises: multiple choice, fill
in the blank, pronunciation, word/phrase visualization, and memory games. Learners can
choose a list or combination of lists of words and phrases to use. Although this is undoubtedly
a desired feature because it increases learner control, the little description that is available
for these lists actually makes it hard for users to make a choice. For example, there are seven
lists called los verbos ‘verbs.’

The evaluation section has four types of self-assessment described as speaking, writing, lis-
tening comprehension, and dictation. The first three types of exercise give learners the choice
to run the assessments in recognition (learners are presented the L2 form and translate into
the L1) or production mode (learners are presented the L1 form and translate into L2). The
last two types of exercises are very similar and the instructions are not always clear. Learners
may have trouble figuring out whether they are expected to type in the terms in the L2 or the
corresponding translation in the L1.

Finally, the editing section contains a series of tools for learners to edit existing vocabulary
cards or create their own card or stack of cards. Learners can associate a stack of cards with
content in RTF or HTML, which is displayed in a new tab. The tools in this interface allow learn-
ers to customize and/or modify all content within the cards. Learners can do basic text for-
matting (e.g., font size, color, etc.), record sound, upload audio, image, or video files, specify
alternative responses, add comments, clues, and so on. This is an excellent software feature
which lends itself to very interesting authoring possibilities for learners. The cards that come
with the suite do not exploit these multimedia options to a great extent, so giving learners
the tools to improve on the default lexical content makes up for limitations in the preloaded
content (e.g., the sparse use of visuals).

In addition to the authoring capabilities of the Byki program, the availability of import/export
functions open up a wide range of opportunities for language learning. Activities that involve
collaboration between groups of learners (e.g., native speakers of both the L1 and L2, two ESL
classes, etc.) such as an exchange of thematic stacks of cards may result in both linguistically
and culturally enriching experiences.

Another component in this suite is the program LinguaMatch, a bilingual visual browser that
contains a series of scenes and dialogs. Upon selection of a scene or dialogs, learners can
choose among a number of activities, all of which focus on vocabulary (e.g., identification of
objects that appear on screen, dictation, and hangman).

The audio CDs contain a series of dialogs followed by practice drills with instructions and
translations into Spanish.

Teacher Fit (Approach)

Transparent Language states at its website that the approach to language learning empha-
sized in its products is “declarative first.” The tenets of this approach rest on the notion that
two major memory systems are involved in learning: declarative and procedural (Ullman,
2001). In relation to language, declarative memory is used to store explicit, factual informa-
tion (lexicon), while procedural memory is associated with the acquisition of other aspects of
grammar. Ullman suggests that the use of declarative memory appears to be higher in the
L2 than in the L1 in situations in which procedural memory would be used in L1. Based on
this notion, the software has been built to guide students to memorize lexical items and short
phrases, with the assumption that the acquisition of this type of declarative knowledge will
create a foundation upon which procedural skills can more easily be built.

223
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

From the learner’s perspective, the approach that comes through when working with the
software autonomously bears a lot of resemblance to the grammar translation approach. The
features of the software that appear to support this approach are (a) the language of instruc-
tion is always the L1, (b) there is an abundance of translation and grammar drills, (c) little
attention is paid to content or cultural awareness, (d) the learner’s output is highly controlled,
and (e) reliance on memorization as a measure of language acquisition rather than language
production. The two books with video (Washington, D.C., and New York) best exemplify ele-
ments of this approach.

Considering this is a product for language learning and that it highly relies on translation, lin-
guistic inaccuracies cannot be overlooked. Such inaccuracies can be found in translations into
Spanish and the use of incorrect linguistic descriptions (e.g., reference to language choices
and varieties during installation). The latter type can be illustrated with examples such as the
use of the term “latinamerican” to refer to a language or the use of the acronym “LAM” to
describe that option in LinguaMatch.

Similarly, the translations into Spanish are sometimes inaccurate. For example, the word
ficha, which in Spanish may mean ‘tab’ in the context of ‘keeping tabs,’ is used to refer to
‘browser tabs’ instead of the word pestaña (‘tab’ in the technical context of ‘browser tabs’)
which is regularly used in localized versions of software in Spanish (e.g., the Firefox interface
in Spanish uses the term pestaña). Likewise, some grammatical inaccuracies (orthographic,
morphological, and semantic) are present in Spanish as well. For example, in Figure 1 above,
the use of the word terminado is used instead of terminada (what is finished is either the
reading or lesson, both of which are feminine in Spanish and require the morpheme -a); in
Figure 2 mis datos aprendidos instead of mi aprendizaje and capitalization of languages (In-
glés ‘English’ instead of inglés), which is grammatically correct in English but is not correct in
Spanish. Native speakers of Spanish who use this product may wonder if similar inaccuracies
are present in English as well.

Regarding the sociocultural aspects of the software, the choice of topics for the content that
focuses on culture is extremely narrow: two east coast cities. The selection of register for this
kind of documentary content does not seem to be appropriate for beginning-level learners
since the discursive features of the documentaries are quite complex. This means that there is
virtually no video content in the entire suite for beginning-level learners. A similar discrepancy
in the target level of proficiency of the software can be found in the audio CDs.

The very limited quantity of images used in the main application is very noticeable. Some-
times the images used to illustrate dialogs do not depict the situation accurately. For example,
in the dialog between Maria (mother) and Jessica (daughter) in lesson 8, Jessica is on the
phone even though the conversation is clearly a face-to-face interaction. Similarly, the char-
acters’ ages do not come through in their voices. In the Byki application, visual content either
in images or video is noticeably lacking.

Learner Fit (Design)

Drawing from an extensive body of literature, Lafford, Lafford and Sykes (2007) propose 10
design features to facilitate computer-based lexical acquisition. These features are intended
to maximize software potential to promote second language acquisition. Using these 10 de-
sign features or guidelines as a reference, some of the apparent strengths and weaknesses of
the software are described below.

224
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

The most notable strengths of the product for lexical acquisition is found in the supplementary
program LinguaMatch and the subprogram Byki. LinguaMatch provides a series of connected
pictorial representations of various situations, such as a subway or a countryside scene.
Learners can use prior knowledge to identify the items in the scene that they would like to
learn in the L2. Multimodal input is provided in the form of text, sound, and image. This type
of self-directed activity can be particularly appealing to adult learners.

The Byki program gives learners the opportunity to work with lexical items using bilingual
flashcards. This program can be particularly flexible for learners because it not only includes
the core vocabulary lists for the whole suite of programs, but also allows learners to construct
their own multimedia cards. The authoring capability of this program is probably the best
feature in the whole suite. Learners can create their own multimodal flashcards and then take
advantage of the program’s algorithms to do drill-and-practice sequences with the lists they
create. Arguably, the process of creating cards may be more effective for lexicon acquisition
than the drill-and-practice activity itself.

One of the issues with the Byki cards is that morphological features of the lexicon are not
identified, so users could end up creating a card for each of the morphological variations of
one lexical item (e.g., read, reads, reading) or having only one card for two distinct lexical
items (e.g., reading [n], reading [v]). However, users can specify an alternative response and
add “suggestions” or clues that could limit choices for correct responses. They can add alter-
native responses to both new and premade cards.

As mentioned above, there are a few usability issues that increase the opacity of the soft-
ware’s functions. However, there is one particular usability issue that directly affects learner
control of the software, namely the use of referents that are meaningful to the software de-
veloper, but obscure to the user. For example, learners are given control by having the ability
to choose the portion of text that the software will use to generate exercises. However, they
need to specify the range of the segments that will be included in the exercise using integers
(e.g., from 4 to 131). Given that it is not immediately obvious what a segment and what a
range of segments includes in terms of content, the potential for learner control is diminished.
Learners are confronted with the same usability issue when selecting the lesson activity Vo-
cabulario. As Figure 7 illustrates, the learner is given the choice to select which “part” (vo-
cabulary list) of the lesson to work with. Besides the fact that the same concept is referred to
using two different terms (i.e., part and vocabulary list), it is not clear why there are different
vocabulary lists, whether those lists contain the same number of items, or whether the items
in a particular list share semantic, morphological, or any other linguistic features.

Finally, the audio CDs contain a wealth of dialogs and corresponding drills for oral practice.
The target audience for these is mid to upper intermediate proficiency learners.

225
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

Figure 7
Lesson Part Choices

Window title translation: Select a list of words to learn; Instructions translation: Select a list
of words to learn with the Byki software

SUMMARY
The Transparent Language System Complete Edition (English) is a 3-program suite and a
collection of MP3 audio files for adult learners of English whose L1 is Spanish. Despite the
recommendation for use for autonomous learning, guided and classroom use of this product is
probably a better option given the complexities of its operational features and diverse target
proficiency levels. The picture and situation browser application, LinguaMatch, has potential
for interesting learning activities. The vocabulary flashcard program (Byki) stands out for its
authoring capabilities and potential for use in pedagogical contexts that foster both autono-
mous learning and collaboration. The flexibility to use this program with other languages in-
creases opportunities for innovative uses that go beyond translation and the sole use of text.

226
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

SCALED RATING
(1 low-5 high)

Pedagogical Features: 2
Sociolinguistic Accuracy: 2
Use of Computer Capabilities: 3
Ease of Use (student/teacher): 1/2
Overall Evaluation: 2
Value for Money: 2

PRODUCER’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Developer/distributor
Transparent Language
2 Murphy Drive, Nashua, NH 03062
Phone: 603 262 6300
Fax: 603 262 6476
Email: info@transparent.com
Web: http://www.transparent.com

NOTES
1
This software can be installed in different languages but the target language is always English. For
this review, it was installed as if for Spanish-speaking learners, so the actual book titles and tables of
contents appear in Spanish.
2
There is actually a further step that is omitted here for the sake of clarity. After clicking on “Vocabu-
lary,” user input is requested to select a “lesson part.” This can be confusing since the dialog box with
the choices does not clarify what content is associated with each of those lesson parts.

REFERENCES
Cooper, A., & Reimann, R. (2003). About face 2.0: The essentials of interaction design. New York: Wiley.

Hincks, R., & Edlund, J. (2009). Promoting increased pitch variation in oral presentations with transient
visual feedback. Language Learning & Technology, 13(3), 32-50. Retrieved from http://llt.msu.
edu/vol13num3/hincksedlund.pdf

Lafford, B. A., Lafford, P. A., & Sykes, J. (2007). Entre dicho y hecho …: An assessment of the application
of research from second language acquisition and related fields to the creation of Spanish CALL
materials for lexical acquisition. CALICO Journal, 24, 497-529. Retrieved from https://calico.
org/page.php?id=5

Ranalli, J. (2009). Prospects for developing L2 students’ effective use of vocabulary-learning strategies
via web-based training. CALICO Journal, 27, 161-186. Retrieved from https://calico.org/page.
php?id=5

Tidwell, J. (2006). Designing interfaces: Patterns for effective interaction design. Sebastopol, CA:
O’Reilly Media, Inc.

Ullman, M. T. (2001). The neural basis of lexicon and grammar in first and second language: The de-
clarative/procedural model. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 4, 105-122.

227
CALICO Journal, 28(1) Software Reviews

REVIEWER’S BIODATA
Dr. Julio C. Rodriguez is Director of the Language Studies Resource Center in the Department
of World Languages and Cultures at Iowa State University. His primary areas of interest in-
clude the design, development, and research of CALL instructional materials and computer
applications for language learning or language teacher development. He has lead and par-
ticipated in a variety of materials development and instructional design projects for hybrid,
blended, and distance learning courses.

REVIEWER’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Dr. Julio C. Rodríguez
Iowa State University
Department of World Languages & Cultures
3228 Pearson Hall, Ames 50011, Iowa
Phone: 515 294 3415
Fax: 515 294 9914
Email: jcesar@iastate.edu
Web: http://jcesar.public.iastate.edu/

228