Tactical Iraqi wins 2007 I/ITSEC Serious Games Showcase & Challenge

Tactical Iraqi wins DARPA's 2005 Award for Significant Technical Achievement

"I can best summarize Tactical Iraqi's success by quoting one soldier's words: 'I learned more Arabic in one day with it than I learned in my whole tour in Iraq.'"
Dr. Anthony J. Tether, Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

"The idea is to put behind every steering wheel and behind every trigger finger in a foreign country a little bit of that culture and language....I'll be happy if this could save just one life by preventing a misunderstanding."
Dr. Ralph Chatham, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

How they work

Our foreign-language courses are self-paced interactive "serious games" with numerous research-based pedagogic and technologic innovations that enable rapid and sustained learning of foreign languages and cultures. They are neither simplistic entertainment video games nor monotonous “repeat after me” programs, but interactive multimedia instruction (IMI) level 4 courses.

	Warfighters of the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division learning Iraqi Arabic language and culture with the Tactical Iraqi course at Ft. Stewart, Georgia.

Our goal is to allow everyone — from beginners to advanced students regardless of their self-perceived learning aptitude or prior language knowledge — to learn and retain functional spoken communication skills after just a few hours of study.

We accomplish this with three main pedagogic objectives: reduce trainees' frustration and boredom, sustain their motivation even after hours of intense practice, and promote the quick transfer of acquired communication skills to the real world.

Our methods — including our pioneering use of enjoyable interactive 3D video games and lessons — address these objectives. Task- and mission-based curricula provide trainees with contexts that are highly relevant to their personal and professional lives. Trainees practice their foreign-language skills at their own pace by role playing experientially in virtual-world simulations, facilitating the transfer of their acquired skills to the real world.

As a result, trainees achieve successes quickly, which builds their self-confidence and maintains their motivation and interest.

Our extensive award-winning technological innovations — many covered by pending patent applications — include learner, language and culture models; automated speech recognition optimized to understand non-native speakers and support pronunciation training; "socially intelligent virtual humans" driven by our patent-pending Cultural Puppets™ that exhibit culturally appropriate behavior that adapts according to the game's context; ubiquitous intelligent tutoring systems that offer instant, meaningful feedback and assistance; and assessment tools that automatically track each trainee's progress and performance.

Our current courses allow trainees to learn foreign languages to an Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) proficiency level of 0+. During 2008 we'll release versions to achieve level 1, and expand the application of the courses to include mission rehearsals.

We address educators' needs with solutions for self-study and blended learning programs, and supplements to classroom instruction.

Our web-based collaborative authoring tools and run-time platforms allow teams of instructional and game designers to produce, test and deliver their own courses economically.

In 2008 we will extend our interactive PC-based language and culture courses with web-based study programs and lessons, SCORM-compliant distributed learning versions compatible with learning management systems (LMS) , and training companions for the Apple iPod.