Tarakeeb is a grammer-teaching web-app aimed at young children who are just starting to learn to read and write Arabic. The user is presented with an example grammar structure–for example, I like the cat–and can assemble novel sentences out of the available words. Tarakeeb then provides feedback on whether the sentence was grammatical. Language acquisition in children is not conscious memorization of rules, but rather trial-and-error driven, and Tarakeeb’s support of this process positions it as a effective supplement to more traditional learning.
The frontend was coded in Javascript, with Bootstrap for formatting. The grammar engine is a form of productive, generative grammar, using a set of generic rules (for English, one such rule is S+V+O) to validate input sentences. As team leader, I helped drive the ideation process, coordinated separate sub-teams, allocated work, and acted as a floating problem-solver, moving between sub-teams to help brainstorm solutions for problems.
Tarakeeb was created during the 2017 NYUAD Hackathon for Social Good in the Arab World, hosted at NYU Abu Dhabi, and placed 3rd out of 14 teams.