Course Description

Introduction to aspects of the tools and methods of studies in speech and natural language processing (NLP), with a focus on programming for NLP and speech applications, statistical methods for data analysis, and tools for displaying and manipulating data.

Instructor

Professor Lane Schwartz - Office hours 5-6 PM in Foreign Languages Building, room 4019, and by appointment
TA Bill Bryce - Office hours 10-11 AM Fridays in Foreign Languages Building, room 2036, and by appointment
TA Yinglun Sun - Office hours 10-11 AM Wednesdays in Foreign Languages Building, room 2036, and by appointment

Time and place

Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30-4:50 PM, 1203 1/2 W. Nevada Street, Computer Lab

Required Texts and Tools

• The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction by William E. Shotts, Jr.

  This book is available for free in PDF form directly from the author under a Creative Commons license. If you want a paper, mobi, or epub copy, you can purchase this textbook in both paper and electronic formats directly from the publisher. This textbook can be read online through the UIUC library, but because the library's license with the publisher restricts the number of simultaneous users, you should not rely on this as your only mechanism for accessing the book.

• Natural Language Processing with Python by Steven Bird, Ewan Klein, and Edward Loper

  While the 1st edition of this textbook is available for purchase, this class will use the online version, which is more current.

• i>clicker

  This hardware can be purchased at the Illini Union Bookstore.

• Bash Reference Manual by Chet Ramey and Brian Fox

  This book is the authoritative reference manual for Bash. It is available for free in PDF form and other formats. While the Shotts textbook will be our main source of assigned readings on the command line, this reference manual should be the first place you look when you need to look something up about Bash.

• The Python Language Reference edited by Guido van Rossum, et al.

  This book is the authoritative reference manual for Python. It is available for free in PDF form and other formats.

Schedule and Readings

Students are expected to regularly review the schedule of assigned readings and video lectures. This schedule is subject to change.

• Some of the material covered in readings will be covered in class.
• Some of the material covered in readings will be covered in video lectures.
• Some of the material covered in readings will not be covered in class and will not be covered in video lectures.
• Some material will be covered in the video lectures, but not in the readings and not in class.
• Some material will be covered in class, but not in the readings and not in video lectures.

Responsibilities

• Students are responsible for all of the material covered in every reading.
• Students are responsible for all of the material covered in every video lecture.
• Students are responsible for all of the material covered in class.
• Students are responsible for all of the material covered in public Piazza posts. This includes clarifications to homework instructions.

Expectations

• Students are expected to attentively read assigned readings.
• Students are expected to actively follow along and practice the examples presented in the readings.
• Students are expected to attentively view assigned video lectures.
• Students are expected to attend the entirety of every class session and actively participate in the class.
• Quiz questions may come from readings, video lectures, or other material previously covered in class.
• Homework questions may cover material from the readings that have not been covered in class or in video lectures.
• Homework questions may cover material from the video lectures that have not been covered in class or in the readings.

Learning Goals & Outcomes

Students are expected to attend class, attentively read assigned readings, attentively view assigned video lectures, regularly practice the presented tools and techniques, and complete all assigned work.

Students who do so are expected to attain the learning goals and outcomes.

Grading

Students will be assessed on the extent to which they have attained the learning goals & outcomes. This assessment will be primarily hands-on, assessed through a combination of daily quizzes, practical exercises, homework assignments, and projects.

Grades will be assessed on a 10-point fixed letter grade system.

Academic Integrity

This course follows the University of Illinois Student Code regarding Academic Integrity. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences also has an excellent web page on the topic. You are expected to read these resources prior to the second day of class, and to understand your responsibilities with regard to Academic Integrity.

All work submitted for this class must be solely your own. Violations of Academic Integrity include, but are not limited to, copying, cheating, and unapproved collaboration. Violations will not be tolerated.

Absences and Late Work Policy

Students are expected complete all assigned readings and video lectures prior to the class for which they are assigned.

If a student will be absent from class for any reason, the student is expected to inform the course instructor by email ahead of time. Daily participation and quiz credit for excused absences may, at the discretion of the instructor, be made up by means of additional assignments.

If a student has a disability or condition that requires special consideration, the student is expected to present the requisite letter from the University Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services no later than the beginning of the second day of class.

Homework assignments are expected to be turned in on time. Homework turned in late will be docked 5 percentage points per day late (this corresponds approximately to half of a letter grade per day late). However, it is understood that illness and other extraordinary events do occur from time to time. In order to accommodate such extraordinary events, students will be allotted a budget of 3 penalty-free late days for which no late penalty will be assessed. Penalty-free late days are intended to accommodate unforeseeable extraordinary events, not poor planning or poor time management.

If a student wishes to make use of a penalty-free late day, the student must do all of the following prior to the current assignment deadline:

• Send an email addressed to both the instructor and the TA. The email must have the exact subject heading "Penalty-free late day". In the body of the email, the student must explicitly request the use of a penalty-free late day.
• In the student's git repository for the assignment, the student must note the request in the appropriate file, check in the change, and push the change to the appropriate remote repository.

Only when all of these steps have been taken prior to the deadline will a penalty-free late day be applied. If a student wishes to make use of more than one penalty-free late day per assignment, all of the above steps must be performed separately for each penalty-free late day.

Penalty-free late days may not be used to extend any deadline beyond the last regular day of class for the semester.

For some or all homework assignments, the correct solution will be presented to the class after the homework deadline. Under no circumstances will late work be accepted after the solution has been presented to the class.