Proyect

In 2022, Spanish is the second most spoken native language in the world by number of speakers, according to data from the Instituto Cervantes, and has nearly 24 million students. This number represents a relatively small proportion compared to the case of the English language, which should be considered in relation to the strong link between this number and the economic activity associated with the language, as well as the opportunities that can be created around it.

In a highly digitalized world, as is the case today, where literary works and print media coexist with other rapidly expanding means of dissemination, such as online television channels and social networks, there is a need to develop new digital solutions that promote the learning and economic potential of Spanish.

In this context, the MAYA-USAL project was born, with the main goal of designing and developing virtual tools that can support an environment for the exchange of linguistic services, backed by reliable Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques and large language models (LLM). This environment can be used by entrepreneurs, businesses, and public institutions to create new business models in the New Economy of Language (NEL) sector, especially in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language. To achieve this, the project includes the delivery of training paths in the field of AI and enabling digital technologies (EDTs) applied to Spanish language teaching, the development of entrepreneurship ecosystems for the incubation and acceleration of new companies in the sector, as well as the identification, analysis, and exploitation of new emerging markets for the establishment of an experimentation laboratory and the development of international pilots for training Spanish as a foreign language teachers.