Natural Language Processing

NUS SoC, 2020/2021, Semester II, Time and Venue: Fridays, 09:00-11:00 @ LT19. Session will be recorded where our technology behaves appropriately and shared on LumiNUS.

This module deals with computer processing of human languages, emphasizing a corpus-based empirical approach. The topics covered include: 1. Linguistic essentials. 2. Basic techniques and algorithms: Hidden Markov model, Viterbi algorithm, supervised learning algorithms. 3. Words: part-of-speech tagging. 4. Syntax: noun phrase chunking, named entity tagging, parsing (top down, bottom up, probabilistic). 5. Semantics: word sense disambiguation. 6. Pragmatics: discourse, co-reference resolution. 7. Applications: text categorisation, text summarisation, language identification, information extraction, question answering, machine translation.

We will be using the LumiNUS 🔒 Learning Management System for the administration of this course. We will also be using a Slack group for both announcements and class discussion. Please join it using your LumiNUS registered email address: cs4248-2020.slack.com.

N.B. We will be teaching and using the Python programming language throughout this class and Jupyter Notebook via Google Colab. We will using Python 3.x, and largely the SciKitLearn and PyTorch libraries.

Course Characteristics

Modular Credits: 4.

Prerequisites: (CS3243 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence or CS3245 Information Retrieval) and (EE2012(A) Analytical Methods in Electrical and Computer Engineering, MA2216 Probability, ST1232 Statistics for Life Sciences, or ST2131 Probability, or ST2334 Probability and Statistics)

Questions about prerequisities and waivers are handled centrally by the department. For this semester (Semester 2020), Please contact cs-curriculum@comp.nus.edu.sg to describe your case and seek any waivers regarding prerequisities.

Workload

(3-0-0-3-4)

Translation:

• 3 lecture hours per week.
• 0 hour of tutorials.
• 4 hours for projects, assignments, fieldwork, etc., per week.
• 4 hours for preparatory work by a student per week.

Instructors

Min-Yen KAN
kanmy@comp.nus.edu.sg
AS6 05-12
@Min
Office hours are held after class, but more commonly by appointment. Emails and @Direct Mentions in Slack to me as a default are assumed to be public, and my replies and your anonymized email will likely be posted to Coursemology. Please let me know if you do not want the contents of your communication posted; I will be happy to honor your requests.

Teaching Assistants

Graduate Teaching Assistants

Anab Maulana BARIK
anabmaulana@u.nus.edu

LU Xinyuan
luxinyuan@u.nus.edu

PAN Liangming
e0272310@u.nus.edu

Muhammad Reza QORIB
mrqorib@u.nus.edu

Undergraduate Teaching Assistants

Rahul BAID
rahul.baid@u.nus.edu

Shreyas KUTHANOOR PRAKASH
shreyas@u.nus.edu

ZHANG Tianyang
zhang.tianyang@u.nus.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Will the module be webcasted (recorded or broadcasted live)? Yes, barring technical difficulties, we plan to record the course lectures and make them available on LumiNUS. That is, we will make our best effort to do this, but do not guarantee quality of service for webcasted or remote learning. We will attempt to make the lectures available on simulcast on Zoom, links to be available to course students only (you will need to be authenticated to your NUS-linked Zoom account to connect to the lectures).

   Recorded lectures will be put into the Web Lectures folder on the LumiNUS platform.

2. I’d like to take this module but couldn’t secure it during ModReg because the quota is full. Will it be possible to make an exception?

   See below answers to similar questions. Generally the answer is no, but we welcome students to audit the class, or take the class in subsequent semesters (CS4248 is offered in both Sem 1 and 2 now). We know the demand is high (we heard 160 students for 100 slots), but we need to keep the student cap at a reasonable number this semester.

   If you’d like to audit, please send a mail to cs4248@comp.nus.edu.sg or a DM to @Min with your name and NUS LumiNUS-registered email address.

3. The course is stated as having a physical class at Lecture Theatre 19. Is that correct?

   Yes. Lecture will be on Fridays physically at LT19. LT19 has a physical safe distancing limit of 50 students, so the first 50 students are welcomed at the LT and we will implement the NUS Classroom Attendance System to ensure that those who wish to attend can. If coming to the class, please make it to the venue by 8:55 so that class can start on-time.

   A fixed Zoom session e-learning option will be given out students to attend class if not attending physically (see first QA item)

4. I’m taking ATAP this semester. I need an exception to get admitted to this class. Can you grant me this exception?

   Sorry, no. This is a unilateral policy. CS4248 is in high demand and generally oversubscribed. We reserve and exercise the right to make this course only available to full-time NUS students (locally matriculated and exchange students). We welcome you to take the course when you return to NUS full-time.

5. I do not fulfill the exact prerequisite requirements for this module. Can you grant me this exception?

   Module coordinators do not approve prerequisite waivers in our School. You need to approach our School’s curriculum coordinator for permission. Generally, the answer is no, except in extenuating circumstances. E-mail cs-curriculum@comp.nus.edu.sg and apply for the waiver on ModRec.

6. I need this course in order to graduate this coming semester. Can you grant me this exception?

   Please ask your academic advisor to explain the situation to me. We will see what we can do and perhaps help your academic advisor help plan future students’ plans accordingly.