A linguist has developed an online aid for students of French as a second language, which points out errors in text submitted on the Internet along with grammar tips.

Socio-linguist Terry Nadasdi and Stefan Sinclair of the University of Alberta have developed the website Le Patron which uses technology to scan written submissions from any student for common errors and provides advice for improving the text.

For example, if the entered text says "une petit maison", the site will not only highlight the error but also explain the rule for adjectives - that it should be feminine (petite) before "maison".

Not only does it save language teachers from having to repeatedly correct and comment on errors, it teaches students to recognise their own mistakes and understand them, science portal EurekAlert quoted Nadasdi as saying.

"The goal of the website is not simply to provide a quick checking mechanism but to ensure that students learn from interacting with the site," said Nadasdi.

"The project is exciting for me since in this way I can actually help millions of people learn, which is far beyond what I can do with classroom teaching alone."

The idea was first created as a tool for the university's students studying French and has since grown into a global project.

Since its launch in September, thousands of people around the globe have already accessed the site - it averaged about 7,000 hits a day from 75 countries in November.

Nadasdi said he has heard from university professors in Iowa and high school teachers in California who are guiding their students to the site. He has presented the site to educators across the Canadian province of Alberta.

At a recent session, one teacher told Nadasdi the site had changed the way she taught French.

Nadasdi is looking at using the technology to help second-language learners in other languages like Spanish.