A Case Study of the Localization of an Intelligent Tutoring System Phaedra Mohammed and Permanand Mohan Department of Computing and Information Technology, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago {phaedra.mohammed@gmail.com, pmohan@tstt.net.tt} Abstract. The matter of a one-size-fits-all approach towards the development of culturally-relevant educational software is debated with one side arguing for internationalization and the other side arguing for localization. This paper takes a pragmatic look at the issues involved in localization and aims to shed light on the strengths and limitations of undertaking culture as a design feature. With an emphasis on the application layer, the paper investigates the requirements and steps that need to be taken when using cultural contexts in educational soft- ware. It describes the design of a localized intelligent tutoring system developed for the context of Trinidad and Tobago and discusses how the prototype was evaluated in two separate stuGLHV ZKLFK ORRNHG DW OHDUQLQJ JDLQV VWXGHQWVｶ opinions, attitudes, and preferences for localization. Keywords: Localization, cultural translation, intelligent tutoring systems 1. Introduction This paper is set in the context of Trinidad and Tobago. With a GDP of $20,400US [2] Trinidad and Tobago is one of the wealthiest nations in the Caribbean. Liquefied natural gas SHWUROHXP DQG LWV E\SURGXFWV PDNH XS WKH EXON RI WKH FRXQWU\ｶV exports and account for approximately 40% of the counWU\ｶs GDP [7]. The average population size is 1.2 million, life expectancy is estimated at around 72 years, and literacy rates are over 98% for ages 15 and older [2]. The country is becoming more modernized as evidenced by the increasing number of Internet users (growth from 8% in 2000 to 48% of the population in 2012) and large number of cell phone users (over 1.8 mil- lion) [2]. Although access to personal computers is not as widespread with roughly less than 20% of the population having access, the government of the country provid- ed free laptops to entry-level students in secondary schools in 2010. The challenge that now arises for the FRXQWU\ｶV education sector is whether the software on these machines can support learning in the context of Trinidad and Tobago. Accommodating for learner diversity based on cultural backgrounds is becoming a major personalisation focus with the increasing drive towards globalization as evi- denced in Trinidad with the distribution of laptops. Despite this drive, the knowledge and processes for incorporating culture have not been clearly defined with automation