Abstract: Training apparatus for training a user to engage in transactions (e.g. a foreign language conversation) with another person whom the apparatus is arranged to simulate, the apparatus comprising: an input for receiving input dialogue from a user; a lexical store containing data relating to individual words of said input dialogue; a rule store containing rules specifying grammatically allowable relationships between words of said input dialogue; a transaction store containing data relating to allowable transactions between said user and said person; a processor arranged to process the input dialogue to recognise the occurrence therein of words contained in said lexical store in the relationships specified by the rules contained in said rule store in accordance with the data specified in the transaction store, and to generate output dialogue indicating when correct input dialogue has been recognised; and an output device for making the output dialogue available to the user.