There has been extensive discussion over the years regarding the potential of utilizing AI chatbot to enhance L2 communication skills. However, it is crucial for a language learning chatbot to offer more than just natural human-computer interactions. An L2 chatbot should also serve as a language curriculum, providing appropriate tasks and references that contribute to successful L2 learning. To ensure effective and sustainable use, the interlanguage, language learning needs, and proficiency of chatbot users should be also carefully taken into account. In this presentation, a newly developed task-based voice chatbot named "Kai" is introduced for young EFL learners. Kai takes on the persona of an eight-year-old and engages in free English conversations with children. What sets Kai apart is its ability to provide missions (problem-solving tasks) and games (quizzes) that allow beginning-level children to interact with the chatbot independently, with the minimum need for a teacher assistant. Another notable design element is the chatbot's vivid appearance and automated lip sync animation, which helps create the illusion of a real foreign friend. The presentation also shares the experiment of introducing Kai to fifteen six-year-old Korean children in a kindergarten over four weeks. The interaction with chatbot, their task performance, and language achievement of the participants were closely monitored and analyzed to investigate the effect of using the chatbot. The presenter demonstrates the Kai platform and discusses the results of the experiment suggesting that Kai holds significant potential as an effective language learning companion for young L2 learners.

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Abstract Summary
There has been extensive discussion over the years regarding the potential of utilizing AI chatbot to enhance L2 communication skills. However, it is crucial for a language learning chatbot to offer more than just natural human-computer interactions. An L2 chatbot should also serve as a language curriculum, providing appropriate tasks and references that contribute to successful L2 learning. To ensure effective and sustainable use, the interlanguage, language learning needs, and proficiency of chatbot users should be also carefully taken into account. In this presentation, a newly developed task-based voice chatbot named "Kai" is introduced for young EFL learners.

Authors:
Heyoung Kim, Chung-Ang University, South Korea
Sungsook Lee, Chung-Ang University, South Korea

About the Presenter(s)
Professor Heyoung Kim is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at Chung-Ang University in South Korea

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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