Page 9 - ELG2111 Nov Issue 478

RESEARCH NEWS

Are chatbots useful teachers or just a passing novelty?

By Gillian Ragsdale warns general users that it ‘may
Chatbots can support language not be suitable for children’ and
learning, but still have several ‘can seem rude or inappropriate’,
challenges to overcome before reminding the user that it ‘cannot
they can take the place of teachers mean anything it says’. Others,
or fellow students, according to however, such as the messenger-
researchers at the University of based Replika, suggest forming ‘an PHOTO BY MOHAMED HASSAN FROM PIXABAY
Hong Kong. actual emotional connection’.
Chatbots that simulate human Still, a suitably chosen and used
conversation using either text or chatbot can become a student’s
voice are an increasingly common ‘knowledgeable friend’, a tireless
feature of online interactions and companion, always available.
have also been used to support Unlike real classmates, a chatbot
English language learners. In their can be relied on to share the
review, Huang et al found most student’s personal interests and
of the studies on their use were students tend to be less nervous
conducted in China, with a few talking to chatbots, which can
in North America, and although build confidence. emotion and visual cues that would fall at some point, putting an end
chatbots were used in both Apart from open-ended normally sustain interest. to the final major drawback – that
elementary and secondary schools, dialogue, a chatbot can provide If the student makes mistakes, the novelty just tends to wear off.
their use was predominantly in repetitive practice and role-playing such as misspelling a word,
higher education. opportunities that simulate real chatbots tend to be unforgiving REFERENCE
Chatbots, generally accessed life, such as booking a restaurant. and may reply with nonsense. n Huang, W, Hew, K F and
either via the web or mobile They can also provide a general Despite being easy to access, the Fryer, L K (2021): ‘Chatbots for
messenger apps, can exchange helpline for language queries and cognitive load of following the language learning – Are they
dialogue as though talking recommend resources. unnatural voice which may be really useful? A systematic review
with a friend. Their use in an There are a number of limitations combined with animations can be of chatbot-supported language
educational setting, especially for developers to improve, however. counter-productive to learning. learning’, Journal of Computer
with minors, needs additional Chatbots currently do not have a With the rapid development of Assisted Learning; https://doi-org.
settings and controls. The web- natural-sounding human voice, artificial intelligence, however, it’s libezproxy.open.ac.uk/10.1111/
based Cleverbot responsibly and both audio and text lack likely that all these barriers will jcal.12610

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