Spotlights

To compare learning outcomes students were divided into two groups: (a) the human tutoring group and (b) the robot tutoring group (image on the right）.
The group with the robot tutor made fewer errors and spoke more fluently than the group with human tutors, indicating the effectiveness of robot-assisted learning.

Takamasa Iio, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Culture and Information Science, showed that Robots play a significant role in repetitive practice for language learning. Still, human interaction is crucial for real-life language use.

Iio and his research team compared students' English-speaking abilities with current mainstream robot-assisted language learning (RALL) systems versus human tutors. They discovered that students had ample opportunities to practice speaking with the robots, feeling more at ease, resulting in fewer errors and improved fluency. These findings highlight the potential of incorporating RALL systems into teaching scenarios that are challenging for human tutors.

Reference
Iio, T., Yoshikawa, Y., Ogawa, K. et al. Comparison of Outcomes Between Robot-Assisted Language Learning System and Human Tutors: Focusing on Speaking Ability. Int J of Soc Robotics 16, 743–761 (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-024-01134-0

For more details, please see the website of Organization for Research Initiatives and Development, Doshisha University.  
[Research News] Comparative Analysis of Robot-Assisted Language Learning Systems and Human Tutors in English Conversation Lessons

This achievement has also been featured in the “EurekAlert!.”
NEWS RELEASE 10-MAY-2024, Comparative Analysis of Robot-Assisted Language Learning Systems and Human Tutors in English Conversation Lessons

Image Credit:Takamasa Iio from Doshisha University
License type: CC BY 4.0 DEED