Rivista | EL.LE
Fascicolo monografico | 10 | 1 | 2021
Articolo | Chatbots for Action-Oriented Language Learning
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate (i) how learners perceive the non-educational chatbot Elbot as a language learning tool in a formal context (university German course), and (ii) to what extent a set of task-oriented interactions with Elbot influences the learners’ behaviour (e.g. lexical choices) during a separate activity. For these purposes, this study outlines a lesson/experiment focused on the enhancement of conflict-solving skills in German as a foreign language. A mixed-methods approach was applied to evaluate Elbot’s contribution to the lesson as well as its impact on the learners’ choice of basic strategies to solve a conflict. The study concludes with the discussion of the advantages of developing an edu-bot based on an existing non-educational chatbot. In this regard, the research also provides some concrete proposals based on the results of the data analysis.
Presentato: 25 Maggio 2020 | Accettato: 23 Marzo 2021 | Pubblicato 31 Marzo 2021 | Lingua: en
Keywords Academic language education • Non-educational bots • Conflict-solving skills • Action-oriented language education • German as a Foreign Language • Edu-bots • Dialogue-based CALL • Chatbots • Chat-based human-computer interaction • Elbot
Copyright © 2021 Francesca Mazzilli. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/ELLE/2280-6792/2021/01/005