Abstract
This column will try to describe the characteristics of current cyberpsychology research in Europe. In particular, CyberEurope aims at describing the leading research groups and projects running on the other side of the Ocean.
In the first study of its kind, award-winning research by EU-funded scientists evaluated second-language teaching with the aid of a humanoid robot. Outcomes could eventually benefit migrants, learners of English as a second language, and teachers in busy classrooms.
The L2TOR project capitalizes on recent developments in human–robot interaction in which the use of social robots is explored in the context of teaching and tutoring. Social robots have been shown to have marked benefits over screen-based tutoring technologies, and have demonstrable positive impacts on motivation in learners and their learning outcomes.
L2TOR focuses on the domain of second-language learning in early childhood. Due to the increased mobility of European citizens and increasing internationalization, most children in Europe will be required to use two or more languages fluently. As language acquisition benefits from early, personalized, and interactive tutoring, current language tutoring delivery is often ill-equipped to deal with this.
As resources are insufficient to offer one-to-one tutoring with (near) native speakers in educational and home contexts, L2TOR will further the science and technology of language tutoring robots, with a strong focus on multimodal interactive tutoring for young children (4 years of age). L2TOR will focus on native-speaking Dutch, German, and Turkish children learning English. In addition, Turkish immigrant children in the Netherlands and Germany will be supported by a robot in acquiring Dutch and German.
To realize this ambition, L2TOR addressed both technical aspects, such as multimodal interaction, human–robot interaction management, and social signal processing, pedagogical aspects, such as exploring the pedagogy of social robots and the use of social robot to assist in language tutoring, and developmental psychology aspects, such as understanding how children learn a first and second language from others and how this can be transposed to learning from robots.
Robots Get an “A” in Many Areas
Previous studies have shown that robots can help kids learn math or geography. According to project coordinator Prof. Tony Belpaeme, “Children and adults tend to learn more when a lesson is delivered by a robot than by an alternative technology, such as a computer or tablet. The social nature of the robot resonates with us.” Robots are non-judgmental and infinitely patient, a great support to kids lacking self-confidence. Further, they can provide undivided attention and individualized progression. Researchers decided to see what a robot can do for small children learning a second language, a case where the near-perfect accent is one more benefit.
Award-Winning Study Points to Limitations
L2TOR focused on children around 5 years old, an age at which a new language can be acquired with native proficiency. In a study of approximately 200 Dutch-speaking children, a fourth of the children learned English with a robot who gestured, a fourth with a robot who did not gesture, a fourth with a tablet, and a fourth had no second-language teaching. As Belpaeme relates, “We took a long-term perspective, spending over 3 months with each child. This is unheard of.”
Surprisingly, the team found that the children did not learn better with the robot, irrespective of whether gesturing. The results are enlightening in many ways. Critically, speech recognition is still technically quite challenging when it comes to small children. The robot did not understand the children much of the time, requiring interaction via tablet rather than conversation. Similarly, reading and writing may support second-language learning. However, these are not skills a 5-year-old has typically acquired. Both point to the need for a study with older children. Finally, the large study employed an equivalent training program for all children to ensure a well-controlled baseline. Future experiments will have the robot adapt its techniques to the child's learning profile and personality to maximize gains.
L2TOR was the first study using robots for second-language teaching. Outcomes suggest that preschool children may not be the most appropriate, given the robot's difficulties with speech recognition in young children. Further research with older children is needed. According to Eurostat, there were 2.4 million immigrants to the EU from non-member countries in 2017. So, a tool for language learning among primary-school kids in this large and often vulnerable population would have an important impact. In the meantime, robots are patient and motivating and could be superb helpers in busy classrooms.
Sources: Cordis, European Commission and European Union