Computer-Based Social Interactions to Facilitate Language Learning

基于计算机的社交互动促进语言学习

• 批准号: 1757397
• 负责人: Yolanda Rankin
• 金额: $ 25.94万
• 依托单位: Florida State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-08-15 至 2023-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1757397&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Computer; Based; Social; Interactions; Facilitate

The ability to effectively communicate in more than one language is not only an educational goal, but a required life skill for this generation of students who must be able to compete and function in a global workforce. Communicative competence---knowing what to say, when to say it and how to say it--- is one of the primary challenges that foreign language students struggle to achieve. Second language research reveals that foreign language students are less likely to communicate verbally in the classroom setting when they lack confidence in their ability to carry a conversation with native speakers. This project develops language learning technology that provides scaffolded opportunities for second language students to acquire vocabulary words and conversational phrases while simultaneously developing listening comprehension skills and speaking capabilities in the targeted language. The goal of this research is to explore the progression of second language students' communicative competence through iteratively designing, developing and evaluating a mobile game that features intelligent, conversational computer generated game characters. Speech-based interactions with game characters will enable second language students to increase their vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension skills and speaking capabilities in the targeted language, Spanish. Results of this research will inform the design of more sophisticated language learning technology that facilitates communicative competence in any foreign language.This research program seeks to iteratively design computer generated conversational game characters known as Non Player Characters (NPCs) that engage foreign language students in social interactions that facilitate second language acquisition in Spanish. Research questions include: How do we strategically design conversational NPCs to scaffold novices' proficiency in the targeted language? How do novices' proficiency change over time as a result of social interactions with conversational NPCs during gameplay? What do these in-game social interactions suggest about creating meaningful gameplay experiences that improve novices' proficiency in the targeted language? The results of this exploratory research will inform a new genre of language learning technology specifically designed to increase foreign language students' proficiency in the targeted language as a supplement to traditional classroom instruction. The project will involve developing and evaluating the efficacy of the Game-based Social Interaction Model (GSIM), a conceptual framework that links in-game social interactions between native and non-native speakers to successful vocabulary acquisition in the targeted language. The GSIM will motivate the NPCs' verbal behaviors during gameplay, enabling the NPCs to emulate human-like interactions that facilitate novices' proficiency in the targeted language. In the context of a mobile game, the project will iteratively design conversational NPCs to provide scaffolded opportunities for second language students to increase their vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension and speaking capabilities in the targeted language. This research will also examine how African American women perceive and interact with conversational NPCs in the targeted language during gameplay, thus identifying crucial design elements that positively influence learning outcomes specific to this particularly understudied population.

有效地用一种以上语言进行有效交流的能力不仅是一个教育目标，而且对于必须能够在全球劳动力中竞争和运作的学生来说，这是必需的生活技能。交流能力---知道该说些什么，什么时候说出来以及如何说 - - 是外语学生努力实现的主要挑战之一。第二语言研究表明，当外语学生在课堂环境中缺乏对与母语者进行对话的能力时，在课堂环境中进行口头交流的可能性较小。该项目开发了语言学习技术，为第二语言学生提供了脚手架的机会，以获取词汇单词和对话短语，同时以目标语言来发展听力理解能力和语言能力。这项研究的目的是通过迭代设计，开发和评估具有智能，对话计算机生成的游戏角色的手机游戏，探索第二语言学生交流能力的发展。基于语音的与游戏角色的互动将使第二语言的学生能够以目标语言（西班牙语）来提高其词汇获取，听力理解能力和语言能力。这项研究的结果将为更复杂的语言学习技术的设计提供信息，该技术促进了任何外语的交流能力。本研究计划旨在迭代地设计计算机生成的对话性游戏角色，称为非玩家角色（NPC），这些角色（NPC）使外语学生参与社交互动，以促进西班牙语的第二语言获取。 研究问题包括：我们如何从战略上设计对话的NPC来脚手架新手在目标语言中的熟练程度？新手在游戏过程中与对话NPC的社交互动会随着时间的流逝而变化？这些游戏中的社交互动暗示了创造有意义的游戏体验，以提高新手在目标语言中的熟练程度？这项探索性研究的结果将为一种新的语言学习技术类型提供专门设计的新类型，旨在提高外语学生对目标语言的熟练程度，以补充传统的课堂教学。该项目将涉及开发和评估基于游戏的社交互动模型（GSIM）的功效，该模型（GSIM）将本机和非母语者之间的游戏内社交互动与目标语言中的成功词汇获取联系起来。 GSIM将激励NPC在游戏过程中的口头行为，从而使NPC能够效仿类似人类的互动，从而有助于新手在目标语言中的熟练程度。在手机游戏的背景下，该项目将迭代设计对话式NPC，为第二语言学生提供脚手架的机会，以增加其词汇获取，听力理解和以目标语言的方式。这项研究还将研究非洲裔美国妇女在游戏过程中如何以目标语言感知和与对话的NPC相互作用，从而确定至关重要的设计元素，从而积极影响对这个特别研究的人群的学习成果。

项目成果

Exploring the Plurality of Black Women's Gameplay Experiences

探索黑人女性游戏体验的多样性

• DOI: 10.1145/3290605.3300369
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
• 作者: Rankin, Yolanda A.;Han, Na-eun
• 通讯作者: Han, Na-eun