Learner and teacher perspectives on robot-led L2 conversation practice

Abstract This article focuses on designing and evaluating conversation practice in a second language (L2) with robot that employs human spoken non-verbal interaction strategies. Based an analysis of previous work semi-structured interviews L2 learners teachers, recommendations for robot-led adult at intermediate level are first defined, focused learning, the social context, conversational structure verbal visual aspects moderation. Guided by these recommendations, experiment is set up, which 12 pairs Swedish interact short conversations. These robot–learner interactions evaluated through post-session learners, teachers’ ratings robot’s behaviour analyses video-recorded conversations, resulting guidelines practice: (1) societal personal topics increase practice’s meaningfulness learners; (2) strategies methods providing corrective feedback during need to be explored further; (3) should encouraged support each other if has difficulties adapting their linguistic level; (4) establish relationship contributing its own story, remembering participants’ input, making use communication signals; (5) improvements required regarding naturalness intelligibility text-to-speech synthesis, particular speed, it used conversations learners.