The further development of CSIEC project driven by application and evaluation in English education

In this paper, we present the comprehensive version of CSIEC (Computer Simulation in Educational Communication), an interactive web-based human– computer dialogue system with natural language for English instruction, and its tentative application and evaluation in English education. First, we briefly introduce the motivation for this project, survey the related works and illustrate the system structure with flow diagram. Then we describe its pedagogical functions, especially free chatting and chatting on a given topic. We summarise the free Internet usage within 6 months and introduce its integration into English classrooms, as well as the formal evaluation results of the integration. The evaluation findings show that the chatting function has been improved and fully used by the users, and the application of the CSIEC system in English instruction can motivate the learners to use English and enhance their learning process. Lastly, we discuss the application-driven approach of system development and draw some conclusions for future improvement. Motivation, underlying theories and related works Discrepancy between the great demand of English instruction and the actual poor situation With the rapid economic, cultural and educational internationalisation of China, the importance of cross-cultural communication is gaining more and more attention. English, as an international language, is treated as a key tool for the development and cultivation of such a communicational ability. Therefore, English language is now listed as one of the three core courses in China’s elementary and secondary education and as a compulsory course in higher education. English learning is being emphasised more and more in this country. Unfortunately, some problems exist in the English language education in China. First of all, it is widely recognised that one of the best ways to learn a foreign language is through spoken dialogue with a native speaker, and frequent communication in English plays an important role in English learning. However, that is not a practical method in British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 40 No 5 2009 901–918 doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00881.x © 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 British Educational Communications and Technology Agency. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. the classroom, especially in China and other countries with English as a foreign language, because of the one-to-one student–teacher ratio it implies. A number of factors ranging from the lack of time to shyness or limited opportunity for quality feedback hamper using the target language (Fryer & Carpenter, 2006). The language environment and few qualified English teachers in China cannot supply enough chance of authentic talking. So it is quite common that schoolteachers complain of working burdens and do not have enough time to communicate in English with students (Liang, 2005). Second, although learning English through communication and application has been emphasised recently, English education in China is traditionally examination oriented. In addition to those challenges, grammar teaching and learning is important in China’s English education because Chinese differs greatly from English in grammar (Liu, 2005). Without basic grammar knowledge, the students cannot make great progress, as they mostly only practise English in school time and cannot learn it unconsciously and spontaneously from the social environment. In order to solve these problems and to meet the demand of English learning, new educational technologies have been applied in English instruction, eg, multimedia computer programs, web-based learning and CMC (Computer-Mediated Communication), etc. However, most of the current computer programs cannot realise an essential instructional method yet, ie, communication and interaction with the human user in natural language, which plays a significant role in language learning, as many language theories and practice have argued. In CMC, it is difficult for the normal users to find a long-time talking partner or a pen pal. A potential solution to this problem is to apply computer-spoken dialogue systems to role-play a conversational partner. If we could design an interactive web-based system that could chat with the English learners anytime anywhere, their great demand for learning partners could be fulfilled. Such a system should aim at helping the learners improve their skills of using English through frequent chatting with them in English. Motivated by the great demand for English instruction, we, in 2001, began to design a system that can communicate with the Internet users in English. Our design principle is application and evaluation oriented. So long as the system is applicable, we put it into free use in the Internet and get user feedback. Moreover, we apply and evaluate the system in English classes in middle school and in universities. Cooperating with the English teachers, we try to integrate the system with English instruction more closely. Through systematic application and evaluation, we get more suggestions and critics, which can direct our research more effectively.