Speaker
Description
Recently, a lot of people have been learning a new language through the Internet. One of the practical English language learning tools is a chatbot with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Replika (https://replika.ai/) can be a self-study tool for language learners. It is an AI chatbot that communicates with language learners naturally, and it helps learners learn how to communicate in English. Replika understands what the learners mainly wrote, and it recasts and answers questions. Although Replika cannot speak and is an age verification, learners are able to learn how to communicate with others in English and also realize grammatical errors. Two third-year senior high school students in Japan and one university student in Hawaii used Replika for two weeks. The research was conducted in 2021 and the researcher asked them to chat with Replika for at least one hour per week for two weeks to see how Replika helped students’ communicative abilities. The researcher asked them to send screenshots of their conversation with Replika and see the improvement. The qualitative data show that all students learned new expressions from Replika. One student also mentioned that chatting with Replika was a good motivation because it includes a gamification perspective. When students write long sentences, they earn extra coins and buy special items for Replika. In conclusion, Replika can be a convenient tool for learning English although the conversation is sometimes unnatural. Students get replies quickly and feel that they are chatting with a native speaker because Replika remembers their conversation. The author will propose how the chatbot works for students’ language learning through qualitative data.
| Keywords | AI chatbot, Replika, speaking, communicative ability |
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