The Effect of Applying Humanoid Robots as Teacher Assistants to Help Iranian Autistic Pupils Learn English as a Foreign Language

Alemi, Minoo; Meghdari, Ali; Basiri, Nasim Mahboub; Taheri, Alireza

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-25554-5_1

Cited by 41 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Researchers in Iran developed a robot‐assisted intervention to teach English words to Persian‐speaking 7‐ to 9‐year‐olds with ASD. English test scores increased and were maintained after 2 weeks . However, in another study, after a 6‐week intervention with a robot that involved imitation and games, English‐speaking preschoolers with ASD and speech deficiency improved their receptive and expressive communication skills but did not improve their vocabulary .…”

Section: Learning Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…For language production, some studies have demonstrated the benefit of robot companions over other digital devices. Social robots may be especially beneficial for individuals with ASD who face communication difficulties because practicing communication can be less intimidating with a robot than with another person (28,35). We suggest that using robots in fostering language production is an important direction for research.…”

Section: Language Productionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Social Robots for Early Language Learning: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Kanero

Geçkin

Oranç

et al. 2018

Child Dev Perspectives

105

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ABSTRACT-In this article, we review research on childrobot interaction (CRI) to discuss how social robots can be used to scaffold language learning in young children. First we provide reasons why robots can be useful for teaching first and second languages to children. Then we review studies on CRI that used robots to help children learn vocabulary and produce language. The studies vary in first and second languages and demographics of the learners (typically developing children and children with hearing and communication impairments). We conclude that, although social robots are useful for teaching language to children, evidence suggests that robots are not as effective as human teachers. However, this conclusion is not definitive because robots that tutor students in language have not been evaluated rigorously and technology is advancing rapidly. We suggest that CRI offers an opportunity for research and list possible directions for that work. KEYWORDS-child-robotinteraction; social robots; language learning Using technology in early education has gained considerable attention as digital devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) have developed and been integrated into children's lives (1). In this article, we spotlight one of the newest additions to the list of devices-social robots-and discuss whether research on child-robot interaction (CRI) can help children learn first and second languages.A social robot is "an autonomous or semiautonomous robot that interacts and communicates with humans by following the behavioral norms expected by the people with whom the robot is intended to interact" (2, p. 592). Social robots have been used to teach scientific knowledge, mathematics, social skills, computer programming, and language (3, 4). However, research on CRI has not been readily accessible to all those interested because the studies appear primarily in conference proceedings and journals dedicated to the field of robotics. Furthermore, these studies often focus on technical features of robots rather than educational concerns, such as whether and how robots can help young language learners.In this article, we summarize findings on CRI and evaluate them critically. First we discuss briefly why a robot may be useful for teaching language to children. Then we evaluate whether children enjoy learning language with a robot. In the main section of the article, we ask whether children can learn language from a robot. We analyze learning outcomes at three levels: whether robots are at all successful teaching language to children, whether they are more successful teaching language than other digital devices, and whether robots can teach language as effectively as human teachers. Although social robots have potential as a language teaching tool, evidence suggests that robots are not as effective as human teachers. However, we argue that researchers must continue exploring this issue because the educational benefits of robots have not been evaluated thoroughly and technology in robotics is advancing quickly. In the last sec...

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Section: Learning Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Language Productionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Social Robots for Early Language Learning: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Kanero

Geçkin

Oranç

et al. 2018

Child Dev Perspectives

105

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“…Assistant robots have the catalytic role in appealing the education [43,44] and social/cognitive rehabilitation process of children [21] in friendly environments, and this could increase the attention span of the participants and their tendency to get deeply involved in the educational/treatment music tasks. Children receive the best education from those they like and not necessarily those with the best technical skills [45,46]. Robots could also benefit the music teachers, clinical supervisors, and music therapy educators in several ways such as being a great help for automatic/real-time treatment assessment as well as keeping record of the children's performance in the music sessions.…”

Section: -Application and Implication Of The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Music to Children with Autism: A Social Robotics Challenge

Taheri¹,

Meghdari²,

Alemi³

et al. 2017

Scientia Iranica

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Abstract-Utilizing a humanoid social robot to systematically teach music to children with autism has not received wide attention to date. In this study, a novel robot-assisted music-based scenario has been designed in order to: 1) teach fundamentals of music via a xylophone-/drum-player robot as a teacher assistant, and 2) improve social/cognitive skills through active music games in children with autism. The educational-therapeutic interventions were conducted in an elevensession case study program on three high-functioning and one low-functioning children with autism taking into consideration the children's, parents', and therapists' experience during the program. The results indicated that as a tool and facilitator, the NAO robot does have the ability to teach musical notes/rhythms to the participants with high-functioning autism. It was also observed that the severity of the participants' autism as well as the stress of the parents decreased somewhat during these sessions. Furthermore, noticeable improvements were seen in social/cognitive skills of all four participants; as well as the positive effect of this program on fine motor imitation skills of two subjects after the interventions. The progress reported from this preliminary exploratory study confirmed the potential benefits of using social robots and intelligent technologies as a facilitator in music-teaching and cognitive-rehabilitation. 1-IntroductionMusic has the power to influence humans and in particular children's emotions, moods, and feelings. Teaching music can help develop new or improve existing social, verbal/non-verbal communication skills in children [1][2][3]. Children who receive regular music education may have better movement, math and reading skills in comparison to their peers [4].Children with autism may have stereotyped behaviors and limited communication skills [5]. Music could be an effective way to involve them in rhythmic/non-verbal communication [1]. Nowadays, at least 12% of all treatment of ASD 1 s consist of music-based therapies [6].Music has often been used in therapeutic sessions with children with mental and behavioral disabilities [7]. There is ample evidence that shows either playing music during therapy sessions or teaching music to children with autism can significantly increase the impact of therapy sessions [8,9]. These studies have inspired researchers to use embodied music-based approaches to facilitate multisystem development of children [6]. In such studies or therapy sessions, an instrument is either played by a human or recorded music is played back in individual/group interventions [6,10]. Kalas [11], and Kim, Wigram, & Gold [2] showed improvement in joint attention, turn taking and eye contact of children with autism in (active) musicmaking interventions. Some studies have reported an acceptable decrease in stereotyped behaviors and self-injuries in ASDs after running music-based interventions [12,13]. Music therapy interventions have also been used to increase social [14,15] and emotional [16] skills...

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“…• Listening Practice by Robots: Robot Assisted Language Learning (RALL) is a new and emerging area in second language acquisition among young English learners [12][13][14][25][26][27]. Social robots as teaching assistant, story tellers, game partners, and educators can help to improve the listening ability of children and young EFL/ESL learners.…”

Section: 2listening and Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

General Impacts of Integrating Advanced and Modern Technologies on Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Alemi¹

2016

IJITE

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The Effect of Applying Humanoid Robots as Teacher Assistants to Help Iranian Autistic Pupils Learn English as a Foreign Language

Cited by 41 publications

References 16 publications

Social Robots for Early Language Learning: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Social Robots for Early Language Learning: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Teaching Music to Children with Autism: A Social Robotics Challenge

General Impacts of Integrating Advanced and Modern Technologies on Teaching English as a Foreign Language

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