| 摘要: | 對話是學習一門語言的重要途徑，而透過行動裝置在真實情境中使用聊天機器人進行英文對話練習會是一個有意義且具有前瞻性的研究。然而傳統的聊天機器人有數個缺點會影響學生的學習效率與成就，例如，在過去的大部分研究當中，都未將聊天機器人與真實情境結合；對話中的單字需要完全正確，否則聊天機器人將無法正常地進行對話。
本研究提出一套能夠在真實情境當中使用的智慧聊天機器人系統名為Smart UEnglish，它的對話練習分為設計對話(Designed talk)與自由對話(free talk)，設計對話結合學校教材讓學生能夠在真實情境下運用教材當中的內容進行對話練習，自由對話(free talk)讓學生可以自由地與聊天機器人進行日常、交通、天氣、景點等等主題的對話。Smart UEnglish的對話練習具備彈性對話(Flexible conversation)，能夠容忍對話當中的部分錯誤；持續對話(Sustainable conversation)，能夠在同一主題上持續進行對話；適應性對話(Adaptive conversation)根據使用者的資訊，例如GPS、時間等，給予不同的回應；即時的學習反饋，提供學生提示，幫助他們改進發音與文句。它解決了過去聊天機器人的缺點，並且透過行動裝置讓學生可以在真實情境中進行英文對話練習。
統計分析結果表明實驗組的學習成就高於控制組並且達到顯著差異，設計對話與自由對話皆與學生的口說能力有顯著正相關，當學生愈多使用對話功能進行練習他們英語對話的詞彙資源(Lexical resource)、發音(pronunciation)與流暢度(fluency)都會顯著的提升。SSAL問卷與訪談結果顯示，學生認為在真實情境下使用Smart UEnglish進行對話練習，能夠增加他們的創造力，讓他們在學習的過程中進行更多的思考，並且透過實際的對話練習學習到更多知識。本研究證實Smart UEnglish能夠幫助學生在真實情境下的英文學習，藉行動裝置的便攜性，學生可以透過Smart UEnglish在日常生活中隨時隨地進行英文對話練習。
;The conversation is an advanced and important speaking skill to learn a language, and using chatbots to practice English conversation in authentic contexts would be a meaningful and promising study through mobile devices. However, there are several disadvantages of traditional chatbots that will influence students′ learning motivation and achievement like not connected with students′ surroundings to sustain their motivation; The words of the conversation need to match perfectly, otherwise, the chatbot will not be able to respond properly.
This study proposes a chatbot with a smart mechanism named Smart UEnglish. There are two types of conversation practice: designed talk and free talk. Design talk is based on learning materials of textbooks so that students can practice conversation in authentic contexts. Free talk allows students to freely have conversations with the chatbot on topics such as daily life, transportation, weather, scenic spots, etc. Smart UEnglish has some features such as flexible conversation which can tolerate some mistakes in the conversation, the sustainable conversation which can have a sustained conversation on the same topic, the adaptive conversation which can give different responses according to the user′s information, such as GPS and time, and learning feedback which can provide immediate feedback to help students improve their pronunciation and sentences. Our proposed smart mechanisms address the shortcomings of chatbots in the past and facilitate students to practice English conversations with creativity and sustainability in authentic contexts.
Statistical analysis results show that the learning achievement of the experimental group is significantly higher than that of the control group. Moreover, both designed talk and free talk have significant positive correlations with learning achievements, while the students have more conversation practices, they have more improvements in lexical resource, pronunciation, and fluency. According to the results of the SSAL questionnaire and interview, students believe that using Smart UEnglish for conversation practice in authentic contexts can increase their creativity, make them think more and learn more knowledge. This study proves that Smart UEnglish can help students learn English in authentic contexts. With smart UEnglish, students can effectively practice English conversation anytime and anywhere. |
