Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-94d59 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T14:37:53.935Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Evaluating the language resources of chatbots for their potential in English as a second language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2008

David Coniam
Affiliation:
Dept of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong (email: coniam@cuhk.edu.hk)

Abstract

This paper investigates the linguistic worth of current ‘chatbot’ programs – software programs which attempt to hold a conversation, or interact, in English – as a precursor to their potential as an ESL (English as a second language) learning resource. After some initial background to the development of chatbots, and a discussion of the Loebner Prize Contest for the most ‘human’ chatbot (the ‘Turing Test’), the paper describes an in-depth study evaluating the linguistic accuracy of a number of chatbots available online. Since the ultimate purpose of the current study concerns chatbots' potential with ESL learners, the analysis of language embraces not only an examination of features of language from a native-speaker's perspective (the focus of the Turing Test), but also aspects of language from a second-language-user's perspective. Analyses indicate that while the winner of the 2005 Loebner Prize is the most able chatbot linguistically, it may not necessarily be the chatbot most suited to ESL learners. The paper concludes that while substantial progress has been made in terms of chatbots' language-handling, a robust ESL ‘conversation practice machine’ (Atwell, 1999) is still some way off being a reality.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)