Robot-enhanced language learning for children in Norwegian day-care centers.

The study investigates how a robotic version of the language programme called Language Shower works compared to the regular version of the programme. The researchers behind the study created an app that could be used on mobile phones or tablets, and they also tested whether a robot could make the programme even better. The purpose was to find out what challenges and experiences kindergarten employees have when they use the robot in kindergarten.

The measurements showed that the children made better progress in language skills when using a programme with a robot, compared to the programme without a robot. Interviews with kindergarten staff confirmed that the robotic solution had many advantages, but areas that needed improvement were also pointed out. In particular, the staff believed that speech recognition should become more flexible and robust, and that there should be a solution for situations where several children speak at the same time.

The children's progress in language skills was measured with a pre-test and a post-test by counting the number of words a child could recognise and say out loud. Individual and focus group interviews were also conducted with kindergarten staff, language education experts and the children's parents.

Halbach, T., Schulz, T., Leister, W. & Solheim, I. (2021). "Robot-enhanced language learning for children in Norwegian day-care centers". Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 5(12):74.