The Problem
Language learning is difficult! Especially when learning virtually during a pandemic. In order to practice conversational skills, students need to be able to speak and have someone respond to them, even outside of class.
The Project
The purpose of the Chinese Chatbot is to give students a way to practice their conversational skills even when they're at home without any other Chinese-speakers. It provides a way to speak or type to an AI chatbot in Chinese that will respond and hold a conversation.The Skills
- Google DialogFlow programming
- Chinese language: reading and writing
- Teaching and mentoring
- Teamworking with a group of diverse individuals
Lesson 1 Chatbot on mobile
Behind the scenes: the Dialogflow program we made to create the chatbot shown on the left
The Story
Research Assistant
While in my Chinese 2101 class in the Fall of 2020, we were the first class to utilize a beta version of Northeastern's Chinese AI Chatbot. After using it in class, I reached out my professor and started as a volunteer research assistant on this project working under our PI, Professor Ann Cai. We worked on improving the current chatbot and making it more versatile to different phrases that students might speak to it, as well as continuing to add more and more lessons from our Chinese textbook.
Technology & Teaching Assistant
The following summer, the Chinese Chatbot was integrated into the STARTALK language learning program for high school students hosted by Northeastern. According to the STARTALK website, "STARTALK is a national project funded by the National Security Agency. STARTALK’s mission is to increase the number of U.S. citizens learning, speaking, and teaching critical-need languages, with programs nationwide for students (K-16) and teachers." Growing up in a multicultural and bilingual American household, I have a personal connection to this mission that made me even more passionate about the project.
The idea was that the students could have fun using the Chatbot to study, while also learn how to create a chatbot of their own that they could then use as a personalized learning tool. In a group of three students and three faculty, we created a how-to video series to teach students how to create their own chatbots. We also worked as TAs of the course to answer students' questions or concerns as they work through the video series.
Check out one of my videos below!
This is Video 3 of the 5-part series. Check out the full series on our YouTube Channel!
The video series creates a chatbot in English, with the intent that as students gain Chinese skills throughout the introductory language course, they can transition their chatbot into Chinese and then use it to practice their conversational skills.
Today, the Chinese Chatbot is still being used in Chinese courses at Northeastern, and the team is still building it up for more courses and more use cases.
Try the chatbot for yourself!
It's in Mandarin, and it's activated by saying hello (你好 nǐ hǎo). Pro tip: If you know how to introduce yourself in Mandarin, tell the chatbot you want to practice Lesson 1 (我想练习第一课 wǒ xiǎng liànxí dì yī kè) !