Language is an essential component of human communication and interaction. Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, specifically in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and speech-recognition, have made is possible for conversational agents, also known as chatbots, to converse with language learners in a way that mimics human speech.…

AI chatbots, e.g. ChatGPT, are becoming increasingly popular in education as a means to enhance student learning experiences and improve teaching efficiency. This study utilizes NVivo 12 Plus to examine the role of AI chatbots in education, ethical considerations, and sentimental analysis regarding the utilization of ChatGPT in education. ChatGPT…

This emerging technology report delves into the role of ChatGPT, an OpenAI conversational AI, in language learning. The initial section introduces ChatGPT's nature and highlights its features, including accessibility, personalization, immersive learning, and instant feedback, which render it a valuable asset for language learners and educators…

Lexical frequency benchmarks have been extensively used to investigate second language (L2) lexical sophistication, especially in language assessment studies. However, indices based on semantic co-occurrence, which may be a better representation of the experience language users have with lexical items, have not been sufficiently tested as…

Recent years have seen a flourishing of Natural Language Processing models that can mimic many aspects of human language fluency. These models harness a simple, decades-old idea: It is possible to learn a lot about word meanings just from exposure to language, because words similar in meaning are used in language in similar ways. The successes of…

Given the importance of conversation practice in language learning, chatbots, especially ChatGPT, have attracted considerable attention for their ability to converse with learners using natural language. This review contributes to the literature by examining the currently unclear overall effect of using chatbots on language learning performance…

The linguistic input children receive across early childhood plays a crucial role in shaping their knowledge about the world. To study this input, researchers have begun applying distributional semantic models to large corpora of child-directed speech, extracting various patterns of word use/co-occurrence. Previous work using these models has not…

Purpose: This study examines the accuracy of Interaction Detection in Early Childhood Settings (IDEAS), a program that automatically transcribes audio files and estimates linguistic units relevant to speech-language therapy, including part-of-speech units that represent features of language complexity, such as adjectives and coordinating…

Large language model (LLM)-based conversational agents (CAs), with their advanced generative capabilities and human-like conversational interfaces, can serve as reading partners for children during dialogic reading and have shown promise in enhancing children's comprehension and conversational skills. However, there is limited research on the…

This paper explores the implications of ChatGPT for language teaching through the lens of Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy. A review of recent research on ChatGPT reveals promising opportunities for personalised and interactive learning, but also risks of propagating cultural bias, plagiarism and passive learning. Freire's concepts of 'banking'…

Natural language processing (NLP) has captivated the attention of educational researchers over the past three decades. In this study, a total of 2,480 studies were retrieved through a comprehensive literature search. We used neural topic modeling and pre-trained language modeling to explore the research topics pertaining to the application of NLP…

Amid the ongoing discussion about the potential of LLMs (Large Language Models) to facilitate language learning, there has been a broad spectrum of views in academia. However, little is known about the different viewpoints of students and what contributes to these differences. In light of this, this study adopts Q-methodology, a mixed-methods…

The application of natural language processing (NLP) technology in the field of education has attracted considerable attention. This study takes 716 articles from the Web of Science database from 1998 to 2023 as its research sample. Using bibliometrics as the theoretical foundation, and employing methods such as literature review and knowledge…

Preverbal communication means any social behavior that occurs before children communicate verbally. Generally, these communicative behaviors are categorized into two ways: as behavior regulation (BR) or joint attention (JA) skills. BR, also referred to as requesting, involves the use of behaviors to gain something or receive assistance (Mundy et…

With recent public access to large language models via chatbots, the field of language education is seeing unprecedented levels of interest in how AI will affect language learning and teaching. As attention is primarily focused on student misuse of the technology, the potential affordances of generative AI tools may often be overlooked. In this…