arXiv:2607.21887cs.HCcs.CL2026-07

用适配学习者水平的虚拟对话伙伴,降低英语学习焦虑。

Towards Reducing Foreign Language Anxiety Using Level-Appropriate Embodied Conversational Agents

  • 多智能体系统动态生成符合CEFR等级的对话内容
  • 87.4%的对话句落在学习者自评水平附近,优于未简化系统
  • 适合语言教育研究者与教育科技开发者参考

外语焦虑(FLA)是第二语言习得(SLA)的重要障碍,尤其在口语交流中。随着大语言模型(LLM)广泛应用,与LLM代理互动被证明有助于降低外语焦虑。本研究提出一种基于多智能体的具身对话系统,根据欧洲共同语言参考框架(CEFR)级别生成适配学习者水平的英语对话内容。系统采用“生成-评估-重生成”循环,结合多个LLM与水平分类器,实现对学习者能力的动态响应。初步小样本实验以日本大学生为对象,对比了该系统与未简化对话代理的效能。结果显示,系统生成的87.4%句子位于学习者自评水平的±1个CEFR等级内,显著优于未简化系统的54.1%。尽管由于样本量小,未发现显著降低焦虑的统计证据,但结果提供了可用性反馈与文化适配设计启示,将指导未来研究。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) can be a major barrier to second language acquisition (SLA), especially in conversational contexts. With the proliferation of large language models (LLMs) throughout all areas of life, recent work suggests that interacting with LLM agents can be instrumental within the field of SLA and foreign language education, especially for reducing FLA. Related work also suggests that linguistic demands and task complexity can be predictors of FLA, implying that the use of demanding, complex language could lead to learners experiencing higher FLA. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-agent embodied conversational system that generates level-appropriate dialogue for English language learners. These levels are based on those defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to describe non-native listener and speaker proficiency. Using a "generate-evaluate-regenerate" loop with multiple LLM agents and a level classifier, it achieves a desired simplicity that is adaptive to the user's proficiency level. We also share the results of a preliminary small-sample pilot study that tested this system with Japanese university students, to see whether it would yield lower FLA levels than an unsimplified embodied conversational agent. Analysis of conversational output showed that 87.4% of dialogue sentences generated by the proposed multi-agent system fell within one predicted CEFR level of the learner's self-assessed proficiency, compared to 54.1% for the unsimplified agent. This suggests that the novel system is better able to produce output at an appropriate level for the learner. Though this study did not yield statistically significant evidence that the system reduces FLA levels in Japanese learners of English, likely due to a small sample size, it provides usability findings and culturally-informed design insights that will inform future study.

语言学习具身对话焦虑缓解CEFR

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