Robot-Assisted Language Learning Increases Functional Connectivity in Children's Brain

Maryam Alimardani; Jesse L. P. Duret; Anne-Lise Jouen; Kazuo Hiraki

doi:10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889406

Robot-Assisted Language Learning Increases Functional Connectivity in Children's Brain

Maryam Alimardani
, Jesse L. P. Duret
, Anne-Lise Jouen
, Kazuo Hiraki

Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The current study investigated how robot tutors influence brain activity during child-robot interaction (CRI) for learning of second language vocabulary. We gathered EEG signals from two groups of children; 1) Robot group (N=21) who listened to a storytelling social robot and learned French words, and 2) Display group (N=20) who listened to the same story in the French language mediated by only a computer screen. To measure learning-induced changes in the brain, functional connectivity analysis was conducted on EEG signals, which quantifies the communication between brain regions during the learning phase. Results showed a significantly higher functional brain connectivity for the Robot group in the theta frequency band, which has been previously associated with language functions in neuroscientific literature. Our results provide neurophysiological evidence for the benefit of robot tutors in second language learning in children.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	HRI 2022
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings of the 2022 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction
Publisher	IEEE Computer Society
Pages	674-677
Number of pages	4
ISBN (Electronic)	9781538685549
ISBN (Print)	9781665407328
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889406
Publication status	Published - 2022
Externally published	Yes
Event	17th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, HRI 2022 - Sapporo, Japan Duration: 7 Mar 2022 → 10 Mar 2022

Publication series

Name	ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction
Volume	2022-March
ISSN (Electronic)	2167-2148

Conference

Conference	17th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, HRI 2022
Country/Territory	Japan
City	Sapporo
Period	7/03/22 → 10/03/22

Funding

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This study was supported by Grant-in-Aid Research Fellow 15F15007 and 15F15046.

Access to Document

10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889406

Persistent URL (handle)

Persistent link

Cite this

Alimardani, M., Duret, J. L. P., Jouen, A.-L., & Hiraki, K. (2022). Robot-Assisted Language Learning Increases Functional Connectivity in Children's Brain. In HRI 2022: Proceedings of the 2022 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (pp. 674-677). (ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction; Vol. 2022-March). IEEE Computer Society. https://doi.org/10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889406

@inproceedings{dd5e07f0e5a047cebb95472665594df9,

title = "Robot-Assisted Language Learning Increases Functional Connectivity in Children's Brain",

abstract = "The current study investigated how robot tutors influence brain activity during child-robot interaction (CRI) for learning of second language vocabulary. We gathered EEG signals from two groups of children; 1) Robot group (N=21) who listened to a storytelling social robot and learned French words, and 2) Display group (N=20) who listened to the same story in the French language mediated by only a computer screen. To measure learning-induced changes in the brain, functional connectivity analysis was conducted on EEG signals, which quantifies the communication between brain regions during the learning phase. Results showed a significantly higher functional brain connectivity for the Robot group in the theta frequency band, which has been previously associated with language functions in neuroscientific literature. Our results provide neurophysiological evidence for the benefit of robot tutors in second language learning in children.",

author = "Maryam Alimardani and Duret, \{Jesse L. P.\} and Anne-Lise Jouen and Kazuo Hiraki",

year = "2022",

doi = "10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889406",

language = "English",

isbn = "9781665407328",

series = "ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction",

publisher = "IEEE Computer Society",

pages = "674--677",

booktitle = "HRI 2022",

note = "17th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, HRI 2022 ; Conference date: 07-03-2022 Through 10-03-2022",

}

Alimardani, M, Duret, JLP, Jouen, A-L & Hiraki, K 2022, Robot-Assisted Language Learning Increases Functional Connectivity in Children's Brain. in HRI 2022: Proceedings of the 2022 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, vol. 2022-March, IEEE Computer Society, pp. 674-677, 17th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, HRI 2022, Sapporo, Japan, 7/03/22. https://doi.org/10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889406

Robot-Assisted Language Learning Increases Functional Connectivity in Children's Brain. / Alimardani, Maryam; Duret, Jesse L. P.; Jouen, Anne-Lise et al.
HRI 2022: Proceedings of the 2022 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. IEEE Computer Society, 2022. p. 674-677 (ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction; Vol. 2022-March).

Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Robot-Assisted Language Learning Increases Functional Connectivity in Children's Brain

AU - Alimardani, Maryam

AU - Duret, Jesse L. P.

AU - Jouen, Anne-Lise

AU - Hiraki, Kazuo

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - The current study investigated how robot tutors influence brain activity during child-robot interaction (CRI) for learning of second language vocabulary. We gathered EEG signals from two groups of children; 1) Robot group (N=21) who listened to a storytelling social robot and learned French words, and 2) Display group (N=20) who listened to the same story in the French language mediated by only a computer screen. To measure learning-induced changes in the brain, functional connectivity analysis was conducted on EEG signals, which quantifies the communication between brain regions during the learning phase. Results showed a significantly higher functional brain connectivity for the Robot group in the theta frequency band, which has been previously associated with language functions in neuroscientific literature. Our results provide neurophysiological evidence for the benefit of robot tutors in second language learning in children.

AB - The current study investigated how robot tutors influence brain activity during child-robot interaction (CRI) for learning of second language vocabulary. We gathered EEG signals from two groups of children; 1) Robot group (N=21) who listened to a storytelling social robot and learned French words, and 2) Display group (N=20) who listened to the same story in the French language mediated by only a computer screen. To measure learning-induced changes in the brain, functional connectivity analysis was conducted on EEG signals, which quantifies the communication between brain regions during the learning phase. Results showed a significantly higher functional brain connectivity for the Robot group in the theta frequency band, which has been previously associated with language functions in neuroscientific literature. Our results provide neurophysiological evidence for the benefit of robot tutors in second language learning in children.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85140762890

U2 - 10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889406

DO - 10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889406

M3 - Conference contribution

SN - 9781665407328

T3 - ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction

SP - 674

EP - 677

BT - HRI 2022

PB - IEEE Computer Society

T2 - 17th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, HRI 2022

Y2 - 7 March 2022 through 10 March 2022

ER -

Alimardani M, Duret JLP, Jouen AL, Hiraki K. Robot-Assisted Language Learning Increases Functional Connectivity in Children's Brain. In HRI 2022: Proceedings of the 2022 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. IEEE Computer Society. 2022. p. 674-677. (ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction). Epub 2022 Sept 29. doi: 10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889406

Robot-Assisted Language Learning Increases Functional Connectivity in Children's Brain

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Funding

Access to Document

Persistent URL (handle)

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this