Human-Computer Interaction and Multilingual Competence of Students in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

This SSHRC-funded project’s goals are to build an international research consortium on student experiences of AI-assisted language programs and human-computer interaction.

The overall goals of this research project are to build a research consortium on student experiences through partnerships with research collaborators from European Union and associated countries. This consortium will advance current knowledge and research around AI-assisted language programs and dialogue systems, multilingual competence and human-computer interaction.

This project is built upon a current research network that comprises researchers with a common approach centering on an intercultural perspective of students. Since 2019, this research group has been set up including researchers from institutions across North America and Europe, e.g. Canada, Poland, France, Germany, the UK, Denmark and Finland.

Recently, the unparalleled and exponential rise of AI-assisted language learning programs and dialogue systems, has provided novel opportunities for sojourners to enhance their foreign language proficiency and multilingual competence. In the international context, the experiences of AI-dialogue systems and learning programs help enhance foreign language proficiency of sojourners who travel internationally to achieve specific goals, e.g. expatriates, tourists, and students. The burgeoning of AI-assisted language learning programs and dialogue systems not only impact daily interactions and exchanges between people of diverse origins, but also provides great potential to focus on shared belonging and meanings to stimulate dialogues and cooperation among heterogenous cultural groups, to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of dialogues, exchanges, interactions with involvement of AI.

Some important implications are expected from this research. First, the research insights will contribute to advancing current understanding of AI language learning programs and dialogue systems and their impact on multilingual competence, social inclusion, and personal development, thereby helping to promote socio-economic transformation. Second, the research network will contribute to the development of knowledge and theory in human-AI interaction. Third, it promotes a more nuanced understanding of multilingual skills and cultural competence involving AI-human interactions in multinational and international business settings. Finally, the research insights will enhance the foreign language proficiency and multilingual competence of students across diverse cultural backgrounds. This, in turn, can improve students' experiences and well-being in higher education institutions.