Date:
Location:
Communication according to the linguist, Bill Van Patten, encompasses meaning, expression, interpretation, context, negotiation, and purpose (VanPatten, 2017). We use language to communicate messages and these messages have psychosocial or cognitive-informational purposes, often linked to the speaker’s intentions, beliefs, or feelings. Communication incorporates the expression and interpretation of this meaning, both verbal and non-verbal, including body language, eye contact, and turn-taking skills. Effective communicators are also mindful of their environment and cultural context as communication is closely embedded within its setting and participants. As AI secures a more prevalent role in our interactions and daily routines, thoughtful attention to communicationsteps to forefront. If we are communicating with a chatbot, who is the “speaker”? And what happens to communication when their intentions are no longer intentional? Is the chatbot language conveying a message that holds real “meaning”? What becomes “meaningful” when we interact with non-human machines? What do we gain and potentially lose in our ability to build relationships? What type of meaningful non-verbal indications (if any) exist in chatbot interactions? In a digital interaction, who are the “players” and how are “context” and “setting” established? Will chatbots have critical awareness of cultural contexts? This presentation will describe various integrations of AI chatbots and writing thought partners in a beginning language course entitled Paris in Virtual Reality. The goal and design of these interactive AI experiences aimed to foster meaningful expression, interpretation, context, negotiation, and purpose through carefully designed interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational communication tasks. Key principles, strategies, and challenges for developing interactive and culturally rich lessons using AI and other immersive platforms will be shared, discussed, and evaluated.
Speaker: Nicole Mills (Joint Director of Language Programs (interim), Coordinator of the French language program, Co-founder & Advisor of the Certificate in Teaching Language & Culture, Language Advisor for the Office of International Education, Adjunct Lecturer on Education in the Harvard Graduate School of Education)
Sponsor: RCCHU; Harvard University