L2 learners’ preferences of dialogue agents: A key to achieve adaptive motivational support?

Abstract

This study reports on differences observed among learners’ preferences of two conversational strategies embedded in a dialogue agent dedicated to enhancing their willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language. We found that the combination of both strategies is, in general, the most preferred by learners. However, perception, as well as effects of the support provided by these strategies seem to vary according to learners’ level of willingness to communicate. Lower WTC learners tended to prefer affective backchannels while their counterparts seem rather favor communication strategies. These results were also in line with posttest results which revealed that learners’ expected WTC tended to be higher after interacting with dialogue agents embedding their preferred strategies. In sum, these results can be viewed as preliminary evidence of the meaningfulness to account for second language learners’ preferences towards balancing adaptively the type of strategies employed by dialogue agents to motivate learners towards communication in the target second language.