A Pilot Study of Preservice Teachers Accepting and Using Chatbots to Enhance CFL Education

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore how preservice teachers of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) perceive the integration of chatbots into CFL teaching. A group of 18 preservice CFL teachers participated in the study and were given two three-hour training sessions on chatbot editing. During the training, they had the opportunity to create their own chatbots to assist CFL learners in practicing conversation. Following the activities, the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their perceptions of the potential benefits of chatbots for CFL education. The findings indicate that the majority of preservice CFL teachers enjoyed the chatbot editing activity and agreed that chatbots should be incorporated into CFL teaching. Additionally, the CFL skills that they believed could be improved through the use of chatbots were identified and may be useful for future research and for educators.