Carrot or stick: The effect of reward and punishment in robot assisted language learning

Abstract

Feedback plays an important role in language learning. However, limited research can be found on the influence of feedback in robot-assisted language learning. Therefore, this study aims to identify the effects of robot-feedback on learning gain, motivation, and anthropomorphism. In total, 60 students participated in a language learning task, with a robot using one of three feedback conditions: reward, punishment, and no feedback. The results showed that feedback only affected learning gain: students learned more with punishment, followed by reward, compared to no feedback. Thus, our results underscore the importance of feedback in RALL.