In recent years, robots have increasingly been implemented as tutors in both first- and second-language education. The field of robot-assisted language learning (RALL) is developing rapidly. Studies have been published targeting different languages, age groups, and aspects of language and using different robots and methodologies. The present review presents an overview of the results obtained so far in RALL research and discusses the current possibilities and limitations of using social robots for first- and second-language learning. Thirty-three studies in which vocabulary, reading skills, speaking skills, grammar, and sign language were taught are discussed. Beside insights into learning gains attained in RALL situations, these studies raise more general issues regarding students’ motivation and robots’ social behavior in learning situations. This review concludes with directions for future research on the use of social robots in language education.

Whether bilingual children outperform monolingual children on visuospatial and verbal working memory tests was investigated. In addition, relations among bilingual proficiency, language use at home, and working memory were explored. The bilingual Turkish-Dutch children (n=68) in this study were raised in families with lower socioeconomic status (SES) and had smaller Dutch vocabularies than Dutch monolingual controls (n=52). Having these characteristics, they are part of an under-researched bilingual population. It was found that the bilingual Turkish-Dutch children showed cognitive gains in visuospatial and verbal working memory tests when SES and vocabulary were controlled, in particular on tests that require processing and not merely storage. These findings converge with recent studies that have revealed bilingual cognitive advantages beyond inhibition, and they support the hypothesis that experience with dual language management influences the central executive control system that regulates processing across a wide range of task demands. Furthermore, the results show that bilingual cognitive advantages are found in socioeconomically disadvantaged bilingual populations and suggest that benefits to executive control are moderated by bilingual proficiency.

The relationship between structural quality and process quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) has been addressed in several studies. However, the findings are not conclusive. The present study was conducted in the Netherlands, which has a strongly regulated mid-quality ECEC system regarding structural aspects, with still considerable variation in process quality. The study employed a multi-method approach and extended the existing research in two ways. First, both observations of teacher–child interactions as well as teacher-reported developmental and educational activities were included as indicators of comprehensive emotional and educational process quality constructs. Second, to examine the relation between process quality and structural quality, commonly studied structural quality characteristics were complemented by less frequently studied measures of the professional development activities and education programs implemented at the centers. Results indicate that group size and child-to-teacher ratio are not related to emotional and educational process quality in the Dutch ECEC system. Teachers’ formal pre-service education has a positive, but small association with emotional process quality. The use of an education program and professional development activities at the center show the strongest associations with emotional and educational process quality. Implications for policy and practice are discussed

In recent years, it has been suggested that social robots have potential as tutors and educators for both children and adults. While robots have been shown to be effective in teaching knowledge and skill-based topics, we wish to explore how social robots can be used to tutor a second language to young children. As language learning relies on situated, grounded and social learning, in which interaction and repeated practice are central, social robots hold promise as educational tools for supporting second language learning. This paper surveys the developmental psychology of second language learning and suggests an agenda to study how core concepts of second language learning can be taught by a social robot. It suggests guidelines for designing robot tutors based on observations of second language learning in human–human scenarios, various technical aspects and early studies regarding the effectiveness of social robots as second language tutors.

We present a large-scale study of a series of seven lessons designed to help young children learn English vocabulary as a foreign language using a social robot. The experiment was designed to investigate 1) the effectiveness of a social robot teaching children new words over the course of multiple interactions (supported by a tablet), 2) the added benefit of a robot's iconic gestures on word learning and retention, and 3) the effect of learning from a robot tutor accompanied by a tablet versus learning from a tablet application alone. For reasons of transparency, the research questions, hypotheses and methods were preregistered. With a sample size of 194 children, our study was statistically well-powered. Our findings demonstrate that children are able to acquire and retain English vocabulary words taught by a robot tutor to a similar extent as when they are taught by a tablet application. In addition, we found no beneficial effect of a robot's iconic gestures on learning gains.