tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684614809616117076.post9027469955098934696..comments2012-01-19T04:58:55.474-08:00Comments on Duygu: Conversation with a Chatbotduygutezerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00575523173164148082noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684614809616117076.post-5232068808016370962011-12-28T04:47:39.859-08:002011-12-28T04:47:39.859-08:00Hocam -- You had a very good chat with ALICE. In ...Hocam -- You had a very good chat with ALICE. In fact, the responses she gave, if you analyzed the discourse, were remarkably coherent. Indeed, at moments it was like reading an excerpt of Alice talking to the Cheshire Cat in "Alice in Wonderland".<br /><br />Certainly there are many ways for students to communicate with 'real' people, especially nowadays with the Internet. And as a teacher, it would be wise to get your students involved in ePal or classroom exchanges or projects. http://www.epals.com/ is one I've used before, and it does work to an extent.<br /><br />However, with a more advanced class, a chat log with ALICE might be a useful way to demonstrate discourse analysis, as ALICE is programmed to keep the conversation going, no matter what. And, as in your conversation above, students could pick out the strategies she uses, as well as comment on the appropriateness of her replies (and perhaps suggest something better). The one big advantage with ALICE is that she is available 24/7/365 and you don't have to worry about her trying to stalk young learners, etc.<br /><br />BTW...I generally introduce myself when I start chatting to ALICE, e.g., "Hi! My name is Steve." It gives you a slightly better feel that she is talking to you. And, which might be a useful thing for students, you get the best responses if you type short, grammatically correct sentences, and do not use a lot of referentials. Again, there could be some value in terms of analyzing the chat log to see where and why there are breakdowns in communication.Steve Neufeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10223788009732515222noreply@blogger.com