Conversation Design as a Pedagogical Strategy in ESL Classrooms: Co-creation of a Chatbot by Beginner-level Learners in India

This study explores the use of conversation design as a pedagogical strategy in an ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom. The participants of the study are 14-year-old beginner-level learners of English who speak Hindi and reside in Hyderabad, India. Learners are tasked with collaboratively designing, creating, and testing a chatbot. Before attempting the task, learners are provided with a foundational knowledge of Artificial Intelligence (AI), conversation design principles, and the use of a no-code development platform that uses a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to design and test chatbots. The learners are allowed to make use of their own language, i.e. Hindi, to carry out discussions and design the English-speaking Chatbot. They are also required to test their Chatbot by having conversations with it. While several studies look into the use of chatbots of various kinds in language education, there is a significant gap in research related to the use of conversational user interface (CUI) design in language classrooms. The study demonstrates that integrating conversation design into a multilingual ESL classroom promotes engagement, contextual relevance, and personalized learning experiences, allowing learners to participate actively and take ownership of their language acquisition process.