O n f e r e n c e

Rong-Jyue Wang*, Wen-Chi Vivian Wu**
*National Formosa University, Huwei Township, Taiwan 
**Providence University, Taichung, Taiwan
[e-mail], [e-mail] 
The Effect of Intelligent Robots on English Vocabulary Acquisition 
of Senior Citizens in Taiwan 
Bio data 
Rong-Jyue Wang
was born in Tai-Chung, Taiwan, in 1967. He received the B.S. and 
Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Electrical Engineering, National Central University, 
Chung-Li, Taiwan, in 1990 and 1995, respectively. He has been an Associate Professor 
with the Department of Electronic Engineering, National Formosa University, Huwei, 
Taiwan, since 2007. His present research interests include intelligent robots, intelligence 
control, fuzzy control, image recognition, and robust control. 
Wen-chi Vivian Wu
, who received her doctoral degree in 2006, is a professor of the 
Department of English Language as well as a director of the CALL R & D Center at 
Providence University in Taiwan. Her recent research areas include CALL, cross-cultural 
communication, robotics learning, English for Specific Purposes, and learner motivation 
for English as a global language. She has published extensively in CALL related journals. 
Over the past few years, she has integrated international experiences into her 
conversation and writing courses linking her students with college students and 
university professors in America. 
Abstract 
In response to the rapid increase of Taiwanese senior citizens in the population and their 
need for life-long learning, the goal of this study was to provide a solution for active and 
effective English vocabulary learning for this age group via the use of an intelligent robot 
as a teaching assistant in the context of scenario-based vocabulary learning. With this in 
mind, the researchers for this project strived to engage senior adults in vocabulary 
acquisition and learning contents embedded in diverse scenarios through the company of 
and interaction with, the robot, thus leading to subsequent enhancement of their English 
learning motivation and interest as well as improvement in their English proficiency.
By the end of implementation of this project, the researchers proposed a brand new 
learning approach aligned with a professional teaching assistant/peer tutor robot and 
proved that r-learning could not only lower the teaching load for instructors but also 
improve the effectiveness and efficiency of English learning outcomes for senior citizens.
The findings also revealed that an improved English ability and higher level of confidence 
and motivation could enable the senior people to become more active and valuable global 
citizens by communicating with people around the world and connecting to the rest of the 
world.
 

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-352- 
2014 CALL Conference 
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