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Aiming to improve English language skills at Japan’s elementary schools, the country’s Ministry of Education will rollout AI robots at about 500 schools to help students improve their oral communication skills.
The ministry found the robot initiative to be a “cheaper” and “easier” option than hiring enough native English speakers for every school. The program will also help the country overcome the pressing issue of teachers’ poor English language skills.
Japanese students are generally not fluent in speaking or writing in English. The issue will be addressed in new curriculum guidelines set to be fully implemented over the span of two years.
According to NHK, the ministry will launch the robot initiative in April on a trial basis.
Some school have already adopted similar robots to ensure students have fun while working on their English conversational skills.
The use of humanoid robots in classrooms is not a new practice. Countries like Singapore and Finland have launched similar programs in schools to help with teaching language as well as math lessons.
Early this year, primary schools in parts of Finland trialled robot teachers that can communicate in English, Finnish and German. The robots work alongside human teachers who receive feedback about student performance.
Schools can use the language robots on an extended period as they are encouraged to purchase them.
As for the math robot teachers, the program will be on trial for about a year.
In Singapore, preschools piloted a project in 2016 where two robots taught children in interactive ways. The robots were able to tell stories, dance, play music and encourage collaborative play.