Symbiotic value of an embodied agent in language learning

Our perception and understanding are influenced by a speaker´s face and accompanying gestures, as well as the actual sound of the speech. Given the value of face-to-face interaction, our persistent goal has been to develop, evaluate, and use animated agents to teach speech and language. Baldi® is an accurate three-dimensional agent appropriately aligned with either synthesized or natural speech. We describe our language-training program, which utilizes Baldi as a tutor, who guides students through a variety of exercises designed to teach vocabulary and grammar, to improve speech articulation, and to develop linguistic and phonological awareness.