School of Languages at XJTLU Conference 2024

Traditional methods of vocabulary acquisition, such as keeping vocabulary journals and using flashcards, are proving inadequate and inconvenient for the diverse needs of university students. Existing vocabulary-learning platforms such as Quizlet and Baicizhan are often limited to standardized test (e.g. IELTS, TOEFL, CET-4, GRE) preparation, lacking academic and discipline-specific vocabulary. Some of them face accessibility barriers and charge high fees for premium accounts.

In response to these challenges, we, in collaboration with LMO and student technicians, are developing a vocabulary-learning tool specifically designed to cater to the unique needs of XJTLU students, especially in mastering academic vocabulary essential for their major studies. This innovative tool employs AI technology to personalize the learning experience by eliciting academic vocabulary from learner- and teacher-input reading texts to expand learners' vocabulary and generating tailored quizzes to evaluate understanding of words in their vocabulary bank. In addition to facilitating vocabulary learning, this tool is developed to foster students' self-directed learning, empowering them to take ownership of their learning journey.

Our workshop at this conference will explain the rationales for developing this AI-supported vocabulary-learning tool, demonstrate the main functions available on this platform, and share the problems we encountered as well as the valuable insights we have gained throughout the development. We aim to engage with the audience in a meaningful discussion surrounding the effective usage of this tool, exploring pathways for further development and potential adaptation for diverse EAP contexts.



传统的词汇习得方法，如使用词汇“日志”和制作单词卡，慢慢无法满足大学生多样化的词汇学习需求，且往往不够方便。市面上现有的词汇学习平台，如Quizlet和百词斩，通常范围局限于标准化考试（如雅思、托福、四六级、GRE）的准备，极少有学术和学科特定的词汇以供学生学习。其中有的平台因为是国外的平台，国内用户登录使用并不方便；有的平台则需要用户花高额费用开通高级账户才能使用所有功能。

针对这些问题，我们与LMO和学生程序员合作，正在开发一个专门针对XJTLU学生的词汇学习工具。区别于市面现有词汇学习平台，对于词汇的选择，我们特别把重点放在了不同专业学生学习所必需的学术词汇上。我们另外一个创新点在于利用人工智能技术打造个性化学习体验。目前具体的功能包括从学生和教师上传的阅读文本中提取学术词汇以扩展学习者的词汇量，以及随机生成词汇小测验来评估学生对于自己词库中单词的理解程度。除了促进词汇学习，此平台还旨在培养学生的自主学习能力，赋予他们对自己学习进程的主导权。

我们这场workshop将包含以下内容：解释开发这一AI加持的词汇学习工具的初衷及理论支撑；演示此平台上可用的主要功能；分享我们在开发过程中遇到的问题以及获得的见解以供与会者参考。我们旨在与观众进行有意义的讨论：探讨这一工具的使用方式，探索进一步开发的方向，以及未来是否可以做出此平台不同版本以适应不同的EAP教学背景。