Script-Based Design for Human-Computer Dialog in Given Scenarios for English Learners

In this paper we present the script-based approach of computer-guided dialog generation on a given topic for English students within the project of CSIEC (computer simulation in educational communication), an interactive Web-based human-computer dialog system using natural language for English instruction. To accomplish the drill or exam function in user-robot communication in natural language on a given topic, the system integrates a range of AI techniques: deep natural language processing, plan-based decision making, knowledge representation and reasoning. A GUI dialog script editor is implemented in order to facilitate the teachers to design such scripts easily. The application of this system in English class and the formal evaluation results demonstrate this script approach has great pedagogical promise in language education.