Stella Xin Yin


2024

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Optimizing Code-Switching in Conversational Tutoring Systems: A Pedagogical Framework and Evaluation
Zhengyuan Liu | Stella Xin Yin | Nancy Chen
Proceedings of the 25th Annual Meeting of the Special Interest Group on Discourse and Dialogue

Large language models demonstrate remarkable proficiency in various tasks across multiple languages. However, their potential in code-switching remains underexplored, particularly in cultural and educational contexts. Code-switching or translanguaging plays a crucial role in bilingual education, facilitating comprehension and engagement among students with varied linguistic proficiencies. In this work, we present a pedagogy-inspired framework that introduces traditional classroom practices of code-switching to intelligent tutoring systems. Specifically, we develop fine-grained instructional strategies tailored to multilingual and educational needs. We conduct experiments involving both LLM-based evaluation and expert analysis to assess the effectiveness of translanguaging in tutoring dialogues. Our experimental results indicate that strategic code-switching can significantly enhance the learning experience. This work not only advances dialogic tutors in language learning, but also extends LLMs to better accommodate multilingual interaction.