It’s a sunny day in July, and 30 high school students from the New Haven area are gathered on Southern’s campus to study Chinese (Mandarin). This is a course with a difference — one that uses multiple approaches to meet students’ needs and spark their interests.
The tools in the toolbox include experienced language instructors and cultural activities such as field trips, art lessons, and guest speakers. In addition, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) place the high schoolers in the center of the action.
During the 2024-25 academic year, Southern’s Department of World Languages and Literatures introduced VR and AI into college-level French and Spanish classrooms. The move was made in partnership with META, which loaned the university state-of-the-art headsets, and Immerse, a leading VR language-learning company. The summer program builds on this approach with the addition of educational programs in Chinese (Mandarin) from another provider, ImmerseMe.
Empowering Language Learners
Southern’s two-week summer program — called Empowering Future Cities: Advancing Inclusivity and Sustainability — is funded by a leadership-level federal grant from the National Security Agency’s STARTALK program. The grant supports the study of critically needed languages, like Chinese and Russian, that have been identified as vital to global engagement. STARTALK’s goals are multifold: to increase the number of students studying critically needed languages, to develop highly effective teachers, and to increase proven course materials. Southern’s use of AI and VR in modern languages classrooms could be a model for other educators.
“The theory is that AI helps students learn in a variety of ways,” says Miaowei Weng, chairperson of the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Southern and the Chinese immersion program’s principal investigator. “One thought is that AI lowers students’ affective filter. Perhaps a student who is studying a new language will be more relaxed talking to AI rather than a real person — and more likely to practice speaking. That is the theory,” says Weng.
Several Southern computer science majors were involved with the program, providing technical insight and guidance — while experiencing the intricacies of running a federally sponsored program.
Community interest is sky high. “The application process was very competitive this year,” says Weng. After a post-assessment and successful completion of the program, the high school students are eligible for 1.5 credits through the SCSU Early College Program.
The participants also learn about investing in their own communities through the Chinese immersion program, which focuses on sustainability and inclusivity. “It encourages a deep understanding of cultural differences, fostering empathy and intercultural awareness, which is essential in today’s globalized society,” says program collaborator Luisa Piemontese, professor of world languages and literatures. ■
More on the STARTALK program
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