Abstract: In this talk, I’ll present the potential of using biosensor-based feedback to support instructors in providing emotional and instructional scaffolding for English language learners (ELLs). This research includes classifying the intensity and characteristics of public speaking anxiety (PSA) and foreign language anxiety (FLA) among ELLs, with a view to providing tailored feedback to instructors. A focus group interview was conducted to identify instructors’ needs for solutions providing emotional and instructional support for ELLs. This was followed by an ideation and design session, where prototypes incorporating biosensing technology were designed to support teaching. I conclude this talk by discussing the feasibility of using electrodermal activity (EDA) to measure ELLs’ emotional states, provide an algorithm for classifying speaking anxiety, and offer design guidance for an educational system using EDA data in an ESL/EFL environment as well as the instructors’ perspectives about using biosensor-based feedback in teaching.

Bio: Heera Lee is a Lecturer in the Information Studies department at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her interest research area in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is educational technologies and affective computing for English language learners (ELLs) from diverse cultures. She has been focusing on investigating contributing factors to the public speaking anxiety (PSA) and foreign language speaking anxiety (FLA) among ELLs by analyzing their self-report questionnaire, individual interviews, non-verbal behaviors, and physiological data including electrodermal activity (EDA). These interests stem from her teaching experience as an instructor in English Language Institute (ELI), Teaching Assistant in undergraduate programs at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and Adjunct faculty at Towson University.

Join us in the lab or on Zoom (register here).