Language Evaluation of an AI Tutor to Support Secondary Science Students in Seychelles Creole

In the Seychelles public education system, the first two years of instruction are delivered in Seychelles Creole (autoglossonym: Kreol Seselwa). This is followed by an abrupt transition to English across all subjects, except mathematics, which is taught in English from Primary 1. This paper presents a pre-pilot study investigating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to support secondary school students in learning science – particularly those who may not have attained full proficiency in English. A growing number of studies highlight the advantages of using AI as a subject tutor, due to its ability to personalize learning and transcend language barriers. Previous research – specifically, an exploratory study evaluating a Kreol Seselwa mathematics chatbot designed for primary students (Butgereit, Pejakovic & Athanase, 2024) – indicates the potential benefits of employing a Kreol Seselwa AI tutor for students in Seychelles. This current study draws upon the fields of education, linguistics and artificial intelligence, with a focus on language evaluation. Due to adaptable content gained through continual feedback and scaffolding, Krashen’s Input Hypothesis (1985) was selected to inform this research. The pre-pilot study undertaken included a language evaluation of the tutoring bot by two of the authors, a science educator, and four secondary students, which was followed up by interviews.