Sanne H.G. van der Ven

Papers

Total Citations

370

H-Index

About

Sanne H.G. van der Ven is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of educational technology, second language acquisition, and human-robot interaction. Her primary research focuses on robot-assisted language learning (RALL), exploring how social robots can serve as effective tutors and peers in both first- and second-language education. Her landmark 2018 review, "Social Robots for Language Learning," has garnered 356 citations, establishing her as a leading voice in this rapidly evolving field. Van der Ven’s experimental work, including her study on the effects of a robot peer on L2 word learning (14 citations), investigates how social dynamics—comparing learning alone, with a human peer, or with a robot—influence vocabulary gains. Her contributions demonstrate that robots can mimic the motivational and collaborative benefits of human peers, offering scalable solutions for language education. By bridging robotics and pedagogy, van der Ven has advanced our understanding of how technology can personalize and enhance learning experiences, making her work essential for educators, technologists, and researchers interested in the future of interactive, AI-driven classrooms.