CLIKK

The CLIKK research project (Chinese language teaching with large language models and a focus on intercultural communication skills) started place in October 2025. It investigates how AI-based virtual agents can support the acquisition of intercultural skills in Chinese language teaching. The project is being carried out by the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in cooperation with the University of Mannheim.

CLIKK develops a digital, didactically sound learning tool based on a situation-aware system. This makes it possible to simulate personalised, realistic intercultural communication situations in a protected, risk-free environment. The focus is on socially aware virtual agents that act as digital conversation partners based on large language models (LLMs). In interactive role-plays, learners can try out communication strategies, reflect on cultural and pragmatic norms, and develop their intercultural communication skills in a targeted manner.

CLIKK has a specific focus on socio-emotional components of learning, whose central importance for educational processes is increasingly recognised. CLIKK researches learning interaction and emotional experience in AI-supported scenarios. The combination of AI with these socio-emotional aspects represents a pioneering step towards enriching educational research and practice through transfer projects and creating the conditions for improved, human-centred AI systems. The project is being carried out in strict compliance with ethical standards and is fully compliant with the EU AI Act.

Official Page: https://www.bmftr.bund.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2024/04/120424-China.html