Kara Yarrington, professor of Spanish and director of the introductory Spanish program, has been awarded a $225,000 grant by the IMMERSE Essentials Funding Program.
IMMERSE is an emerging AI-based learning application with special focus on real-world simulation practice, personalization, and fluency development.
Yarrington’s award will provide 750 introductory Spanish students with free access to the program during the 2026-27 academic year.
“Students' regular course work will be supplemented by IMMERSE's self-paced lessons with adaptive Al to progress independently to improve their Spanish fluency for more effective communication,” said Yarrington.
Though the program may be new to students, Yarrington has worked with the company before. She conducted research on the efficacy of a live-tutoring function incorporating digital avatars, focusing on the effects the format had on the “motivation, anxiety, complexity, accuracy, and fluency” of beginner Spanish students.
“In the fall, I will be investigating how interactions with Al will affect those same factors,” she said. “I’m grateful to be able to provide this opportunity to my students—at no cost to them—to interact with this state-of-the-art technology. This will further their Spanish abilities and their technological literacy to better prepare them for their careers after graduation.”