Robot teachers -- who never get angry or make sarcastic remarks -- have been a hit with pupils during a pilot project in some South Korean schools, a government report said Thursday。

　　Elementary school children responded favourably to the robotic teachers, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said, citing a survey by educational researchers。

　　English-teaching robots were sent to three provincial schools for eight weeks starting in late December。

　　And programmable electronic devices resembling robots, which teach maths, science and art, were used in 10 Seoul schools for five weeks from November。

　　The researchers found that the English-teaching robots helped raise interest in the language and boosted the confidence of students。

　　"Tele-presence" robots are controlled remotely by an English teacher and are equipped with a microphone and video camera. Autonomous units use voice-recognition software to interact with children。

　　The government has expressed interest in robots to give rural school children more learning opportunities。

　　"The machines spurred creativity and had a positive influence on the attitude of students," a ministry official told Yonhap news agency。

　　Officials in charge of the project are working to improve the quality of robot teaching and iron out glitches before any decision to expand their use。

　　韩国政府上周四发布一份报告称，该国在其部分学校试行的机器人老师受到学生的青睐。这些老师从不会生气，也不会数落学生。

　　韩国知识经济部援引教育研究人员开展的一项调查说，学生们对机器人老师的反应很好。

　　去年12月底，一批机器人英语老师被“派”往韩国三所省立学校进行为期八周的授课。

　　去年11月份，一批教授数学、自然科学和艺术课程的可编程机器人在韩国首尔的十所学校进行为期五周的教学。

　　研究人员发现，机器人英语老师有助于提高学生学习语言的兴趣，并增强了他们的自信心。

　　这些“远距”机器人由一名英文老师远程遥控，配备有麦克风和摄像机。而机器人本身则通过声音识别软件与学生们进行互动交流。

　　韩国政府表示将通过推广机器人教学项目为农村地区的孩子提供更多的学习机会。

　　知识经济部的一名官员在接受韩国联合通讯社的采访时说：“机器人老师能激发学生的创造力，并能对学生的学习态度产生积极影响。”

　　负责这一项目的官员们正努力改进机器人的教学质量，并在决定推广使用前解决一些小问题。