In this post, Nicky Hockly, author of Nicky Hockly’s 30 Essentials for Using Artificial Intelligence discusses the growing use of generative AI to support language learning and outlines the questions that teachers and managers should consider before introducing it to their lessons. She also shares some practical examples of how to use generative AI tools.
My first brush with artificial intelligence took place in the 1980s. I was at university in the UK and living in a shared house with three other students, all of whom were undertaking a degree in ‘Artificial Intelligence – or ‘AI’, as I soon learned to call it. I didn’t know it at the time, but AI would later become deeply intertwined with my work in English language teaching.
My second encounter with AI came in the late 1990s, by which time I had settled in Spain. I was invited to work in the materials development team of one of the first fully online English language schools. The materials used the ‘rule-based AI’ programming approach of the time to deliver automated language learning activities, such as comprehension questions for readings and grammar exercises. In this approach, typically a listening or reading is followed by multiple-choice items, with pre-programmed feedback given to learners such as ‘Yes, well done!’ when learners chose the correct answer, or ‘That’s not right – try again!’ when they didn’t. This was all long before the advent of tools like Skype and Zoom.
The shift from rule-based to generative AI
Rule-based AI has underpinned most digital language learning materials since then. The CD-ROMs that accompanied many coursebooks in the 1990s, and the websites and apps that offer learners extra automated language practice, are still often underpinned by rule-based AI. In short, AI is nothing new in language teaching.
Fast forward to today though, and generative AI is the new kid on the block. Unlike the simple “if x, then y” logic of rule-based AI, modern AI systems use artificial neural networks that attempt to mathematically simulate human brain networks. This means that generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Bing, Claude and others) are very good at communicating, in both text and audio formats. And if language is communication, there is clearly a place for generative AI in language teaching.
Use generative AI to complement your teaching
However, while AI can support various aspects of language learning, it cannot fully replicate human connection. Language is fundamentally about communication, but interaction with machines, even very sophisticated ones, lacks the nuance, empathy and connection inherent in human conversation. Indeed, research has shown that the role of the teacher is key to supporting effective student learning. Reflecting this, the concept of ‘digital pedagogy’ has emerged alongside the rise of learning technologies, emphasising the thoughtful and critical use of digital tools in education. Rather than adopting technology simply because it’s available, this approach encourages teachers to carefully evaluate when and how digital tools genuinely enhance learning – and when they don’t.
While generative AI represents a potentially powerful language learning tool, it should be viewed as one tool among many, complementing rather than replacing human teachers. The concept of ‘human-centred AI’ promotes developing systems that enhance human capabilities while maintaining transparency, equity and privacy. The goal is to harness AI’s potential while preserving the essential human elements of education, particularly the social interactions that are fundamental to learning and communication.
Using AI
Generative AI tools can help teachers in several time-saving ways. Here are some examples:
· Use AI to create lessons for your learners on topics that may not be typically covered in coursebooks. For example, I’ve created lessons on the effects of e-waste in Ghana, or how Swedish bands have changed the face of pop music. To do this, you can use a prompt like ‘Write a lesson plan for elementary English language learners on the topic of xxx’. The more detail you include in your prompt, the more tailored to your needs the lesson will be.
· Use AI for help with administrative tasks, such as drafting communications for parents that can strengthen the all-important home-school connection. This can include welcome letters, regular updates on class activities, individual learner progress reports and permissions forms – all of which you can then edit and personalise.
· Use AI to generate tests and/or provide feedback on learners’ work, and to create projects that integrate authentic assessment.
· Use AI to draft wellbeing policies or guidelines on ethical use of AI for learners.
Remember that all AI-generated output needs to be carefully reviewed to ensure that the content is factually correct, and then edited to fit your own needs.
Consider the ‘big questions’
The principled use of generative AI in our teaching needs to be accompanied by a critical awareness of the shortcomings of these tools. Asking questions around what happens to learners’ data (including data privacy and ownership) when generative AI tools are used, is one place to start. This is just one of the ‘big questions’ that we should ask. Other areas to interrogate include fairness, accessibility, bias and copyright, and how these are addressed (if at all) by AI tools. Teachers and their institutions need to ensure that any use of AI is principled, transparent and supportive of language learning.
For school managers and directors of studies, many of the big questions need to be asked at procurement stage, before AI tools and systems are introduced into a school. Areas to explore, and questions to ask at procurement stage, can be found in a framework from The Institute of Ethical AI in Education (https://tinyurl.com/yeykxat7), for example.
We can expect an increasingly AI-infused future. To ensure that we make the best of this, for ourselves as teachers and for our learners, we need to be informed, principled and – most importantly – critical users of this latest form of AI technology.
If you would like to find out more about Artificial Intelligence, head over to our ‘Generative AI’ hub.