The future of learning is here with artificial intelligence! Using AI in language learning has many advantages, including accelerating learning and improving its outcome. However, technological advances will never replace the human touch but become an invaluable ally.
“AI is a tool. The choice about how it gets deployed is ours”. Oren Etzioni, a pioneer in artificial intelligence.
What Can Artificial Intelligence Do for Education?
AI is a versatile tool that can support education in different ways. This is what artificial intelligence can do:
- Automate routine admin tasks so teachers have more time to focus on their students.
- Facilitate the assessment process through real-time analysis of students’ strengths and weaknesses.
- Customize learning content and experience to individual students.
- Cater to all learning needs, particularly to neurodiverse students or those with diverse physical needs.
- Provide practice opportunities anywhere, anytime.
- Prepare learners for future job demands by improving their critical thinking, problem-solving, and digital literacy skills.
- Allow learners to create their own journey and thus become independent learners.
- Reduce learners’ anxiety about speaking a language by acting as a conversational partner outside the classroom.
AI and Language Learning
Adaptive AI tools play an important role in language learning. These tools learn from collected data to address learners’ unique needs. As a result, adaptive AI tools can deliver customized language learning resources and activities that suit learners’ needs and preferences.
Practical Uses of AI
Speaking
AI-powered tools, like personal voice assistants Alexa or Siri, can act as conversational partners to enhance fluency and practice pronunciation. A study found that using these tools supported vocabulary acquisition and improved language skills.
Writing
A study conducted by Dizon and Gayed (2021) found that the use of grammar checkers like Grammarly helped learners acquire lexical variation, enhance writing skills, and make fewer mistakes. Other writing tools include translation tools, writing assistants, and pattern
checkers.
Reading
Findings suggest that gamification helps learn vocabulary and understand meaning by contextualizing vocabulary more effectively than textbooks.
We include gamified activities in our lesson plans, and use tools like Genially, Kahoot!, and Wordwall.
Teaching
A study (Kim, 2022) found that AI used data from diagnostic assessments to provide all kinds of teaching materials at the students’ required level. Therefore, instructors have more free time to devote to tutoring.
Some Stats
According to a British Council survey on artificial intelligence (Artificial intelligence and English language teaching: Preparing for the future), 48% of surveyed teachers from different countries said they use language learning apps, 37% use language generation AI, 31% use chatbots, and 22% use automated grading. Significantly, 24% admitted to not using AI tools at all with their students.
When asked what they use AI tools for, they replied creating materials (57%), English language practice (53%), creating lesson plans (43%), and correcting students’ use of English (33%).
Drawbacks of Using AI in Education
Some of the issues concerning the use of AI are data privacy and data breaches, diminished human interaction that affects the development of communication skills, inequality of accessibility and affordability of AI technology widening the digital divide, overreliance on technology, and lack of emotional intelligence that prevents students from learning social skills.
How We Use AI in Our Lessons
We use artificial intelligence tools to work more efficiently by automating repetitive tasks and analyzing large amounts of data in real time. These processes help us make better data-driven decisions, create new business opportunities, and reduce costs and response time. Besides, we have integrated AI into our management, marketing, and customer support processes, allowing us to be more effective and agile, and freeing up time to work on innovative and exciting new projects.
Our company invests in training our staff in the latest AI technologies to become more efficient, adaptable, and competitive to provide the best service we can.
Talk to us about our technology-based corporate language training programs and unleash the power of communication.
