photo by Brett Jordan
Recent advancements in artificial intelligence have made it easier for students to learn languages independently like never before. While AI programs like Chat GPT have limits, there’s no denying their power. Believe it or not, Chat GPT is only a few steps away from being able to function as a personal tutor.
Right now, students can use Chat GPT in many ways to help them learn English. In this post, I identify several ways students can utilize this resource for instruction, clarification, and practice. Keep in mind that you can use all of these strategies individually or in combination because Chat GPT remembers all previous questions and its responses within one chat session.
Create and Format Lists of Vocabulary with Translations, Definitions, Examples, or Notes and Format for Use with Anki or Another Flashcard-Based Study Program
One of the most effective study methods for learning a language is the Pimsleur Method, which uses spaced repetition to present study materials in a way that mimics the way that children acquire language naturally. The free program Anki allows students to create decks of flashcards from any desired study material and then uses the Pimsleur Method to help students learn the flashcards’ contents. Anki can integrate video, audio, and images into flashcards, not just text. While students can download hundreds of pre-made decks of flashcards for studying English and other languages, they can also make their own decks with content they want to study.
This is where Chat GPT comes in. Let’s say you are a student learning English, and you come across a news article or reading text from a lesson that has a lot of vocabulary words that are new to you. You can ask Chat GPT to define the words, provide translations, provide example sentences, and then format the words as a list of vocabulary terms separated from their definitions (or examples, translations, etc.) by a comma. The formatted list that Chat GPT produces can then be uploaded directly to Anki to create a new study deck.
“Identify all the difficult vocabulary words in this paragraph.”
“Define the words, and provide them as a list with the word first and then the definition/translation, and divide them by a comma.”
“Provide a list of words and their definitions related to the same topic as this paragraph, and divide the words and definitions using a comma.”
