What can Chat-GPT do for language learning?

As a text-based AI, Chat-GPT is expected to have a significant impact on various industries. Based on my personal experience, I believe Chat-GPT can be very helpful in assisting language teaching and learning, but at the same time, I also have some concerns about it.




1. How should language teachers use Chat-GPT？


Chat-GPT can be used as an efficient search engine. Language teachers can ask it for suggestions and ideas. To start with the test, I asked for suggestions on teaching activities with just one sentence.



It can be seen that 7 activities are provided, but the explanation for each is short and vague.



Afterwards, I created a new conversation and expanded the context of the question, using about 100 words to describe my students and class.


The answers were more detailed in the explanations for each activity. It even described the process of the activity.



The provided activities are generally reasonable and of a relatively good quality compared to some web blogs. To some extent, teachers can find their teaching ideas through Chat-GPT.




2. How should language learners use Chat-GPT？


I first attempted to translate an English sentence into Chinese using ChatGPT. This paragraph is from the assignment description of my ICT in TESOL course. 


Then I used Deepl and Google translation respectively, and the results are as follows:



The latter two translations begin with the word '然后(then)', which does not as natural and smooth as the translation from Chat-GPT.




3. Some concerns on Chat-GPT as a generative AI


My biggest concern about generative AI is that, as a tool, it is interfering with the most essential of human capabilities - thinking. AI is fundamentally different from tools like the internet and search engines, which are a tool for presenting the results of information from others' thinking. Its creation enhances the efficiency of humans as the subject of collecting data. But AI, on the other hand, is able to do a large part of the work that humans do in terms of collecting and integrating information.


One of the things about AI is that its use is a 'black box'. When a user asks a question, a response is generated, but we don't know exactly from which organisation or person the idea in the response comes, nor do we know what AI thinks is 'correct'. In such cases, it can be dangerous to assume that the AI is generating some truly proper and correct content.


Furthermore, Chat-GPT may try to weave the language in such a way that the content looks as correct as possible, but if reading it and thinking about it carefully, one may find that the content is inappropriate or even wrong. For example, although the process of the activity called "Comparative survey" that Chat-GPT generated sounds reasonable, you will find it almost impossible to implement in a class of 30 students.


After all, the most important thing for individuals is to keep thinking within the vast stream of information.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Use Blendspace to practice blended teaching

Image
Blended teaching (or blended learning) is an approach that combines the advantages of actual classrooms with the advantages of computer resources. By using computer resources in the classroom to interact with students, or among students, teachers can make the lesson more interesting. Blendspace  ( https://www.blendspace.com/lessons ) is a website that can be used for this teaching model.  Firstly, Blendspace can help teachers integrate teaching resources and present them in the classroom. Click the button of “+ New Lesson” and you can go to a lesson designing page. Click “Drop your resource " and you can upload your own files in the lesson, such as ppt, videos and pictures.  On the right side of the edit lesson interface, you can also look up keywords to find available teaching resources on the web, including videos from Youtube and teaching resources from Google and Tes ( https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources , a teaching resources website). In addition, you can al...
Read more

Triptico - A Practicable Tool for Classrooms

Image
 Triptico is a website with resources that are helpful to handling a lesson. This article will introduce some of its functions and usage. Group Activities I'm sure many teachers have been confused about the tools when they need to randomly group their students. The group function in this website makes it easy to do this. If you need to group students randomly, just click the left button of your mouse and drag it to the right. Dragging the mouse to the left allows you to randomly select groups or specific students. It is usable when you need to interact with students. Gaming Triptico has many forms of games that can be used in your classroom. After signing up for an account, teachers can input content and images to create their own games. For language teachers, Triptico also comes with the ability to read words in many languages, so teachers can also use it to get students to connect words with sounds. The following pictures will show some of the game types.   Presenting Teach...
Read more

Use Nearpod to encourage students to learn English on their mobile devices

Image
Nearpod is a website for integrating materials together into a lesson and presenting it. Students could enter the class with a code from their own mobile devices.  Teachers could add many kinds of activities, including slides, pictures, videos (even if they are on other platforms), quizzes, homework...If you have read  my blog about Blendspace , I am sure you will quickly get familiar with it.  One of the best functions of Nearpod is that the contents on students' device keep step with teachers' device. In other words, teachers could control what students are watching. And the teacher can also decide whether to give students the freedom to watch the video themselves. Teachers could watch students' work on their devices. And they could also click one of their works to show to the whole class. I made a lesson focus on the comparative of English with Nearpod. It begins with a video introducing comparative from YouTube. And there are also some quizzes for students to finish ...
Read more