Viewpoint: How AI assistants can benefit language classes

AI assistants can be a great tool for learning English if used properly and effectively.

Paulo Furtado

Paulo Furtado

— 21 min read
Viewpoint: How AI assistants can benefit language classes

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming many aspects of our lives, from entertainment to health care to finance and to education. In my opinion, AI should be used in the field of education to improve the learning experience for students as well as the teaching experience for instructors. For example, adaptive learning platforms should use AI algorithms to personalize content and learning activities for each student based on their learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses. Teachers, for their side, should incorporate AI into the classroom to have access to real-time data and analytics, allowing them to better understand their students' styles, strengths, and weaknesses. At the end of the day, it must be an investment that ultimately leads to better academic outcomes.

That being said, and for professional reasons of interest, I would like to focus on a more specific question. How can AI help us learn and teach a language more effectively? The potential of AI in this field is immense, and it can aid in addressing the challenges that traditional language learning methods face. In this blog post, I will explore how AI assistants can enhance language classes for learners and teachers, focusing on English.

But let me start at the beginning.

What is an AI assistant?

By using the term "AI assistant", I am referring to a software program that can understand and follow voice and/or text commands using natural language processing (NLP). They can perform various tasks or services for the users, such as finding information, making calls, ordering products, playing music, and even telling jokes.

AI assistants rely on technologies like machine learning, speech recognition, and cloud computing to function. They are capable of carrying out many of the same tasks as human assistants, such as reading text, taking dictation, making calls, and much more. They can also learn from data input and become better at predicting the user's needs.

These software programs use technologies like natural language processing (NLP) to understand and follow voice and text commands. They can perform various tasks or services for users, such as reading text, making calls, searching the internet, playing media, or controlling smart devices. They are often based on the cloud and can learn from user preferences or speech patterns. They can be accessed through online chat, smartphones, smart speakers, smart TVs, and other internet-connected devices.

AI assistants are different from virtual assistants, who are contract workers who do administrative tasks from home. They can interact with your online calendar and identify available time slots through an app like Google Calendar, as well as send out reminders, handle cancellations and reschedule appointments when necessary. They can also sort through your emails in a flash, identify important messages and even compose responses on your behalf.

Overall, AI assistants can help users save time and effort by automating tasks and providing information. They can also provide fun and engaging experiences, as well as assist users both with and without disabilities or special needs, by enabling voice control and communication.

Besides that, they can be integrated with other applications and platforms, such as email, social media, calendars, smart home devices, and... smart classrooms.

How can AI assistants help language learners?

AI assistants have the potential to provide language learners with valuable tools and resources to support their language learning journey. In that sense, AI assistants can offer many benefits for language learners, namely:

Convenience: AI assistants are available anytime and anywhere, as long as there is an internet connection. Learners can practice their language skills at their own pace and schedule, without having to worry about finding a suitable partner or teacher.

Motivation: AI assistants can make learning a language fun and engaging, by using gamification elements, rewards, and feedback. They can also adapt to the learners' level, interests, and goals, and provide customized content and challenges.

Confidence: AI assistants can help learners overcome their fear of speaking a foreign language, by creating a safe and supportive environment where they can make mistakes and learn from them. They can also help learners improve their pronunciation and fluency, by providing real-time feedback and corrections.

Effectiveness: AI assistants can help learners improve their language skills faster and better, by using data-driven algorithms and self-learning techniques. They can analyze the learners' performance and progress, and provide personalized recommendations and feedback.

AI assistants could be a game-changer in the field of language education. Studies have shown that AI agents such as virtual assistants are increasingly being applied in educational fields to support learning of various disciplines, including language acquisition. For example, a meta-analysis of 80 experimental and quasi-experimental studies found that using mobile devices for language learning had a medium-to-high effect size of 0.722 and was more effective than conventional methods. Another study found that chatbots can be engaging and responsive conversational learning tools for teaching basic concepts and providing educational resources.

Given a clear initial set of benefits, how usefully effective can these tools be? Let us consider some important factors:

Feedback

One of the most important advantages of AI assistants is the way they provide instant feedback on key aspects of language learning, such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and fluency. For example, an AI assistant can listen to a learner's speech and give suggestions on how to improve their pronunciation, such as correcting their stress, intonation, or sounds. It can also give examples of how native speakers pronounce certain words or phrases, or how different pronunciations can change the meaning or tone of the speech.

An AI assistant can analyze a learner's writing and give feedback on their grammar, such as pointing out their errors, explaining the rules, or offering alternatives. It can also give examples of how to use different grammatical structures or patterns in different contexts or genres, or how different grammatical choices can affect the coherence or style of the writing. Besides that, it can also suggest ways to improve their skills or provide additional resources for practice.

Moreover, an AI assistant can help a learner expand their vocabulary by introducing new words, explaining their meanings, or showing their usage in context. It can also give examples of how to use synonyms, antonyms, collocations, or idioms in different situations or registers, or how different vocabulary choices can affect the nuance or impact of the communication.

An AI assistant can also help a learner improve their fluency by providing practice opportunities, such as engaging in conversations, reading aloud, or writing prompts. An AI assistant can also give examples of how to use transitions, connectors, or discourse markers to organize and link ideas in speech or writing, or how different fluency strategies can affect the flow or persuasiveness of the communication.

The feedback provided by AI assistants can help learners identify their strengths and weaknesses, monitor their progress, and adjust their learning strategies. By using AI assistants, learners can enhance their language skills and achieve their learning goals.

Personalization

AI assistants can help learners improve their language skills by offering personalized practice and guidance that suit their individual needs, and based on the learner's level, goals, and preferences. They can thus help language learners achieve better results and enjoy more satisfying learning experiences. An AI assistant can assess the learner's proficiency and identify their strengths and weaknesses in different language domains such as the abovementioned grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency, but also in listening, reading, writing, and speaking.

For instance, an AI assistant can analyze the learner's writing samples and give them a score based on the CEFR levels, or it can test the learner's pronunciation and give them tips on how to improve their accent

AI assistants can also provide adaptive and engaging learning activities that match the learner's needs and interests, such as quizzes, games, dialogues, stories, podcasts, and videos. For example, an AI assistant can recommend and create a dialogue scenario based on the learner's personal information and preferences.

Moreover, AI assistants can give instant and constructive feedback on the learner's performance and progress, such as correcting errors, explaining rules, highlighting achievements, suggesting improvements, etc. For example, they can detect and correct the learner's grammatical mistakes and explain the reason behind them, or they can congratulate the learner for completing a challenging task and suggest to them a new goal to pursue.

AI assistants can monitor the learner's motivation and emotions and adjust the difficulty and pace of the learning accordingly, by offering encouragement, praise, rewards, challenges, etc. For example, an AI assistant can sense the learner's frustration or boredom and change the tone or content of the interaction to make it more positive or stimulating, or it can reward the learner with badges or points for their efforts and achievements. AI can sense emotions through a variety of sensors such as a webcam, along with prior knowledge about how humans behave and express themselves. It can then adapt its actions, inferences, decisions, and beliefs based on the emotional state of humans. Emotion AI, also called Affective Computing. is a rapidly growing branch of Artificial Intelligence that allows computers to analyze and understand human nonverbal signs such as facial expressions, body language, gestures, and voice tones to assess their emotional state. IBM Watson’s AI platform is already analyzing the tone and emotion in voice interactions to identify angry customers. First, Watson will “interpret and respond to their intention,” then apologize and say it doesn’t understand.

Finally, AI assistants can support the learner's autonomy and self-regulation by helping them set realistic and attainable goals, plan their learning schedule, track their learning outcomes, and reflect on their learning process. For example, an AI assistant can help the learner create a personalized learning plan based on their level and objectives, or it can be programmed to remind the learner of their upcoming deadlines and assignments. An AI assistant knows the learner’s data, including their skills and the learning path that they are following, and delivers curated suggestions as to what the learner should engage with next. Additionally, AI tools such as virtual learning assistants can provide one-on-one tutoring and real-time feedback customized to each student.

Autonomy

Speaking of autonomy...

AI assistants can help language learners by supporting self-directed learning and learner autonomy, which are important skills for language development. Self-directed learning is the ability to take charge of one's learning process, while learner autonomy is the capacity to make decisions about one's own learning goals and strategies. AI assistants can help learners achieve these skills by allowing them to choose what, when, and how to learn.

One way that AI assistants can help learners is by providing personalized feedback, guidance, and resources based on the learner's level, interests, and needs. For instance, some of the resources that AI assistants can offer are online dictionaries, grammar checkers, vocabulary builders, and pronunciation trainers.

Another way that AI assistants can help learners is by offering various modes of interaction, such as chat, games, quizzes, stories, and tasks, that can suit different learning styles and preferences. For example, some of the modes that AI assistants can provide are conversational agents, language learning apps, interactive stories, and project-based tasks.

Furthermore, AI assistants can enable learners to practice their language skills anytime and anywhere, without the constraints of time, location, or human tutors. For instance, some of the situations that AI assistants can facilitate are commuting, t, working, or relaxing. By using AI assistants, learners can have more control and flexibility over their learning process and outcomes.

AI assistants are powerful tools that can enhance language learning by supporting self-directed learning and learner autonomy. They can provide learners with various options and opportunities to practice their language skills in a personalized and convenient way. Additionally, AI assistants can motivate learners to take more responsibility for their learning and achieve their goals.

Engagement

AI assistants also can help language learners by creating engaging and interactive activities and games that motivate them and enhance their skills. Some examples of these activities and games could be:

Interactive Vocabulary Games

AI assistants can make language learning more fun, effective, and accessible for learners. They are powerful tools that can support language teachers in creating engaging and interactive activities and games that motivate learners and enhance their skills. They can help language learners improve their vocabulary through interactive games. For example, the AI assistant can present a word and ask the learner to choose the correct meaning from a list of options. These games can also be tailored to the learner's level, and the AI assistant can track their progress over time. Alternatively, the AI assistant can present an image and ask the learner to identify the object or describe it in the target language. These types of games are not only entertaining, but they also help learners develop their vocabulary skills and improve their memory retention. A couple of specific examples would be:

  • Quizzes: AI assistants can create multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, or matching questions based on the vocabulary, grammar, or pronunciation topics that the learners are studying. They can also provide instant feedback and explanations for the correct and incorrect answers.
  • Puzzles: AI assistants can create word games, or jigsaw puzzles based on the words or phrases that the learners are learning. They can also provide hints and solutions for the puzzles if the learners get stuck.

Language Practice Conversations

One of the most challenging aspects of language learning is practising speaking and listening skills. AI assistants can help learners practice conversation skills by simulating real-life conversations. For example, the AI assistant can present a situation and ask the learner to respond appropriately in the target language. This is a great way to improve speaking skills, as the AI assistant can provide instant feedback on pronunciation, grammar, and sentence structure. Additionally, learners can practice listening skills by listening to the AI assistant's responses and understanding the context in which they are used. Some practical and fun examples would be:

  • Stories: AI assistants can generate short stories based on the learners' preferences, such as genre, theme, characters, or setting. They can also ask comprehension questions or prompt the learners to write their endings or summaries for the stories.
  • Dialogues: AI assistants can generate dialogues based on the situations or scenarios the learners are studying or preparing for, such as ordering food, asking for directions, or making a reservation. They can also act as conversation partners and respond to the learners' input using natural language understanding and generation.

Cultural Immersion Activities

Language learning is not just about vocabulary and grammar; it's also about understanding the culture of the target language. AI assistants can help learners immerse themselves in the culture by providing cultural activities and games. For example, the AI assistant can present a recipe and ask the learner to cook a traditional dish from the target culture. This type of activity is not only fun but it also helps learners to understand the cultural significance of traditional dishes. Alternatively, the AI assistant can present a virtual tour of a famous landmark and ask the learner to describe it in the target language. This activity not only helps learners improve their language skills but also their general knowledge of the target culture.

Personalised Learning Experience

AI assistants can provide a personalized learning experience by adapting to the learner's needs and preferences. For example, learners can choose the topics they want to learn about, the difficulty level of the activities, and the pace at which they want to learn. Additionally, AI assistants can provide instant feedback and track the learner's progress over time. This type of personalized learning experience is especially beneficial for language learners who have different learning styles and preferences.

Sourcing

Learning a new language can be challenging, especially when you don't have enough exposure to the language in your daily life. However, with the help of AI assistants, you can access a variety of authentic and diverse sources of input and output, such as podcasts, videos, articles, and social media. AI assistants can provide you with authentic and diverse sources of English input. You can ask them anything you want to know, such as facts, definitions, translations, or directions. For example, you can ask Siri "What is the capital of France?" or "How do you say hello in Spanish?". You can also ask them to play videos, podcasts, audiobooks, or news articles that interest you. For example, you can ask Alexa "Play me a TED talk about creativity" or "Read me the latest headlines from BBC". This way, you can expose yourself to different topics, accents, and styles of English.

One of the best ways to improve your listening comprehension is to listen to native speakers in different contexts and genres. AI assistants can help you find and play podcasts that match your interests and level of difficulty. For example, if you are interested in sports, you can ask your AI assistant to play a podcast about the latest NBA games or soccer matches. If you are looking for something more challenging, you can ask your AI assistant to play a podcast about politics, science, or history. In truth, learners can listen to podcasts on various topics, such as TED Talks or BBC Learning English. You can also ask AI assistants to adjust the speed, volume, or subtitles of the podcasts. Some can even provide you with quizzes or summaries based on what you listened to.

Reading is another essential skill for language learners, as it helps you expand your vocabulary and grammar knowledge. AI assistants can help you find and read articles that are relevant and interesting to you. For example, if you want to learn more about the culture and lifestyle of different countries, you can ask your AI assistant to show you articles about travel, food, or entertainment. If you want to practice your reading comprehension skills, you can ask your AI assistant to show you articles about current events, business, or education. Whether you read articles on Wikipedia or Medium, you can also AI assistants to translate words or sentences that you don't understand, or to explain the meaning or usage of idioms or phrases. Some can also generate questions or exercises based on the articles you read.

Speaking is often the most difficult skill for language learners, as it requires confidence and fluency. AI assistants can help you practice your speaking skills by engaging in conversations with you on various topics. For example, if you want to practice your small talk skills, you can ask your AI assistant to chat with you about the weather, your hobbies, or your plans for the weekend. If you want to improve your pronunciation skills, you can ask your AI assistant to repeat after you or to correct your mistakes. Some AI assistants can also simulate real-life scenarios, such as ordering food or booking a hotel room.

Writing is another important skill for language learners, as it helps you express your thoughts and opinions cr. AI assistants can help you improve your writing skills by providing you with prompts, suggestions, or corrections. For example, if you want to write an email to a friend or a colleague, you can ask your AI assistant to give you some ideas on how to start or end your email. If you want to write an essay or a report for school or work, you can ask your AI assistant to help you organize your ideas or to check your grammar and spelling. Some AI assistants can also generate content for you based on your keywords or outline.

Examples of AI assistants for language learners

Learning English can be challenging for many people, especially when they don't have access to native speakers or qualified teachers. However, thanks to the advances in artificial intelligence, there are now many apps and tools on the market, each with its features and functions, that can help language learners improve their skills through interactive conversations with chatbots. These apps and tools use artificial intelligence technology to create engaging and immersive conversations, evaluate and correct pronunciation and fluency, adapt to the learner's level and goals, and offer real-time translations. Here are some examples of popular and effective ones:

Busuu

Busuu is an AI-powered app that helps users learn 12 languages, including English. It offers interactive lessons, dialogues, quizzes, and flashcards, as well as feedback from native speakers. Users can also chat with other learners and practice their speaking skills with voice recognition technology.

Mondly

Mondly helps users learn 33 languages, including English. It offers immersive lessons, conversations, games, and stories, as well as feedback from speech recognition technology. Users can also chat with a virtual teacher and practice their pronunciation with a speech analysis engine.

ELSA

ELSA will help users improve their English pronunciation. It offers short dialogues, exercises, tests, and tips, as well as feedback from a proprietary artificial intelligence technology that was developed using voice data of people speaking English with various accents. Users can also chat with a real person and learn English.

Cake

Cake helps users improve their English listening and speaking skills. It offers short videos from popular movies, TV shows, news, and more, as well as subtitles, quizzes, scripts, and feedback. Users can also record their voice and compare it with native speakers' pronunciation.

Andy

Andy can help users improve their English grammar and vocabulary. It offers interactive chatbot conversations on various topics, such as travel, sports, culture, etc., as well as explanations, examples, exercises, and feedback. Users can also ask Andy any questions about English grammar or vocabulary.

FluentU

FluentU helps users learn English through real-world videos, such as music videos, movie trailers, news, and more. It offers captions, definitions, examples, and quizzes, as well as feedback from adaptive learning technology. Users can also chat with other learners and practice their speaking skills with voice recording tools.

Duolingo

Duolingo can help users learn 40 languages, including English. It offers bite-sized lessons, stories, podcasts, and events, as well as feedback from speech recognition technology. Users can also chat with other learners and practice their speaking skills with bots and live tutors.

Wlingua

Wlingua is an online English course that uses AI to customize the learning process for each learner. It offers different courses for different levels and goals, with clear explanations, audio clips, linked concepts, spaced reviews, and certificates.

Lingvist

Lingvist is an app that uses adaptive learning algorithms to teach vocabulary
and grammar based on the user's level and progress. Lingvist analyzes the level and needs of each learner and adapts the learning materials accordingly. Lingvist also uses big data and scientific methods to create courses that cover the most common and useful words in real-life contexts. Lingvist claims that its approach can make language learning 10x faster than traditional methods.

How can AI assistants help teachers?

AI assistants can help teachers in various ways. They can help with administrative tasks, grading, and providing feedback to students. AI-driven virtual teaching assistants can also analyze the learning process and make suggestions to optimize the approach to education. AI-powered platforms can curate a range of educational resources, and generative AI can create lessons, activities, assessments, prompts for discussion, and presentations simply by providing a short prompt with keywords. AI tools can also enhance creativity and productivity, provide educators with valuable insights into student learning, and assist with some of the time-consuming tasks that educators have.

For instance, CENTURY Tech gathers data on every student’s learning progress. Analyzing data on each student in particular, AI takes into account the details a human teacher could fail to notice or pull together. TeachMateAI is an AI assistant for teachers that helps them create bespoke lesson plans or instant teacher presentations to generating personalized student reports.

It is important to note that AI assistants are not here to replace human teachers but rather to assist them in their work. They should be designed to add value to teachers by helping them work more efficiently and effectively. They should be used as a tool to enhance the educational experience for both teachers and students, by:

  • Saving time and effort by automating tasks such as grading, attendance, homework, and reporting.
  • Enhancing classroom management and communication by facilitating group work, collaboration, feedback, and assessment.
  • Enriching the curriculum and pedagogy by providing access to a variety of resources, tools, and methods.
  • Supporting professional development and lifelong learning by offering opportunities for training, mentoring, networking, and research.

AI-powered platforms that help language teachers

Many AI-powered platforms can help language teachers and show enormous potential to improve our educational systems. AI is one of the most effective tools teachers can have at their disposal, and it often frees them up from administrative burdens.

Some examples of AI tools for education include Gradescope, which enables students to assess each other while providing feedback and relies on a combination of machine learning (ML) and AI to make it easier to grade. Another example is Nuance’s Dragon Speech Recognition product which can transcribe up to 160 words per minute, helping students who find it difficult to write or type. There are also chatbot AI tools like Ivy that were specifically designed for universities and colleges. Other tools worthy of mentioning are:

Fireflies: A platform that uses NLP to record, transcribe, and search across voice conversations in online meetings.

Cambridge English Write & Improve: A platform that provides feedback on writing tasks based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) levels.

Quizlet: A platform that allows teachers to create and share flashcards, quizzes, games, and study guides.

Nearpod: A platform that enables teachers to create interactive lessons with polls, quizzes, videos, slideshows, and more.

Socrative: A platform that allows teachers to create quizzes, surveys, and polls to engage students and monitor their understanding in real-time.

What are the challenges of using AI assistants for language classes?

Despite the potential benefits of using AI assistants for language classes, some challenges and limitations need to be considered. Some of these are:

Ethical issues: The use of AI assistants may raise concerns about privacy, security, bias, accountability, transparency, and consent. For example,

  • Who owns the data collected by AI assistants? How is it used and protected?
  • How can users control what information they share with AI assistants?
  • How can users ensure that AI assistants are fair and accurate?

Technical issues: The use of AI assistants may depend on factors such as internet access, device compatibility, software updates, battery life, etc. For example:

  • How can users cope with poor or unstable internet connection?
  • How can users troubleshoot problems with their devices or software?
  • How can users keep their devices charged and updated?

Pedagogical issues: The use of AI assistants may require changes in the curriculum design, instructional strategies, assessment methods, and learner support. For example:

  • How can teachers integrate AI assistants into their lesson plans?
  • How can teachers monitor and evaluate learner progress and performance with AI assistants?
  • How can teachers provide feedback and guidance to learners using AI assistants?

There are also some limitations and challenges when using AI assistants for learning English. AI assistants may not always understand you correctly or give you accurate information. Sometimes, they may mishear your words or phrases, especially if you have a strong accent or use slang or idioms. Sometimes, they may also give you wrong or outdated information, especially if the source is unreliable or biased. For example, they may give you incorrect facts about history or politics or outdated information about celebrities or events.

AI assistants may also not always be able to answer your questions or perform your tasks. Sometimes, they may not have the data or the capability to do what you want them to do. Sometimes, they may also encounter technical issues or errors that prevent them from working properly. For example, they may not be able to find a nearby restaurant or book a flight for you or they may crash or freeze while doing so.

Finally, AI assistants may not always be appropriate or polite in certain situations or cultural settings. Sometimes, they may say something rude, offensive, or insensitive to you or others. Sometimes, they may also violate your privacy or security by recording your conversations or sharing your information without your consent. For example, they may make inappropriate jokes or comments about your appearance or preferences or they may reveal your personal information to strangers or hackers.

Last thoughts

To be clear about my view: AI assistants are not meant to replace teachers but to complement them, enhance their communication and collaboration, and help them achieve their teaching goals. They can be a useful tool for English language learners who want to learn at their own pace, anytime, and anywhere. They can also complement other forms of learning, such as classroom instruction or online courses. However, AI assistants are not perfect and have limitations, so learners should also seek feedback from human teachers or native speakers whenever possible. A student should not rely solely on an AI assistant for learning or solving problems but should also consult their teacher or peers when needed.

Therefore, it is important to maintain a healthy and positive relationship between the human and the AI participants and to avoid over-reliance or dependence on the AI assistants. It is also important to foster a sense of agency and responsibility among the students, who should be encouraged to think critically and creatively and to seek help from human sources when necessary.

Therefore, it is important to use AI assistants wisely and responsibly when learning any language. One should always check the source and validity of the information they provide you with. You should also respect their limitations and boundaries and not abuse their functions or features. One should also be aware of the social and ethical implications of using AI assistants and follow the norms and rules of your context and culture.

AI assistants can be a great tool for learning English if used properly and effectively. They can help you access authentic and diverse sources of English input and output and make your learning more fun and engaging. However, they are not a substitute for human interaction and communication. You still need to practice your English with real people who can give you more feedback, support,
and motivation.

Learn more

There are several sources of information on Artificial Intelligence tools used in language education. The following are just some of them, so learners and teachers can gain more insight into how AI can enhance their language learning and teaching experiences, and the best practices and principles to follow when using AI in education.

🔴 Viewpoint is a random series of spontaneous considerations about subjects that linger in my mind just long enough for me me to write them down. They express my own often inconsistent thoughts, ideas, assumptions and speculations. Nothing else. Quote me at your own peril.

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