How to Use AI for Teaching?

Artificial intelligence has not always been seen in a positive light in education and teaching, especially because it was mostly used by students to complete their assignments. But what happens when we reclaim this tool and use it to our advantage? In this article, we will explore all the different ways teachers can utilize AI, while focusing on how it can assist with language learning.

Artificial Intelligence at the Service of General Education

Uses For Teachers

Artificial intelligence, its evolution and its exponential use in teaching and education are touchy subjects. Whether we like it or not, more and more students are enlisting the help of AI at school… How do we react to this as educators? While some prefer not to mess with it, others believe that, like any other technological advancement, AI can enhance their work. Even better, it can help them save time. In this case, how do we make an adequate pedagogical tool out of artificial intelligence, and use it to teach?

Automation of Repetitive Tasks

Since there are only so many hours in a day, why not benefit from AI to automate certain tasks, so you can concentrate on creating courses and lessons you are passionate about? Artificial intelligence allows for quick grading, effective lesson planning and helpful summaries of texts or course material.

Creation of Personalized Educational Content

With AI, we can keep students motivated in their studies with the help of personalized quizzes, customized exercises or other study materials tailored to them and to their passions. A history teacher could prompt the artificial intelligence to put itself in Louis XIV’s shoes to offer a more immersive lesson. On the other hand, a biology teacher could learn about a student's favorite animal, such as the hellbender, a large amphibian of the giant salamander endemism, and create personalized exercises about it.

Use of Predictive Tools to Evaluate Students’ Progress

Finally, AI makes it easier to monitor a student’s progress or recognize their weak points. The program could recommend revision exercises or lessons to be reviewed, thus helping the student get back on their feet.

In short, AI makes it possible to :

• save time on repetitive tasks

• create highly personalized lessons

• monitor each student's progress

How Can Teachers Integrate AI Into the Classroom?

Looking to integrate artificial intelligence in the classroom, but have no clue where to start? Evidently, it will depend on your teaching methods and your students’ level. However, here are a few functions to consider:

Use of AI Assistants to Quickly Answer Students’ Questions

Artificial intelligence can deep dive into subjects teachers do not know as much about, or suggest areas of improvement that could be integrated into exercises for students to complete. AI has also proven itself in its ability to simplify complex concepts.

Interactive White Boards with Voice Recognition or Integrated AI

While perfect for attracting and keeping students’ attention, these tools are also easily accessible. In fact, did you know that, by multiplying educational resources and ways of sharing information, we also multiply our chances that students retain what they learn? Certain students are visual learners, while others are auditory learners. Artificial intelligence allows you to create courses that combine these two learning styles.

Augmented and Virtual Reality Software For Immersion Into Complex Subjects

Obviously, certain methods work better than others, but what student would not dream of seeing the Egyptian Pyramids in History class, or a tropical forest in a Geography class? This is another great way to keep students engaged while learning.

AI as a Support For Inclusion

Teachers are not always equipped to accompany certain students throughout their learning journey. Tools powered by artificial intelligence can support the teacher in their approach and suggest solutions to help students with learning disabilities.

AI at the Service of Students: Learning Differently

Clearly, most students did not wait for highly advanced artificial intelligence tools before using AI to do homework. Many students already integrate AI in their schoolwork on a daily basis, whether it be to save time or personalize their study materials while preparing for exams. In actuality, AI has many interesting features, which can be used to avoid cheating or using shortcuts.

Virtual Tutors and Chatbots

Students can use these tools to ask questions, work on their speech or generate practice exams. Here, the AI is not pretending to be a student to do their homework for them, it acts as an extra teacher to help them revise. In a way, it allows learners to bring the classroom home with them, or enlist the help of an online tutor.

Generated Study Notes and Automatic Summaries

The AI can help summarize long lessons or offer personalized explanations thanks to tools like ChatGPT. Certain students retain the information more easily by rewriting their notes, while others are visual learners that need to read the key points and add colour to help them memorize. In any case, AI can efficiently resume class notes so students can retain the key points and essential information.

Assistance With Writing

Certain artificial intelligence programs can help while writing examples, drafts or ideas; all while also assisting with reformulating and revising texts. We are not here to promote students using robots to write entire works and essays. However, in the event of writer’s block, it could be interesting to ask the AI to come up with a plan for your assignment. This way, the student is responsible for writing all the paragraphs with all the key information, citations and transitions required by the rubric. 

Automatic Translation, Assisted and Organized Note-Taking

Sometimes, it is necessary to relieve students of some of the pressure so they can focus on what matters most. What if AI automatically took notes during a group study session? It would be a great way to keep everyone focused on retroaction and comprehension of the material while the AI helps structure the notes. 

Adaptive Platforms (Sapere, Khan Academy, SENECA…)

Finally, keep in mind that certain AI programs can suggest content and exercises tailored to the student’s level and progress. Learners sometimes need supplementary content to help them retain information or reinforce what they are learning; educational software supported by AI allows anyone to generate this extra content.

Overview of the Best AI for Education

AI Tools for Teachers

There are many AI tools designed to help teachers in their daily work. Whether you need support creating personalized exercises or revision documents, you will surely find the perfect AI tool for you. Here are a few platforms you can use to facilitate education in general, as well as foreign language teaching. 

1. Sapere

A great find for second language teachers! Sapere is a platform created to automatically generate listening and reading comprehension exercises as well as grammar and vocabulary lessons adapted to each student’s CEFR level. It allows you to follow students’ progress and create personalized content according to their profession. Sapere also has a feature which permits learners in a specialized field to upload their own documents, as to create lexical fields tailored to their careers. 

Pros: Time saving, targeted study materials, adapts to the student’s profile, automated feedback.

Cons: The site is still being developed and is in its beta phase, certain features may not be fully functional.

2. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a chatbot that allows teachers to generate varied educational content such as lesson plans, corrections, role-playing exercises or quizzes. 

Pros: Flexible, fast, multilingual, useful for stimulating educational creativity.

Cons: Content must be verified because it can contain errors or approximations. Without precise prompts, results can sometimes be too generic.

3. Microsoft Copilot

Copilot is integrated into Word, PowerPoint and Excel and helps teachers in creating course content, presentations or spreadsheets.

Pros: Integrated into tools used daily, helps to quickly structure documents.

Cons: Requires a Microsoft 365 licence and is not specifically made to create educational content.

4. Diffit

Diffit can transform any text into useful study materials: summaries, multiple choice questions, personalized vocabulary, and comprehension questions.

Pros: Adapts according to the reading level of the students, very fast.

Cons: Not multilingual, exercises are not interactive, no in-depth feedback.

5. Curipod

Curipod is a tool for creating interactive presentations from a simple prompt. It can integrate quizzes, surveys and dynamic content into its work. All students in a class can answer questions at the same time.

Pros: Ideal for online classes or hybrid learning, creates engaging visual aids. 

Cons: The free version is very limited; the quality of the content relies heavily on the prompt given and requires attentive fact-checking.

AI Tools for Students

If you feel that your students want to use artificial intelligence, we recommend that you guide them to using specific tools that will allow them to organize their studies and enhance their revisions instead of cheating.

1. Sapere

Students wishing to learn a second language can use Sapere to access personalized exercises and listen to content tailored to their language level. They can also benefit from corrections and feedback generated by the AI. Developed for educational purposes, the platform can be used in tandem with a teacher.

Pros: Allows for autonomous learning, individualized and progress-oriented, offers a wide variety of content (written and spoken practice), offers automatic feedback.

Cons: Students can sometimes misunderstand a correction when learning alone.

2. Notion AI

Notion AI helps students organize their thoughts, take notes, summarize courses, plan their tasks or reformulate complex texts.

Pros: An excellent tool for structuring one’s thoughts and study sessions, ideal for self-teaching.

Cons: Requires a certain level of autonomy, not specifically curated for education, mostly suited for university students or adults. 

3. Quizlet

Quizlet allows students to study using flashcards, quizzes or games. The tool relies on spaced repetition to help with memorization.

Pros: Fun, motivating, useful for learning vocabulary or important dates.

Cons: Often offers content of varying quality generated by other users, not very effective for reviewing complex concepts.

4. Grammarly

Grammarly verifies the grammar, style and clarity of texts written in English, and offers explanations for their corrections.

Pros: A valuable aid for improving written expression and strengthening one’s English.

Cons: Limited to the English language, requires paid version to access the advanced features, does not replace proper grasping of grammar rules.

5. Claude

Claude is a chatbot, a competitor of ChatGPT, which allows students to ask questions, summarize texts or receive detailed explanations.

Pros: A great AI for more fluid and natural conversations, can help with comprehending complex subjects.

Cons: Not very well known, limited access depending on the country.

If you are debating which tools to use and are having a hard time choosing, here are some criteria to consider before making your final decision: the complexity of concepts it can comprehend, its user-friendliness, what you want to get out of it (content generation, organization, etc.), as well as its compatibility with the platforms you already use.

Specific Case: AI for Language Teaching

Artificial intelligence changes our ways of learning languages. It makes learning more simple, accessible and efficient, all while adapting to the needs of each individual. Here are a few ways in which AI can help with teaching foreign languages. 

AI to Create A Personalized Learning Journey

Artificial intelligence does not only offer the possibility of learning vocabulary or creating personalized exercises. You can even depend on it right at the start of your learning journey, mainly to assess your language level to create the best courses possible. This makes learning more efficient, and most importantly, more motivating!

Assessing Language Level via AI

Before evaluating a student’s language level, it could be useful to know that, rather than simply “guessing” one’s level by following the beginner/intermediate/advanced scale, you can use AI to precisely define their level using assessments like CEFR. Be careful: for this one, remind your student to test their listening comprehension, reading comprehension, as well as their writing and speaking skills to ensure you are getting the full picture.

Personalizing Study Materials According to the CEFR Level (A1-C2)

Once the language level is established, it is far simpler to create a study plan that makes sense for that particular student. We do not learn languages the same way when we have different objectives: just starting out, improving in the language, or deepening knowledge. Once the language level is known, artificial intelligence can generate content and exercises tailored to it in order to facilitate the teacher’s work. This customizable program can, for example, be based on the CEFR assessment (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), from levels A1 to C2.

Creating Personalized and Engaging Content

When the language level is assessed, you can also prompt the AI to personalize lessons that are relevant to your daily life. Learning vocabulary according to your level is good, but learning vocabulary used frequently in your profession is even better! As a teacher, using artificial intelligence in language learning is ensuring your students have access to study materials and courses best tailored to their needs. This is exactly what Sapere offers. The result? Faster progress and learners who can use their newfound knowledge on a daily basis.

Following Progress and Adjusting the Rhythm / Objectives

Finally, AI can follow the student’s progress, lesson after lesson, and adapt the content, rhythm and goals according to their needs. This saves a lot of time and energy for the teacher who, instead of always having to put the student on the right track (meaning, to figure out which lessons should take priority), can allow the AI tool to spot the student’s weak points and let them know of them. It is like having a private tutor that adapts their lessons in real time!

Strengthen Listening and Reading Comprehension With AI

To improve one’s listening and reading skills, there is no secret to it: you have to practice regularly. Unfortunately, these exercises can end up being redundant, boring or disconnected from our reality. Enter artificial intelligence: allowing teachers to quickly generate content tailored to each student.

Generating Dialogue, Interviews and Podcasts Adapted to the Learner’s Level

No more need to rely on textbooks or propose exercises that are too easy. AI shakes things up and allows you to create consistently engaging exercises. Have a student that works in the customer service department of a large company? Thanks to artificial intelligence, the teacher can generate dialogues to read, comment on or interpret. Have another student that is addicted to podcasts? Create a hypothetical podcast episode that tackles fascinating subjects, all while prompting the AI to include some key vocabulary.

Automatically Extract Vocabulary and Key Expressions

If, on the other hand, the learner wants to help themselves to pre-existing content, like books they enjoy, celebrity interviews or documents provided by their workplace, the teacher can now use AI to extract vocabulary from them. Using Sapere, document uploads allow for the creation of personalized lexical fields from which it can create customized exercises. This tool makes learning easier and more motivating.

Comprehension Exercises Automatically Generated With Immediate Feedback

AI can create dialogues, interviews or even podcasts adapted to the learner’s language level. It can also extract important words or expressions to memorize. From there, it can automatically generate comprehension questions (multiple choice, true or false, etc.) and provide immediate corrections. This helps the student progress faster, all while maintaining motivation.

Practice Languages With Chatbots

Finally, to reach an advanced level in a foreign language (that is, to feel comfortable or even be bilingual) speaking it is essential. Whether in a professional setting or with friends, engaging in conversation is the key to continued progress. And unsurprisingly, AI can help in this area too!

Simulating Conversations With AI

In the absence of a qualified teacher to speak with regularly (such as during online classes with Global Lingua), AI can be a great alternative. It is also a helpful option for students who want to keep practicing between classes. Many chatbots can engage in conversations if given the right prompts, like “talk to a waiter describing the menu at a café” or “do a job interview for a junior web developer position.” Share this with your students! Keep in mind that some chatbots only support written interaction. For real progress, it is better to look for a voice-based AI program.

Correcting Pronunciation With Audio Feedback

To go even further in learning and improving speaking skills in a particular language, it could be interesting to use platforms powered by AI that analyze conversations and provide targeted corrections. Some tools, like Elsa Speech Analyzer, can detect and highlight grammar, pronunciation, or intonation errors in spoken English.

Cultural Context in Dialogue for Heightened Immersion

As mentioned prior, chatbots allow learners to simulate real-life situations: ordering coffee, interviewing for a job, or asking for directions. In addition to that, with the right instructions in your prompt, AI can create culturally contextualized dialogues for a more realistic experience.

Learn to Use AI as a Language Tool

Beyond its use in the classroom, during lessons or for assigning homework, AI can also become a valuable linguistic tool for some students. As a second language teacher, it is important to guide learners in using this kind of assistance so that AI does not replace their progress but instead supports them in their studies. 

Help With Writing Emails or Texts in a Foreign Language

Learning a new language takes time. That is why students may sometimes need assistance applying their knowledge in everyday situations or at work. Learners can use certain AI tools to read over their emails, find the best possible translation for a phrase, and more. For instance, DeepL is a tool that allows users to translate texts into many languages. While these translations are not always perfect, they are a helpful first step toward autonomy.

Assisted Translation with Grammatical Explanations

Of course, we would not recommend that an English learner rely solely on AI to translate all their texts and emails. If communication in English is required at work, for example, it would be better to actually learn the language to respond quickly to colleagues or clients. However, certain AI tools go beyond simple translation or correction: they also offer explanations about grammar or conjugation. This is a great way for students to keep improving or choose which grammar points to review or discuss with their teacher.

Using AI as a Practice Partner (Chat, Role-playing, Quizzes)

Finally, remember that AI can take over when class time is over. Whether a student has completed their training or simply needs extra support between lessons, AI can extend the learning experience. In the absence of a teacher, AI can serve as a personal assistant for language learning: helping with translations, explaining grammar rules, correcting emails, or even engaging in language games. It becomes a kind of study buddy that learners can use anytime, either independently or in addition to classwork.

Limits and Precautions When Using AI in Education

How can teachers make responsible use of AI? How can we ensure that artificial intelligence supports our work without making us obsolete? The good news is that, here at Sapere, we truly believe that AI will never replace humans or qualified teachers. However, we understand it is also essential to learn how to use AI-powered teaching platforms in order to get the most out of them.

Risks of Over-reliance and Plagiarism

Thanks to their years of experience, most teachers know how to use AI in a reasonable way. That said, it is important to guide students as they begin exploring this tool to help avoid overuse. No one can become fluent in a second language by simply asking ChatGPT to translate everything.

Teaching Students to Use AI Ethically

Rather than banning or demonizing the use of AI during class and in assignments, we encourage teachers to show students how it can be used ethically: by asking questions, organizing a study schedule, summarizing a lesson, etc.

At Sapere, AI can even be used in tandem with a teacher. This way, students benefit from the infinite resources AI has to offer, all while still having access to the guidance and expertise of a real educator. This is our way of utilizing artificial intelligence while preserving teachers’ intellectual integrity and professional autonomy.

Encouraging Critical Thinking Regarding AI-Generated Responses

Lastly, it is important to remember that artificial intelligence is not without its flaws. AI platforms and chatbots pull information from their database and present it based on specific algorithms. It is essential to teach students to verify the information they receive and avoid taking AI-generated responses at face value.

Data Privacy and Protection

No matter which AI tool you choose, it is important to ensure that the platform complies with GDPR or relevant local data protection regulations. This information is usually found in the Terms and Conditions or Privacy Policy of each respective platform. In addition to protecting their own safety, teachers also help safeguard their students’ data.

The Importance of Humans in Education 

As mentioned earlier, we firmly believe that human beings are essential to the process of language learning. So, why choose between AI and human support when you can have the best of both worlds?

AI as an Ally, Not a Replacement

Let us view AI as a collaborator in language teaching, rather than a competitor. After all, it is far more time-consuming to ask ChatGPT to translate and write emails in English every day than it is to do it independently. Not to mention, some people learn languages simply because they want to; in those cases, AI becomes more of a crutch to support the learner when they forget a word or want to polish their writing. We should appreciate the time-saving benefits AI can offer, while also being mindful not to overuse it or rely on it constantly.

The Teacher: Essential for Long-Term Progress

It is important to emphasize the central role that teachers play in guiding, motivating, and mediating throughout the learning process. With years of experience and exposure to a wide variety of different learners, teachers are best equipped to understand their students’ goals and determine how best to achieve them. It is through genuine interaction with a teacher, a human being, that students can build trust so they feel comfortable asking for clarifications or sharing their learning challenges. 

Where AI may require multiple prompts and clarifications to provide a helpful answer, a teacher can draw on past interactions with former students to offer elaborate feedback and nuanced responses.

In conclusion, it is clear that artificial intelligence has already brought, and will continue to bring, significant benefits to education, particularly in language teaching. Advantages like saving time, generating personalized content, and providing instant feedback cannot be overlooked. Thus, we should not necessarily view AI as a threat, but as an asset; provided it is properly integrated into the learning process. We encourage language teachers to experiment with and test out different AI tools so that, eventually, they may adapt their practices to this new technology.