Improving the success of young learners in language learning with AI

In language learning, the role of teachers is key. This is undeniable when learners are young. For them, teachers are superheroes, and their influence is strong as perhaps never again.  Many teachers try hard to live up to the challenge. However, there are some aspects of learning a language where we don’t have enough hands to help each of our pupils as much as we would want. This is one of the areas in which AI tools can be of help and complement our work.

What exactly are we referring to? Well, think about fluency for example, and the amount of opportunities each of your students has to speak in English in every class. Think about personalized feedback (in real-time) and the possibility of “being” present with your students any time that suits them (even at home!) helping them, and guiding their progress. This can be done with AI tools that use speech recognition. AI tools learn by interaction, thus, the more your students use them, the better tailored the instructions, suggestions, and feedback will be. This will make the experience more enjoyable, less threatening, and more motivating for the learner.

Another good example of how AI tools can be a great ally for the teacher is assessment. AI-powered tools can provide detailed reports on your student’s progress, which you can use to make decisions throughout the course.

Improved assessment

AI tools have the potential to change traditional assessment since they identify patterns in learning that may not be evident to any teacher. This ability allows some AI tools to select harder or easier questions depending on the patterns the student has shown in his performance, so it takes much less time to identify his strengths and weaknesses.

AI platforms can evaluate a diverse range of exercises, such as vocabulary quizzes, writing tasks, reading tasks, and more. They can do this far more quickly than a teacher and at the same time, reduce her workload. This can give the teacher more space and energy to focus on designing new engaging activities, and creative lesson plans.

Additionally, AI-powered assessment can provide teachers with valuable data on their learners’ progress and performance. It helps them make decisions to address common problems and adapt their teaching methods according to their students’ needs.

We can say then that AI allows teachers to spend less time on tedious tasks and more on productive activities that their students can benefit from. Teachers can choose to focus more on the most relevant aspects of teaching rather than the administrative side. AI can also offer students a variety of resources to practice outside the classroom, which can take the load off teachers to look for extra materials, assign them, and give feedback to each student.

In the end, no algorithm or robot can replace the work of a human teacher, we probably agree on that. Still, some aspects of learning and teaching can be made easier with the help of AI and this can bring numerous benefits for the teacher and her learners at any age.