Learn about amazing new tools and ideas for using AI to make language learning easier, more fun, and more efficient. Did you know about these?
The digital environment has grown so much in recent years. Here are some ways you can take your learning beyond Zoom classes or course books.
Ask the AI to explain words and grammar rules. It does a pretty good job, and if you feel studious, you can also ask for some exercises. Sometimes they are not correct, so be careful. However, the basic stuff should be fine.
AI can help you not only with the basics of learning but also by creates learning plans for you to achieve your goals. Just ask.
Conversate with AI teachers. There are now companies that offer access to AI tutors or conversation buddies. Sites like Quazel let you talk to an AI that corrects you and explains your mistakes in detail.
Use a flashcard app like Anki. This is a free and open-source flash card program for both laptop and phone that uses spaced repetition, a cognitive science technique for memorization. It also prevents you from forgetting the words you just learned.
For example, I ask the AI for the most common 1000 words in a language. Then I ask it to format them so I can import them into ANKI, and voila, I have flashcards that took me days to create in just 5 minutes.
Search new words on online dictionaries. Such as Collins or Cambridge dictionaries. They support many languages and show you pronunciation, examples, and more. Another one my teachers appreciates dict.cc which works from English and German to so many languages.
The Kindle app or device. When you press on a word, it gives you its definition along with some examples. It’s great because it helps you understand the specific context of that word. Buy some free or 1 dollar story books that are designed for a specific language level (A1, A2, etc.) and learn new words in context.
Simplify your life with online language keyboards. Writing with the right accents is easy with the amazing tool typeit.org. Usually, to write with accents you have to change the layout of your keyboard, which messes up your other keys and involves difficult key combinations you have to remember. With typeit.org, all you have to do is hold down the Alt key when you want to add an accent to a character. Writing with accents has never felt cooler. You can also install the software for a fee.
Perfect your writing with writing mentor websites. This varies from language to language. For example, for German there is Duden Mentor. Also, DeepL analyzes your writing in English or German and suggests reformulations after correcting your text. It considers the grammar, style and much more.
Use the websites of national television or radio stations. To learn German, use the Deutsche Welle TV channel, the DW website, some language teaching institutions like Goethe, and others. For French, try the amazing resources at TV5MONDE, Radio RFI and many others.
Find conversation bots and develop your conversation skills. Or simply ask ChatGPT to conversate with you in the language of your choice.
Find language learning groups and explore virtual worlds in 3D. Some don’t require VR glasses. For example, Mozilla Hubs allows you to use your browser. More amazing virtual spaces in this article here.
Attend classes at a VR School. Speaking of virtual worlds, there are a few language schools that have developed some virtual worlds and programs where you can learn with a teacher or on your own. These include Mondly VR, Noun Town, Virtual Speech, ImmerseMe and FluentWorlds. You can find a good list here.
There are some amazing tools out there and now it’s up to you to create an ecosystem that serves you and make the time to learn and explore.
