Can ChatGPT Teach You A Language?

While ChatGPT is a hot topic in the news, artificial intelligence for learning languages isn’t new. The “virtual tutor” is fundamentally what animates language learning apps like Babbel, which are programmed with digital exercises, vocabulary drills, personalized review sessions and speech recognition to keep your pronunciation on track.

Recently, novel artificial intelligence breakthroughs seen in AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Bard have been a sort of inflection point. Between generating code for your website, answering broad existential questions and coming up with scripts for your Dungeons & Dragons game, it seems there’s very little ChatGPT isn’t capable of. But can ChatGPT teach you a language?

To help language learners navigate this brave new world, we asked a Babbel expert for his tips and warnings about learning with AI. Héctor Hernández, a member of Babbel’s Natural Language Processing Unit, has contributed as an interdisciplinary researcher in natural language processing and has co-authored a research paper published by the Association of Computational Linguistics. Here’s what he had to say about chatbots, language models and the potential pros and cons of artificial intelligence for language learning.

A Babbel Expert’s Tips On Artificial Intelligence Like ChatGPT For Language Learning

How Can Artificial Intelligence Help You Learn A Language?

Put simply, natural language processing tools may make less intimidating study partners than human native speakers. Learners may soon be using chatbots to practice their writing and speaking skills until they feel confident enough to test their skills in real life.

Other potential language-learning benefits of AI include:

• Instant Feedback. AI offers learners real-time feedback and tips for improvement. 

• Personalized Lessons. Data collection and predictive analytics make it possible to create individualized curriculums according to each student’s abilities, interests and goals.

• Better Translation. Access to larger quantities of data will improve the accuracy of automatic translation.

How Does ChatGPT Work?

How does ChatGPT work in a way that’s better than just searching the internet for “how to learn a language”?

“What we are seeing with ChatGPT is a conversational product that is based on large language models,” said Hernández. “So these large language models are trained on lots of data, books, the whole internet. So with all that input you can actually make requests to this model, and in natural language, in the same way that we communicate with one another and through lots of computational processes and calculations. Then it retrieves a response that humans can understand. So in that sense, you can have access to a vast amount of human knowledge and then interact with it as if you were doing it with a native person. Up to its limitations, of course.”

Drawbacks Of AI That Learners Should Know About

There are still significant doubts about the extent to which AI can help with things like generating and maintaining motivation. This is one of the biggest reasons students give up in the early stages of learning a new language.

“One of the main struggles that language learners face is not really the cognitive aspect of learning a language, but sometimes it’s just a matter of motivation regulation,” said Hernández. “We start learning something new and there’s this peak, you are super hyped, and then you start saying, ‘Oh my god, this is more difficult than I thought.’ And this is where a language coach, a teacher or sometimes just a study buddy could be a decisive factor. So those are the gaps that are difficult for a machine to fill.”

Some other current limitations of AI like ChatGPT include privacy concerns and human bias infiltrating machine learning. Additionally, chatbots are not yet capable of evaluating whether your input is grammatically correct or appropriate in the given context. Studies show that many of these systems work best using predictable dialogues that programmers were able to anticipate.

“We don’t want to fall into the trap of using AI as the only method to develop fluency in a language,” Hernández said. “One thing that’s difficult to do with a machine is negotiate meaning or cultural context. So I think that you will still need a certain amount of interaction with humans.”

Will AI Replace Teachers Or Change The Learning Process?

AI will likely not replace teachers outright, but rather make them more efficient by freeing them to mentor students more individually. But before that becomes commonplace, and before the role of artificial intelligence for language learning stabilizes a little more, we’re going to see a lot more fits and starts as users experiment with this technology, at times to their benefit, and at times to their detriment.

“Educators are responsible for understanding the technology, and this covers educators at all levels of education,” said Hernández. “So it reminds me a little bit of when Wikipedia started to be a thing, teachers were worried, like, ‘Oh, now they’re just going to go and copy paste from Wikipedia and they are not going to learn.’ And that didn’t happen.

“As learners or even as users, we have to see this technology from a critical perspective. And especially now, in the era of information, where information is not scarce — it’s overly abundant. And I think filtering information will become more of a necessary skill. How do we know that whatever we think we know is actually true? I think we will need to develop some tools in order to make sure that we are not fooling ourselves or just spitting up nonsense.”

What Can AI Do That Human Language Teachers Can’t?

One of the most compelling possibilities within artificial intelligence for language learning is personalized learning. Each student’s learning path can be adapted more easily to their habits, needs and preferences. And most likely, this is the direction Hernández believes AI is likely to trend in, and it’s what makes ChatGPT better than using just a translation device for teaching language.

“Personalization is one of the things that educators struggle with,” Hernández said. “In Mexico, for example, you can have a class of 50 students in a junior high school class. So it’s a lot to cover for one teacher, and then to cover [each student’s] specific needs. Your attention is so sparse that you can only pay so much attention to students.”

Tips On How To Use ChatGPT To Learn A Language

Hernández suggests using artificial intelligence for language learning for two main purposes.

• The four main skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. For example, you can feed a list of vocabulary to an AI and get a script that includes those words in the context of a story. You can use that for reading, or even play it back as a listening exercise.

• Combining AI learning with real-life social engagement. “Engaging in any type of learner community would be beneficial, because learning is a social thing, and exposing yourself to real-life situations on top of what you are doing with AI is important.”

Is ChatGPT better than Google Translate for learning a language? There’s no clear yes or no answer to that. While ChatGPT is very good at certain languages, and can be better at reading context than Google Translate, it also has limitations. Google Translate is still the best option in most cases, though. Despite ChatGPT’s many strengths, its weaknesses can affect your ability to learn correctly.

The Dangers Of The ‘AI Accent,’ Or How To Avoid Sounding Like A Robot

Hernández suggests that students avoid the temptation to sink into an AI echo chamber. Artificial intelligence is most beneficial when used as a supplement to social learning, not a replacement for it. This is not only because AI can’t always pick up on context, but also because of the very real risk of developing an AI accent.

“I think perhaps the main problem of this is sometimes, depending on the language, the AI-generated voices can still be quite robotic,” Hernández said. “And when it comes to understanding and being understood, the rhythm that you express when you’re speaking is even more important than the precise phonemes that you are utilizing. So you can have certain phonemes wrong, but as long as you have a somewhat familiar rhythm, it makes it easier for your counterpart to understand you.”

So, Is An AI Like ChatGPT Capable Of Teaching A Language?

“In short, not yet,” Hernández said. “Again, because of the combination of factors that someone needs in order to be a successful language learner. We can, however, use this technology in tandem with human teachers and proven methods to make learning more effective. And I think that’s worth striving for.”