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Use AI to Improve Your Writing Without Cheating

Writing is difficult. While almost everyone learns to listen and speak in their first language, not everyone learns to write. Until relatively recently, being able to write was the exception rather than the norm. And even now, being able to write is not the same as being able to write well. The challenge of teaching writing has become even more complex with AI. Many teachers see it as a threat. If AI can write essays for students, how will they ever learn? But this argument misses something… Teaching skills, How to...

Teaching and Learning Vocabulary with AI

In this blog, we’ll look at how to use AI to help with vocabulary learning and teaching. So much of language learning is about learning vocabulary. Regardless of your students’ level, well-formed sentences mean nothing without the right words to fill them. Online Workshop - Bring AI Into Your Classroom: A Beginner's Guide - Mon, 13 January For better or worse, vocabulary is often taught in the order, present, practice, produce. For anyone who took a long nap around 1983 and just woke up, here's… Teaching skills, Five ways to

Using AI to Create Custom Listening Materials

All teachers are materials writers. We all make worksheets, think up activities, select texts and create writing assignments. There is however, one type of material which is extremely challenging for us to make ourselves: audio. Online Workshop - Bring AI Into Your Classroom: A Beginner's Guide - Mon, 13 January Matching the quality of audio from coursebooks is extremely difficult. Audio recordings from coursebooks usually includes a range of accents, speakers of different ages, and genders.… Teaching skills, Five ways to, Theme based learning

Using AI for English Roleplay Activities

Roleplay is one of the most common ways to practice speaking, especially at higher levels. Roleplays can bridge the gap between the classroom and real-world communication. By encouraging students to be someone else, roleplays can allow students to be themselves - solving problems, driving a hard bargain or simply having fun. All this builds students’ confidence in their ability to communicate. But roleplays can be difficult to plan – sometimes they fizzle out after just a minute or two. Role… Teaching skills, ESL activities, Five ways to, Theme based learning

Creating Reading Comprehension Activities with AI

Few things in teaching polarise opinions as much as reading activities. Some educators argue that reading comprehension questions are inauthentic. They detract from the joy of reading. Instead of inspiring students to read, reading comprehension questions train students to find correct answers. Reading comprehension questions aren’t popular because they further learning - they’re just easy to grade. Online Workshop - Bring AI Into Your Classroom: A Beginner's Guide - Mon, 13 January On the flip… Teaching skills, ESL activities

Create Mock English Language Tests with AI

Test prep can be daunting. Students come to us with minimal time and maximum expectations. They might want to focus on the test, even when they really need to focus on improving their English. Teachers are supposed to know everything about question types, strategies, and grading criteria, all while keeping students engaged and motivated. It’s an almost impossible job. In this blog post we’re going to look at how AI can help lift some of the burden. We’ll start by looking at why AI can be… Teaching skills, How to..., Five ways to, ESL activities

Creating Worksheets with AI

Creating engaging and effective worksheets is a time-consuming process. Even if you download worksheets from a website, the process of searching for something suitable can be as onerous as making your own. In this blog post, we'll look at a different solution: using AI to generate worksheets. As well as saving you time, AI can add interesting twists to traditional worksheets. With AI assistance, you can personalise, target and differentiate your worksheets. In this post we’ll cover: adapting… How to..., Teaching skills, ESL activities, Theme based learning

Using AI in ESL Classrooms

In the summer of 2023, I ran a one-day workshop for recent graduates on writing effective emails (in English). Near the end of the day, I asked the participants to summarise what they had learned in an email. I walked around the training room, looking at what the students were typing and noticed one participant carefully copying and pasting from ChatGPT. Instead of reflecting on what she’d learned, this participant outsourced the activity to AI. This was the moment I realised that AI was… Teaching skills, ESL activities, Five ways to

Avoiding & reducing stress on the Trinity Cert TESOL Course

Nobody will disagree when I say that the Cert TESOL is demanding. There’s no denying that it is intensive, it does have high standards, it does need hard work. As with everything, whether it’s achievement in sport, any other skill or academic pursuit, you won’t be surprised to learn that it is stressful. This is especially so when embarking on something new. If you want to succeed, then you need to put in the work and it’s going to have its challenges. That’s the reality. The other realities… Certificate courses, How to...

Creating flashcards and teaching materials with AI Image generators

I can’t imagine my life without AI. I use Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude every day. AI text generators let me write better and faster than I could before. But AI image generators are even more amazing. They let me create things which I could previously never have made myself. Now, all of us can be artists, cartoonists and graphic designers. But if you’re an English teacher, why would you care? You never commissioned any works of art for your lessons before. Why would you want to generate art now?… ESL activities, Teaching skills, Five ways to, How to...

Using AI for Assignments & Homework: Strategies for Students and Teachers

“How can I stop my students using AI or ChatGPT for homework?” That was the one question I was bombarded with in 2023. It’s understandable that teachers are, or were, worried about AI. Every time a disruptive new technology comes along, there is a fear that some students will use it to gain an unfair advantage. Over time, things change. No one today would expect their students to research something by visiting their local library instead of using the internet. It’s highly unlikely any teachers… Teaching skills, Five ways to, ESL activities, How to...

15 Map Activities for ESL Classes

You've probably used maps before in English classes. Many beginner-level coursebooks include map-based activities for giving directions. But there is much more we can use maps for than simply giving directions. Maps can promote critical thinking skills, such as analyzing and interpreting information. Maps can also be used to teach students about the geography and culture of different countries. This can help students develop a deeper understanding of the world and its diversity. Tasks using… ESL activities, Five ways to, Teaching skills