Sarvenaz Hatami: ChatGPT for Language Learning

Sarvenaz Hatami is an Associate Professor in the Linguistics Department of the College of Liberal Arts. She specializes in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Her research interests are in second language vocabulary teaching and learning and second language teacher education. She is also interested in individual differences in second language acquisition as well as the impact of second language proficiency on immigration/settlement experiences.

“Language learners can engage in endless conversations with ChatGPT in a non-threatening environment, without fear of making errors and losing face. Conversations with ChatGPT can be personalized and tailored to individual preferences and needs. The learner can determine the topic, the language proficiency level, and the areas in which they would like to receive feedback from ChatGPT.”

Note: ChatGPT currently supports over 50 languages (list from Aug ‘23). Students and instructors should double-check anything important since ChatGPT is accurate, but not 100%. Technically speaking, the more training data in a given language available to it, the more accurate it will be in that language. Therefore, it is most accurate in English and Spanish.

Highlights

Language learners can engage in endless conversations with ChatGPT in a non-threatening environment, without fear of making errors and losing face. Conversations with ChatGPT can be personalized and tailored to individual preferences and needs. The learner can determine the topic, the language proficiency level, and the areas in which they would like to receive feedback from ChatGPT.

What Sarvenaz found particularly promising for language teaching and learning was 1) ChatGPT’s ability to provide a relatively authentic environment for communication, and 2) its ability to provide a personalized and adaptable learning experience. This motivated her to explore the different ways in which it can be used for language teaching and learning.

 

Highlights

ChatGPT can help with simplifying texts, generating exercises and examples, creating basic quizzes, grading, and providing feedback. While instructors would still need to review and revise these tasks, this assistance can significantly save their time, allowing them to focus on the more complex aspects of language instruction such as addressing students’ individual needs.

ChatGPT is very easy and user-friendly. It’s free, so all you have to do is sign up for an account. When you log in, you’ll see a box where you input your question or prompt, and you’ll get an immediate response.

 

Highlights

Dr. Hatami demonstrates examples of how language learners can interact with ChatGPT to learn a new word. ChatGPT not only translates it into the learners’ first language but can also use the word in a joke or generate an image and/or emojis to help learners understand its meaning.

 

Highlights

Sarvenaz is interested in how ChatGPT can complement language instruction, what instructors can offload to the technology, and how effective it can be for students. Other interests include exploring whether it can be used for evaluating the effectiveness of language textbooks and generating authentic assessments. Most of all, she would like to read and conduct new research on ChatGPT in language education.

 

ChatGPT is a tool with many uses. At the time of writing, Jan 2024, there are two “versions” of ChatGPT. These are labeled “3.5” and “4,” with the former being free and the latter requiring a monthly subscription. The following prompts can be used with either version. 

Six things you can do with ChatGPT: 

  1. Simplify texts 
    • Paste this prompt into ChatGPT: Simplify the following text to improve its readability, ensuring its core meaning remains intact. It should be understandable by {insert student language level here}. The simplified text should be 100 words or less. [paste your text here].
    • Resource: Prompt Explained 
  2. Generate language exercises 
    • Prompt: Create a {insert target language} exercise with 5 incomplete sentences to practice subject-verb agreement. Example exercise sentence: Ella _______ como mecánica. Please include an answer key below the exercise. 
    • Resource: Scribbr 
  3. Create quizzes 
    • Prompt: Create a quiz for an introductory college [target language] class. It should have 20 multiple-choice questions, 5 fill-in-the-blank questions, and [insert more question types here]. The quiz should cover [concepts] and [vocabulary]. 
  4. Grading and giving feedback – students can use this prompt: 
    • Prompt: Provide language feedback for the following piece of writing [paste your text here]. Point out grammar and vocabulary mistakes and give 1 example of the correct sentence for each. (Tetiana Bilokin) 
    • Resource: Reddit testimonial 
  5. ChatGPT as a conversation partner 
    • Prompt: Pretend you are a college student from [target country]. I will ask you a series of questions in [target language], and I’d like you to respond as if you were human. Ask me questions as well! 
    • Resource: Carnegie Learning 
  6. ChatGPT to introduce new words 
    • Prompt: Create a Spanish–English vocabulary list on the theme of cooking. 
    • Resource: Scribbr  

Peer-Reviewed Articles 

  • Bin-Hady, Wagdi Rashad Ali, et al. “Exploring the Dimensions of ChatGPT in English Language Learning: A Global Perspective.”  Library Hi Tech, 2023.  
  • Jeon, Jaeho, et al. “Beyond ChatGPT: A Conceptual Framework and Systematic Review of Speech-Recognition Chatbots for Language Learning.”  Computers and Education, vol. 206, 2023, 104898. 
  • Shaikh, Sarang, et al. “Assessing the Usability of ChatGPT for Formal English Language Learning.” European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education (EJIHPE), vol. 13, no. 9, 2023, pp. 1937–60 
  • Xiao, Yangyu, and Yuying Zhi. “An Exploratory Study of EFL Learners’ Use of ChatGPT for Language Learning Tasks: Experience and Perceptions.” Languages (Basel), vol. 8, no. 3, 2023, 212.  

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