Part II. Right now, if I'm honest, ideas on how to use AI in the classroom are really in the incubation stage for me. I would love to learn how other foreign language teachers might already be using AI and to learn about any pitfalls. For me, the instant translation capabalities are a big hurdle. I can't see any assessment in writing at this juncture. Having students be able to take a critical look at their writing and suss out errors is a tall order for beginner language learner, especially in the first levels in high school. Unfortunately, AI does it all for them albeit not always correctly. But all is not lost if I do not choose to use it as a writing assessment per se. I do believe that the writing process can be of use in that students will be able to start to build a vocabulary that really express their honest opinions and ideas as they can in fact, start to find words, phrases and usage on their own. There is no getting around the fact that they will not know when the expressions or syntax is out of order and the only way to be sure is to run it against some other AI products to see if the correct expressions etc., can be found and checked. This revision process is the important piece. So, as you can see, I'm just in the early stages to try and find a way for AI to be valuable and to still have actual learning take place. In my opinion, I think that using AI for development with a performance assessment attached such as speaking or listening will be a more likely use of such AI tools in the beginning. I just know how incorrect AI tools can be in translation. But, for a moment, let's say I figure out the instant translating thing, I do like the ability to track their progress and the ability to easily pop into an assignment and add in some feedback. Make no mistake though, the teacher will still need to find the time for feedback. I also think it is important to trust the learning process. Real learning cannot be rushed. Time on task to develop understanding must happen. Moreover, I think using too many different platforms to find feedback can be confusing for parents and students. Again, something I will need to think about. I how to try it out so that I can see what happens.
