ELT Cast Newsletter #4
What impact does ChatGPT have in the English language learning classroom?
This past week I've been thinking about AI and how it impacts my current and future teaching practice. ChatGPT - Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (Wikipedia) - has been all over social media as of late with a lot of various viewpoints being shared. One thing most would agree is that generative texts are here to stay. The question is how instructors, trainers, and coaches will adapt or use AI with their learners as learners certainly are going to be using AI to create texts of interest. Rest assured that next semester I'll have more to say about AI as it relates to writing as I plan to teach a writing class during the fall 2023 semester (January - June of 2023) - Writing Workshop.
As an English language instructor, trainer, and/or coach, what impact does AI (e.g., ChatGPT) have on your teaching practice?
https://anchor.fm/benjamin-l-stewart/episodes/ELT-Chat-112-What-impact-does-ChatGPT-AI-have-on-your-teaching-practice-e1sh2rd
ELT Chat 112: What impact does ChatGPT (AI) have on your teaching practice?
Notes
What do we want students to learn? (32:00)
"... using writing to learn" (32:18)
"Writing is thinking; writing is the expression of an idea and the exploration of an idea..."(32:23)
Most of what you do in your day-to-day is really not that valuable; almost all of it will need to change. (49:40)
What should you be doing differently?
What can you do better than the most advanced technology? (50:00)
Institution level: What can institutions offer learners that cannot be obtained elsewhere?
ChatGPT search results using the search term, “20-minute presentation on applied linguistics”
First attempt
Introduction to applied linguistics: Define applied linguistics and explain how it differs from theoretical linguistics. Discuss the importance of studying language in real-world contexts and the various fields in which applied linguistics is used, such as language education, language policy and planning, language assessment, and language technology.
Second language acquisition: Describe the process of acquiring a second language and the factors that influence its success. Discuss theories of second language acquisition, including the natural order hypothesis, the critical period hypothesis, and the interlanguage hypothesis.
Language education: Discuss the principles of effective language teaching and learning, including the use of authentic materials, task-based language teaching, and communicative language teaching. Describe how these principles can be applied in different contexts, such as language classrooms, immersion programs, and online language learning.
Language assessment: Explain the different types of language assessments and their purposes, including proficiency tests, achievement tests, and diagnostic tests. Discuss how language assessments can be designed to be fair, valid, and reliable.
Language and society: Discuss the relationship between language and society and the various ways in which language reflects and influences culture. Describe how language can be used to discriminate against or empower certain groups, and discuss the role of language policies and planning in promoting linguistic diversity and inclusivity.
Conclusion: Summarize the key points of the presentation and discuss the ongoing importance and relevance of applied linguistics in today's world.
Second attempt
Introduction to applied linguistics -
Definition of applied linguistics
The focus of applied linguistics (e.g. language education, language policy, language technology)
The relationship between applied linguistics and other fields (e.g. linguistics, psychology, sociology)
Examples of applied linguistics in practice -
Language education (e.g. second language acquisition, multilingualism)
Language policy (e.g. language planning, language rights)
Language technology (e.g. natural language processing, machine translation)
Tools and methods used in applied linguistics -
Corpus linguistics
Discourse analysis
Psycholinguistics
Challenges and opportunities in applied linguistics -
Ethical considerations (e.g. language rights, language justice)
The impact of globalization on language use and policy
The role of applied linguistics in solving real-world problems (e.g. language barriers in healthcare, language learning in online environments)
Conclusion -
Recap of key points
The importance of applied linguistics in understanding and addressing language-related issues in society.