Mat Schulze

Language Learning and AI: 7 lessons from 70 years (#1) 1. Exposure to rich, authentic language The texts – or the language – that a computer can understand or generate depend on its capacity for NLP. Computer scientists added the adjective 'natural' because the parsing of programming language(s) was possible, and necessary, before they turned to parsing texts produced by humans. In early NLP, computational linguists wrote grammatical rules and compatible dictionaries in programming languages such as Prolog and LISP.

Lesson #1: updated version

Humans vs. AI: The real difference What is the difference between humans and AI? You are wondering ... So was I ... In July of this year, I gave a keynote presentation at JALTCALL under the title "Language Learning with GenAI: Bridging the gap or burning the bridge." JALT is the Japanese Language Teacher Association, and JALTCALL is its large special interest group – I believe they have between 200 and 300 members in the interest group – in computer-assisted language learning.

Humans vs. AI: what is the difference. And also, who or what is better? As they used to say: Read all about it, ...

**CALL FOR BOOK PROPOSALS** The book proposal deadline for the 2028 Advances in CALL Research and Practice Book Series is #September30 🔗 See the CfP here: shorturl.at/Tby36

Volumes address a variety of topics that reflect the breadth of diversity in the field of #ComputerAssistedLanguageLearning

GenAI and the future of language teaching A prediction about the future of language teaching when GenAI is rapidly evolving? That's tough. Predictions are difficult, especially about the future. Usually Niels Bohr is credited with this bonmot. Apparently, it was the Danish politician Karl Kristian Steincke who said it first: Det er vanskeligt at spå, især når det gælder fremtiden. We are more trying to explore how language teachers can begin to shape the future of language teaching with GenAI.

What is the future of language teaching? That's not what I am worrying about here. I am thinking about what language teachers can do now t shape the future of language teaching with GenAI.

If you would like to know what people did with AI (in language learning) before ChatGPT burst on the scene in late 2022, and what this tells us about the current developments in generative AI, ...

Thank you. I will read it and then post.

(I)CALL and AI: 7 lessons from 70 years There has always been some interaction between AI and language and learning for the last 70 years. In computer-assisted language learning (CALL), people have worked on applying AI – and they called it ICALL – for almost 50 years. For GenAI, what can we learn from these efforts of working with good old-fashioned AI for such a long time?

These seven lessons for our work with GenAI today have been drawn from the interaction of AI and language education - in one way or another - for 70 years.

(I)CALL and AI: 7 lessons from 70 years (#6) With this one, six of the seven lessons have been prepared. Here is a quick list of what I posted in this context before. – historical introduction – Prep #1: exposure to authentic language– Prep #2: communication in context– Prep #3: interaction in language learning with GenAI– Prep #4: appropriate error correction and contingent feedback– Prep #5: …

I drawing 7 lessons for GenAI in language education from what had been done with good old-fashioned AI in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and what was Intelligent CALL (ICALL). All lessons prepped. Follow these posts on the blog.

Computer-assisted language learning and AI: Seven lessons from seventy years (part 7) With this one, six of the seven lessons have been prepared. Here is a quick list of what I posted in this context before. – historical introduction – Prep #1: exposure to authentic language– Prep #2: communication in context– Prep #3: interaction in language learning with GenAI– Prep #4: appropriate error correction and contingent feedback– Prep #5: …

Using the structuring method of gradual release of responsibility to discuss the integration of GenAI in language education.
This is part 7 of 9 on CALL and AI.

Computer-assisted language learning and AI: Seven lessons from seventy years (part 6) Thus far, I have given a historical introduction and talked about the necessary exposure to authentic language, communication in context, interaction in language learning with GenAI, and appropriate error correction and contingent feedback. All parts are based on a manuscript for a book chapter that I wrote recently. The following describes the basis for lesson #5.

Preparing the fifth of seven lessons in this post. The question is: why is ChatGPT not a language tutor?

Internationale Studierende bei einem DAAD-Stipendiatentreffen.

Internationale #Studierende - ein wirtschaftlicher #Gewinn für #Deutschland. Neue IW-Studie im Auftrag des DAAD zeigt: Jeder Jahrgang int. Studierender generiert 15,5 Mrd. € mehr an Steuern & Abgaben, als der Staat für ihn per Saldo ausgibt. PM: t1p.de/yhwy6
#Bildung #Fachkräfte #DAAD #IW #BMBF

Office door

Computer-assisted language learning and AI: Seven lessons from seventy years (part 5) We are onto part 5. All parts are based on a manuscript for a book chapter that I wrote recently. Part 1 gives a historical introduction. Part 2 focuses on the necessary exposure to authentic language and whether this can be done with GenAI. Part 3 looked at communication in context, which is central in language learning. We turned to the role of…

Computer-assisted language learning and AI: Seven lessons from seventy years (part 5)

We are onto part 5. All parts are based on a manuscript for a book chapter that I wrote recently. Part 1 gives a historical introduction. Part 2 focuses on the necessary exposure to authentic language and whether…

Read this this morning:

All the happiness there is in this world
Arises from others to be happy
And all the suffering there is in this world
Arises from wishing ourselves to be happy

Shantideva

Computer-assisted language learning and AI: Seven lessons from seventy years (part 1) My inspiration for this title came from the book Snyder, T. (2017). On tyranny: Twenty lessons from the twentieth century. Tim Duggan Books. Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com What do we know about artificial intelligence (AI) in language teaching and learning already? What can we see if we look back more than two or so years? In the last two years, discourses on generative AI (GenAI) in the academic literature on (language) education, writing, publishing, (machine) translation, computer science, and many other areas as well as in mainstream and specialized media have resulted in a multitude of articles, books, chapters, columns, essays, guidelines, opinion pieces, and tip sheets.

Computer-assisted language learning and AI: Seven lessons from seventy years (part 1)

My inspiration for this title came from the book Snyder, T. (2017). On tyranny: Twenty lessons from the twentieth century. Tim Duggan Books. Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com What do we know about artificial…

Computer-assisted language learning and AI: Seven lessons from seventy years (part 4) And here is part 4 of a short series. All parts are based on a manuscript for a book chapter that I wrote recently. Part 1 gives a historical introduction. Part 2 focuses on the necessary exposure to authentic language and whether this can be done with GenAI. Part 3 looked at communication in context, which is central in language learning.

Computer-assisted language learning and AI: Seven lessons from seventy years (part 4)

And here is part 4 of a short series. All parts are based on a manuscript for a book chapter that I wrote recently. Part 1 gives a historical introduction. Part 2 focuses on the necessary exposure to authentic…

Computer-assisted language learning and AI: Seven lessons from seventy years (part 3) This is the third part of a short series. All parts are based on a manuscript that I wrote recently. Part 1 gives a historical introduction. Part 2 focuses on the necessary exposure to authentic language and whether this can be done with GenAI. And I mean exposure and not so-called comprehensible input. 2. Communication in context

Continuing to think about the role of GenAI in language education ...

Comprehensible input Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Pexels.com For the last 30 or so years, I have been working with computers. When working with machines, input is an important concept. In the nineties, I read, heard, and thought a lot about input in the context of language learning and in – what Stephen Krashen called – language acquisition. I struggled with his input hypothesis and his no-interface hypothesis.

Research on Learning and Language: Comprehensible input