EnglishCentral was delighted to participate in a post-pandemic, revitalized Japan Association of Language Teachers (JALT) conference last week in Tsukuba, Japan.??
The JALT? community has been a huge supporter of EnglishCentral in Japan over the past 10 years, and we are happy now to have over 600 schools that have adopted EnglishCentral in Japan alone.
We were also happy to see at least eight presentations from teachers discussing some form of Generative AI in the classroom.? A consistent theme of the presentations was the “threat” posed by GenAI to writing, but there were many positive notes on using GenAI as a potential tool for students and teachers for writing and as a “Chatbot” to enable conversation practice. ? Here is a list of some of the highlights:
- “How to Deal with ChatGPT and Bard in Writing Skills Course”, Javier Salazar, University of Tsukuba, introduced a four-tiered approach for embracing (instead of ignoring)? AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Bard, in teaching writing. ? The session covered how students accessed these tools to meaningfully improve their writing skills.
- “AI and ChatGPT in Education: Prospects and Threats”, ? Robert Dykes, Sojo University,? Robert Swier, Kindai University, Todd Cooper, University of Toyama, led a discussion with the CALL SIG about the ways that AI and large language models such as ChatGPT are affecting education. ? The focus was on what language educators need to know now to be effective in a world where AI can generate such human-like language.
- “ChatGPT: An Initial Response from Language Teachers in Japan”,? Antoine Alm, Louise Ohashi, Gakushuin University,? reported on a Japan-based subset of a global study on ChatGPT, sharing responses from 143 university-level language teachers. The study investigated teachers' familiarity with ChatGPT, and their use of it to generate resources, manage assessment, and advise students on self-study.?
- “ChatGPT's Potential as a Tool for Learners and Teachers”, Daniel Teuber, Osaka Sangyo University, discussed the potential to use ChatGPT as a tool for English language learners and teachers, while keeping in mind the possible negative impact it may have on English language education.
- “Creativity and Artificial Intelligence: Supporting Students,” Cameron Smith,? Aichi Gakuin University.? This presentation applies recent developments in creativity theory, notably the sociocultural approach, to understanding how to manage student creativity where they also have access to AI such as ChatGPT. It presents a framework that moves beyond models of individuals being creatively original, to one where students can use AI to complement their existing skills and improve their abilities to be creative in English.
- “ChatGPT & AI: Threats and opportunities for teachers and learners”, Mark Brierley, Shinshu University, Gary Ross.? This presentation first highlights the risks and opportunities presented by AI in the short and long term, including the need for procedural changes in language teaching and the re-evaluation of the goals of language education necessary because of the potential obsolescence of academic or utilitarian language learning needs. The presentation also explores the potential of AI technology in providing compelling language input at a suitable level and in a suitable volume for fluency building.
- “Improve Speaking in ESP using Chatbot and Speech Recognition,” Jeanette Dennisson, Institute of Science Tokyo. Gary Ross, Kanazawa University.? This study investigated the use of chatbots and speech recognition technology in improving speaking in medical English activities, including the usefulness of chatbots and speech recognition tools for speaking fluency and how they can be applied to various ESP contexts.
- “Teacher Collaboration in Creating Chatbot Proof Curricula”, Joseph Dias, Aoyama Gakuin University. ? In a university language program employing dozens of instructors, the presenters will show how they cooperated to modify tasks in ways that the judicious use of AI and translation tools supported, but did not completely supplant. These tweaked versions of conventional tasks such as book reports, student-led discussions, and presentations were explained by teachers (for their peers) through videos they created, shared through a video showcase, and then discussed in depth with a Face-to-Face orientation.
And, last but not least, EnglishCentral introduced MiMi, our Generative AI Assistant, designed to help students improve their conversational English Skills.? We discussed the results of trials we ran with over 10 universities in Japan. The results were impressive: students produced 2 times more speech using an interactive AI Assistant when engaging in speaking practice after watching a video, versus our previous implementation where students were just asked to record a 30-second response to an "Open Response" speaking assignment. In other words, students were 2x more engaged when using our interactive AI Assistant, MiMi versus our previous speaking activities. Check it out here:
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Community College Professor / EdTech Podcaster>> Exploring & Sharing practical uses of AI in Language Acquisition & Higher Ed
11 个月I was in most of these sessions and it was fascinating to see the broad takes on AI. My only problem was that there were only 8 sessions total. There was not a single "Non-AI" session that I went to that didn't directly reference ChatGPT or AI in one way or another. The absolute biggest conversation at the conference, and only represented by a few sessions was a little dispiriting. Still, those that were presenting made the best of it, and I was really glad to see that a lot of teachers were actively bringing AI right into their classes. Also, EnglishCentral's presentation on Mimi was a really thoughtful consideration of how EdTech companies can use AI to boost their offerings in a unique way. Thank you for sharing your work!