Online learning and teaching: Teachers Talk Radio with Tamires Gama

On today's Teachers Talk Radio show, I talked to Tamires Gama from Brazil about her experience of online learning and teaching.

What makes a great teacher? Teachers Talk Radio

What does the research say about good teaching and being a great teacher? In toady's Teachers Talk Radio show, I took a look at the evidence and what has been said about this topic, and then towards the end of the show, Kate joins me to talk about homeschooling her sons and what teaching means for her.

Teacher Research: Teachers Talk Radio with Paula Rebolledo

On today's Teachers Talk Radio show, Teacher Educator Paula Rebolledo joined me to talk about empowering teachers through exploratory action research (EAR). Listen to the recording to hear Paula discussing the differences between teacher research in general, EAR, and the usual form of action research, and how you can get started in exploring what is happening in your own classroom using the EAR approach to action research.

Teaching Pronunciation: Teachers Talk Radio

On today's Teachers Talk Radio show, my guest was pronunciation specialist, teacher, and teacher trainer, Gemma Archer. We talked about teaching pronunciation in English language teaching, including discussion about how to approach regional and foreign accents, and the Lingua Franca Core.

The future of English in the age of AI

 The British Council Signature event at the IATEFL 2024 conference in Brighton was dedicated to the launch of a groundbreaking new report on the use of artifical intelligence in English Language Teaching (ELT). This report can be downloaded here, It looks at how AI is being used for the learning and teaching of Ennglish worldwide as well as discussing the opportunities, issues and challenges. One of the most interesting aspects of it is a review of literature on AI and ELT, which will be very useful going forwards as this is undoubtedly going to increase exponentially. The British Council also consulted experts and surveyed a range of people involved in ELT, asking their opinion of the subject.

Have we figured AI out yet? Vicky Saumell IATEFL 2024 Plenary

 Not surprisingly, AI (Artificial Intelligence) featured strongly during the 2024 IATEFL conference in Brighton. Vicky Saumell gave an excellent opening plenary which focused principally on concerns about AI's impact on the Environment. 

Vicky's plenary was received very well (it was the highlight of the conference for me) and has led to a much-needed questioning about how enthusiastic educators should be when it comes to these emerging new tools.

Related

• Sandy Milin has a great write-up on her blog about Vicky's plenary
• AI's impact on the Environment - the report Vicky refers to
• There's an AI for that - repository of AI tools

What's the best GenAI tool for language learning?

 

Check out the video for an interesting comparison between ChatGPT, Bing, and Bard when it comes to learning a language. Here's how they are rated:

Speaking and listening

How easy is it to speak and listen with these GenAI?

• ChatGPT 2.5 (mobile app) - 2.5. Speaking works, but ChatGPT doesn't listen back. 
• ChatGPT Mod 4.5 (modified Chrome voice extension) - Good for speaking and listening
• Bing 3.0 - voice features (Speaking and listening) are easy to use but no way to trigger a voice response and 30 response limit
• Bard 4.0 - Speaking and listening features, but mobile not as good as ChatGPT.

Speed and accent

Which of the GenAI allows you to modify the accent (speed and actual voice accent)?

ChatGPT 1.0 - the unmodified version does not let you change speed or accent

ChatGPT Mod 4.0 (modified Chrome voice extesion) - this allows you to adjust listening speed and it gives you a choice of accents for popular languages

Bing 1.0 - no change of listening speed or accent

Bard 1.0 - no change in listening speed or accent

Watch the video for ating of other features (multiple language switching, available on the go, reliability, convenience, mobile friendly). 

To sum up, the reviewer rates ChatGPT Mod (with Chrome voice extension) as the best GenAI tool overall for language learning.