Last week I attended NHAWLT’s annual conference for World Language Teachers on scenic Lake Winnipesaukee. There were so many great takeaways from the sessions hosted by esteemed WL educators from around NH. Here are a few that stood out; perhaps they will also spark curiosity and thought for you in your classroom.

1) Comprehensible Input techniques were woven through many presentations, especially Literate Language Learners, hosted by Jenny Barriere and Mark Phelps. From explaining the basics like ‘Write and Discuss”, to excellent pre- and post- reading literacy strategies, to using AI as a tool to brainstorm stories, this session provided a wealth of information to help transform your classroom into a thriving space.

I loved their tips for using AI for literacy — to prompt the AI to help you think of story content, type your story idea into the chat box. Or if you need a new story for an assessment retake, copy the original version into AI and tell it to analyze it. Tell it to list the characteristics of the story and then use them to generate a similar story.

2) The Interculturality of Cacao and Chocolate, hosted by NH WL TOY 2023 Claudia Decker and NH WL TOY 2017 Cindi Hodgdon, demonstrated the blending of language and culture around the theme of chocolate. Through yummy taste testing, participants shared their preferences in our different languages in a truly collaborative spirit. It’s easy to see how popular this would be among the student body for an international fair or program outreach event.

At my table, I spoke Spanish to my French colleagues as we described the chocolate, and you could hear German and other languages around the room. Imagine the delight and reward when students taking different languages can share their learning with others!

3) AI Session 1 - The Backstory and Some Uses, hosted by Joceyn Judge and Martina Macakova, opened with some statistics about how AI will impact jobs in the future, and this quote: “Our jobs won't be replaced by AI but our jobs will be replaced by ppl who know how to use AI.” I have three kids, aged 20, 17, and 14, and I realize they will not know a future where AI isn’t an integral component of their reality. They MUST learn how to interact with it if they seek to be competitive in the job market. WOW.

So, as WL teachers, how should we feel about it? This session encouraged us to embrace it’s capabilities while setting firm expectations for using it in class. They suggest we be explicit with students for when AI is not allowed, but give them chances to use it on purpose.  AI doesn’t replace humans, but rather it can do about 80% of a task. We still need to do our 20% to refine and edit the results.

Regarding cheating, I loved their suggestion for a way to cover yourself when you suspect AI has been used for writing. Have students keep a weekly journal to demonstrate their written voice, and then use it for reference when questioning authenticity of digitally submitted work.

Additionally, Jocelyn and Martina informed us of AI’s bias. Since AI doesn’t have implicit knowledge, when it tries to guess what you want, it might end up with biased results. We can teach students to prompt it for diversity.

4) AI Session 2 — Artificial Intelligence Playground, hosted by NH WL TOY 2024 Michael Clauss, left us with our jaws on the tables. Who knew AI could be such an amazing conversation tool for WL teachers and students??

During this session, Michael showed us how he uses Chat GpT version 3.5 (free in App store) to help his students (and his mom!) practice speaking Spanish. You can give it a persona and have it talk to you through that lens. For example, I told mine she is a woman living in Puerto Rico with three kids, a husband and that she likes to eat fruit but hates spicy food. Then I said she can only answer me in Spanish. When I talk to her, I can ask her about her favorite foods, what she likes to do, where she lives — and she will answer me with information about her ‘life’ in Puerto Rico!

Yes, the implications of using AI are many, and kids will always take advantage of tools like this to cheat. But WOW, let’s not throw this baby out with the bathwater! Let’s be WL teachers who embrace this technology to open new doors to language acquisition and practice for our students!

Many thanks to the wonderful WL educators here in NH - props to you! Thank you for sharing your expertise with us.

Wishing you all the best,

Catherine

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