Embracing the future: Teaching in the age of AI

Thomas Gardner
A man sat at a laptop smiling
Reading time: 4 minutes

With the continuous evolution of AI tools, it has become more critical to incorporate AI into our teaching practices. AI has the transformative power to improve our teaching methods, tailor learning experiences, and increase student engagement.

To give you a taste of our webinar 'Teaching in the age of AI: 7 tips for preparing for an educational evolution'. We'll cover seven tips designed to prepare you for an educational evolution with AI.

1. Choosing your AI path

The first step in integrating AI into your teaching practice is deciding your approach. Are you an AI methodologist who practices based on theory or an AI experimentalist who develops theory based on practice? Both paths are valid, but it's crucial to choose one to avoid inertia. Understanding AI's basics and experimenting with different tools will help you find your footing.

2. Becoming friends with AI

AI should be seen as a thought partner and assistant, not a replacement. Use AI to enhance your creativity and efficiency. For example, if you're stuck on creating a warm-up activity, ask AI for ideas. Treat AI as a helpful assistant to handle tasks you find time-consuming or less enjoyable, allowing you to focus on what you love about teaching.

3. Developing empathy for AI

Understanding AI's capabilities and limitations is essential. AI learns from the data we provide, so it's crucial to feed it accurate and relevant information. Developing empathy for AI means understanding how it processes information and how to give clear instructions to get the best results.

4. Using AI for comprehensive coverage

AI can help cover all aspects of language learning, including:

  • Meaning-focused input: Generate reading passages and listening activities.
  • Meaning-focused output: Create speaking and writing tasks.
  • Language-focused learning: Develop vocabulary lists, grammar exercises, and pronunciation activities.
  • Fluency development: Design repetitive practice tasks to build automaticity in language use.

5. Transforming teaching practices

Move beyond simple substitution and augmentation of tasks with AI. Aim for modification and redefinition of your teaching methods. For instance, use AI to create interactive and personalized learning experiences that were previously unimaginable.

6. Adopting AI pedagogy

AI offers new teaching possibilities that break away from traditional constraints. Embrace these opportunities to redefine your pedagogy. Think about what is now possible with AI that wasn't before and how you can leverage these capabilities to enhance learning.

7. Creating formative assessments

Use AI to develop formative assessments that provide continuous feedback. These assessments should help students understand their progress and guide you in improving your teaching strategies. AI can generate rubrics, provide instant feedback, and help track student performance over time.

Practical tips and challenges

To help you integrate AI into your teaching practice, here are some practical tips and challenges:

1. Experiment with AI tools: Find tools for creating text, audio, images, and video. Create activities using these tools to see how they can enhance your lessons.

2. Develop custom AI applications: Create custom GPTs for specific tasks, such as generating rubrics or formative assessments.

3. Engage students with AI: Design activities where students use AI to generate content, evaluate AI-generated work, and reflect on their learning process.

4. Focus on formative feedback: Use AI to provide continuous, formative feedback to students, helping them understand their strengths and areas for improvement.

Embrace AI and its challenges

Integrating AI into your teaching practice is not just about using new tools; it's about transforming your approach to education. By embracing AI, you can create more engaging, personalized, and effective learning experiences for your students. As you embark on this journey, remember that the goal is to enhance your teaching, not replace it. Embrace the challenges, experiment with new ideas, and let AI help you become the best educator you can be.

Watch our webinar

Ready to dive deeper into the world of AI in education? Watch our webinar, 'Teaching in the Age of AI: 7 Tips for Preparing for an Educational Evolution'. Discover how AI can augment teaching, personalize learning, and boost engagement. Delve into the AI-first pedagogy, ethical considerations and practical strategies to make your classroom more effective, engaging, and innovative.

Watch the webinar

Read our posts 'How to make the most of AI in the classroom' and 'The potential of AI in English language teaching'.

More blogs from app

  • Business people stood together around a laptop in a office

    Learning English and employability

    By Tas Viglatzis
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    English not only opens up career opportunities beyond national borders; it is a key requirement for many jobs. It’s also no longer a case of just learning English for employability, but mastering English for business – and that means an on-going commitment to learn.

    My experience is consistent with this trend. If I had to estimate the value that being fluent in English has had on my career, I'd say it was my entire life’s earnings. Learning English has offered me educational options beyond the borders of my own country and enabled me to develop the skills to work for global companies that operate across national boundaries. I have been privileged to work in different countries in roles that have spanned functions, geographies and markets – and my ability to learn and evolve my English skills has been an underlying factor throughout.

  • A teacher showing her students a globe, with her students looking at the globe, one with a magnifying glass in hand.

    What’s it like to teach English in Turkey?

    By Steffanie Zazulak
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    Alice Pilkington qualified as a CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certified teacher in October 2009. She started working in Rome before moving to Istanbul, where she’s spent the past three and a half years teaching English to “everyone from 8-year-olds to company executives; students to bored housewives”. Having taught in two very different countries to a diverse range of English learners, Alice shares with us the five lessons she’s learned:

    1. Don't take things personally when you're teaching English

    "I am probably not emotionally suited for this job. I take everything very personally and if a lesson goes wrong or an activity I have taken time and energy to plan doesn’t work, I feel like a complete failure. It’s a trial and error experience but when things go wrong, they can go very wrong, and it really makes you doubt your abilities as a teacher.

    Having said that, the lessons that do go well can make up for these negative feelings. I shouldn’t take things personally; the majority of my colleagues don’t and it saves them a lot of sleepless nights"

    2. Teaching English is incredibly rewarding

    "There are very few feelings that I’ve experienced that compare to seeing a student use a word that you have taught them – it makes you feel like a proud parent. Equally, seeing a student improve over a series of months is so joyful.I have been teaching English university preparation students for the past year.

    In September, they could barely say what their name was and what they did over the weekend. Nine months on and they’re capable of reading academic texts and speaking at length about marketing strategies and environmental problems. It’s a wonderful thing to observe"

    3. Teach more than just English

    "Turkish students love hearing about how you appreciate their food and cultural traditions. Equally, they are genuinely interested in understanding how things operate in the UK and enjoy hearing personal anecdotes.I tend to be very open with my students – even about my personal life.I think it is partly because I have striven from the very beginning of my career to be seen as their equal.

    Turkish students are used to having a huge respect for teachers, and there is a hierarchical system in schools here, which I can never go along with. In my first lesson with most students, I tell them that they must call me by my first name (usually you refer to teachers here as ‘hocam’ which means ‘my teacher’ and shows respect) and this can take a long while for them to get used to."

    4. Failure to prepare is to prepare for failure... or is it?

    "Lessons that you spend hours preparing for generally don’t go as well as you had hoped. There were several times when I’d spend hours cutting and sticking things on pieces of card and placing pictures all over the classroom, hoping it would get some vocabulary action going, only to start the class and receive no response from the students.

    Conversely, lessons where you don’t feel very motivated or have no idea what you are going to do until you get into the classroom (which I call the ‘flying by the seat of your pants’ lessons) can turn out to be the best ones. I once had a lesson in which I was, admittedly, rather hungover. On the way to the lesson, I grabbed a book called ‘Taboos and Issues’, full of discussion topics, which I used as a basis for a rather impromptu lesson on addictions, which was very successful indeed."

    5. Teaching English isn't easy

    "Teaching English is a love/hate profession. There are weeks when you absolutely loathe it and want to quit, but then within the space of a lesson or two, you get inspired by something completely unexpected, rediscover your joy for it and love it again."

  • Children sat next to their teacher in a classroom, smiling at eachother

    Tailoring language learning for diverse needs with the GSE

    By Heba Morsey
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Why inclusive language teaching matters more than ever

    You’ve probably heard the word “inclusive” more and more in recent years, though I first encountered it over 20 years ago. (I say 20 because that’s when I graduated, and we had a course on diverse learners called “individual differences.” But back then, actually meeting their needs wasn’t nearly as comprehensive as it is today.)

    Today, learners come with a wide range of proficiency levels, cognitive styles, educational background, and personal goals. That’s why — it’s essential. In simple terms, inclusive teaching means making sure all learners feel they belong and can succeed.

    It calls for differentiated instruction, flexible assessment and learning materials that respect individual needs. That’s where the Global Scale of English (GSE) comes in.