Learning Other Languages (lol): the Tech Age

By Kate Ye

As our tech world develops, other areas of our everyday lives have inevitably followed suit. Sectors such as business, education, medical field, and STEM have all developed quite rapidly within these past few years. Education will be one of those fields to be most impacted by the tech world, and it is important for educators to be aware of how this change will impact our students, classroom dynamics, pedagogy, and lesson plans.

When we think of using AI / ChatGPT in the classrooms, a few things come to mind: plagiarism, online games, easier access to information, new project ideas. These are all important topics to be aware of. However, as the AI world dominates the classroom, we also might have asked ourselves - will the educator's role still be needed? 

This question has been entertained for quite some time, as many online influencers and entrepreneurs have taken an alternative route to learning, skipping out on higher education, or dismissing the system and the traditional learning structures altogether. There are online certificates, classes, and tutorials that have taken the place of instructors in the classroom. Instead of trying to keep up with the new tech age and figuring out using new methods and approaches in the classroom, it is important for each of us to discover, cultivate and develop our own speciality. 

As a language instructor, I find that there are endless ways students are able to learn language on their own using the latest LLMs, websites, programs, apps, online tutorials- etc. This was quite alarming to me because my time in graduate school was a very tedious and emotionally laborious period in my life and so discovering my degree and skill sets one day could be replaced by AI has been alarming to say the least. Fortunately, I have figured out how I can use my “human skills” into my lesson plans that AI would find impossible to emulate.  

So, I encourage you to consider what your specialty or niche in the classroom might be, and could it be replaced by AI?