Richard Good
In the space of just a year, AI has transformed the way we learn languages.
The latest models are so good that the question is no longer “Why would you want to use them?” but rather “Why wouldn’t you?”
If you are a technophobe or have ethical concerns, then ChatGPT isn’t for you. But for everyone else, the presence of an omniscient French teacher just a chatbox away is an opportunity that’s too good to miss.
AI chatbots are, of course, no substitute for coaching from a human teacher. Real teachers bring humanity, experience, an ear to your needs, personality… everything that makes language learning a pleasure.
But as an all-in-one dictionary and grammar encyclopedia? AI is a game changer.
ChatGPT Plus is unbeatable
ChatGPT exists in two models, a basic version (4.0 at the time of writing) and Plus. The Plus version gives much better answers than the basic version. It’s also vastly superior to Google’s Gemini. However ChatGPT now gives you a free and generous daily quota of the Plus model, so only the most voracious users need to pay for a subscription.
Integrate AI into your routines
AI can write French very reliably. But asking it to do the writing for you (or translate your English) is not an optimal language learning method. We acquire language by experiencing it, not by copying and pasting.
You’ll get much more out of AI if you first establish language learning routines that work for you, and then use it to turbocharge whatever you are already doing.
Building your vocabulary with ChatGPT
Here’s how I use ChatGPT. First the context.
I’m a great believer in spaced repetition: returning repeatedly to a piece of knowledge to make it stick.
Flash memory cards dope the process. On one side of the card you have a tease, like a crossword clue; on the other side you have the answer. By repeatedly returning to the cards, we forge links that make knowledge stick.
The big drag used to be the time needed to create them: looking up definitions and thinking up teases are productive learning activities in themselves, but with time they become a chore. (Using other people’s cards doesn’t work because they’re not associated with your learning path).
But AI changes all that. Note down words you come across that you find interesting. Give ChatGPT the following prompt:
I will give you a list of words or phrases in French. Give me a two column table. In the first column give me an easy to remember non-technical definition in French which is no more than seven words long and brings out the nuances of the word or phrase. In the second column give me the words or phrase concatanated with a hyphen followed by a short example sentence that brings out the meaning. Here is my list:
And hey presto, out comes your flash card list!
| Définition | Phrase et Exemple de Phrase |
| Attitude ou humour d’écolier | potache – Il a un humour potache en classe. |
| Importuner de manière persistante | enquiquiner – Il adore enquiquiner sa petite sœur. |
| Mélange de satisfaction et déception | mi-figue mi-raisin – Son sourire était mi-figue mi-raisin. |
| Très énergique et dynamique | Elle pète le feu – Malgré son âge, elle pète le feu. |
| Réaligner ou rattraper ce qui était perdu | Raccrocher les wagons – Il a enfin réussi à raccrocher les wagons dans cette affaire compliquée. |
| Chanter de façon désagréable | chanter comme une casserole – Elle chante comme une casserole, mais elle s’amuse beaucoup. |
| À pleine vitesse ou intensité | À donf – Il conduit toujours à donf sur l’autoroute. |
| Influencer négativement quelqu’un | monter la tête – Ne laisse pas tes amis te monter la tête contre lui. |
| Se mettre au courant des nouveautés | se mettre à la page – Il est temps de se mettre à la page avec les nouvelles technologies. |
| Reconnaître quelque chose | Avouez que – Avouez que c’était une idée brillante. |
| Satisfaire complètement la faim | Rassasier – Ce plat va te rassasier après une longue journée. |
| Manger en petites quantités | picorer – Les oiseaux aiment picorer les graines dans le jardin. |
| Ridicule ou sans fondement | saugrenue – Cette proposition est vraiment saugrenue. |
| Intervenir avec une opinion non demandée | mettre son grain de sel – Il aime toujours mettre son grain de sel dans les discussions. |
| Valoriser ou mettre en lumière | faire valoir – Elle a su faire valoir ses compétences pendant l’entretien. |
| Répondre rapidement ou vivement | répliquer – Il a rapidement répliqué à la critique. |
| Soumettre une proposition | avancer une idée – Elle a avancé une idée intéressante lors de la réunion. |
Copy the table into Excel or Google sheets, export it into an application such as Brainscape or Anki – or use Excel itself as a flashcard tool.
What is not to like about that?
After seven years of musings on the trials and tribulations of learning French, the time has now come to bring this blog to a close. I’ve enjoyed writing it and hope that it may have been of some help to you.
