Since we all use spell check, surely AI is just one more step to making our lives much easier? Except spell check was never fool-proof, neither were the various tools that promised quick automatic translations and so, unfortunately, is AI. AI here is used generically, not specifically as the race for the best one has not yet been won.

There are several issues with AI, not the least important is how likely we are to become dependent on it. The more we make use of these tools that promise better communication through quick and easy to use technology, the more likely it is that some of the skills it would replace, will become less and less easily accessible to those who have them and be non-existent in those who never got the chance to develop them.

Certainly, the above issue may never be a problem for those who communicate exclusively through writing. But for those who have to participate to in-person meetings, who have to be persuasive and present their ideas with the same clarity and effectiveness as they could via the use of AI, for them the results of the use of AI might prove to be quite detrimental. For example, the confidence for public speaking and networking is usually based in practice – the absence of it will not improve said confidence.

Further to the above, AI and its effectiveness has been called into question by numerous users who have encountered issues with its so-called abilities where the AI would correct its initial wrong answer but only when prompted to do so. This is fine if AI was only used for entertainment purposes but when it is used for business communication or for the execution of a task (coding, for example) it certainly opens up questions about its continued use.

For language learning, all the previous observations hold true, it is not a solution but a tool to be used sparingly and with the intention of it being a part-time helper not the solution. In this way, using AI to improve a fragment can be long-term useful if the corrections are checked and then incorporated in the user’s own vocabulary to be used for any future appropriate contexts.

Similarly, if the AI tool in question is basically a specialized search engine, it should be used as such for solutions related to specific contexts – creating lists of specialized terminology related to a particular field. Such is the case of legalese, the specific terminology used in law. Once checked and confirmed to be correct, this terminology can also be used appropriately later on.

The future of AI may indeed be bright but it will depend rather heavily on the users. For language learners this will mean understanding and making use of the limits of AI’s capabilities to increase its usefulness by incorporating active, continuous learning.

Autor: Miruna Pință, Senior Language Trainer, A_BEST

Miruna Pinţă este absolventă a Facultăţii de Limbi şi Literaturi Străine, specializarea Limba şi Literatura Engleză – Limba şi Literatura Spaniolă, din cadrul Universităţii Ovidius, Constanţa.

Totodată, Miruna a absolvit un masterat specializat în Traducerea Textului Literar Contemporan, în cadrul Facultăţii de Limbi Străine, Universitatea Bucureşti.
Miruna este pasionată de predare şi crede că cea mai bună metodă de a te dezvolta în acest domeniu este învâţându-i pe ceilalţi. Miruna are o experienţă de predare de peste 8 ani, iar de-a lungul carierei sale a susţinut numeroase cursuri de limba engleză, în special pentru angajaţii companiilor multinaţionale din Bucureşti. Miruna este în permanenţă preocupată de progresul cursanţilor ei, pe care îl măsoară atât prin personalizarea materialelor didactice, cât şi prin feedback şi interacţiune constantă obţinute din partea participanţilor la cursuri.

Miruna se remarcă prin competenţe pedagogice excelente, pe parcursul şedinţelor de curs ea reuşind să menţină un echilibru între cele 4 competenţe lingvistice: ascultare, vorbire, citire şi scriere. Se adaptează uşor în diferite medii de lucru, datorită faptului că este o persoană energică, prietenoasă, cu o atitudine pozitivă. Miruna este o persoană flexibilă, creativă, iar versatilitatea didactică o ajută să stabilească o conexiune foarte bună cu toţi participanţii la cursuri.

În cadrul Centrului de Limbi Străine A_BEST, Miruna predă cursuri de limba engleză, limbaj general/ business/ mixt, reuşind să adapteze cu succes cunoştinţele transmise la mediul de lucru al cursanţilor.