In the next few minutes, you will learn how to use AI for language learning in order to get highly customized language lessons easily, instantly, and free. This will allow you to prepare for any specific situation and speak confidently, even if you don’t want to spend hours researching.
For example, imagine that your Japanese colleagues ask you to interpret for them at a hydraulic supply store to buy a special pump component. But you are just the HR guy who speaks a little Japanese only because you like anime! What do you know about hydraulics?!!
What do you do if you have an urgent need to speak the language you are learning in a context you haven’t prepared for? Use this prompt!
Never fear! While you ride in the taxi to the store, you can use the free AI prompt from this article to create a custom lesson exactly about how to discuss troubleshooting that special hydraulic pump component in Japanese.
What you will learn here is straightforward, even for the non-technical person. Even if you hate computers, after reading this, you’ll be able to transform your language learning with AI.
Table of Contents
AI Changes the Way You Learn
Let me illustrate the revolutionary importance of AI for language learning, and of this prompt in particular.
When I started learning Chinese in 2004, I bought a paper dictionary and some books with vocabulary lists and practice dialogues.
With only books, language learners are limited to pre-written lessons. Preparing for specific situations, like going to the bank, is difficult because learners have to imagine all the English words they might use and look them up individually. Even then, they wouldn’t know if the Chinese word they found was appropriate—whether it was colloquial, childish, or even vulgar.
Then, I discovered that the Internet has great learning resources. The Internet made it easier to prepare for specific situations because I could sometimes find articles online with example dialogues that were somewhat similar to what I was about to encounter.
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But it was still not ideal. For example, if a Spanish learner is going to an auto parts store in Spain to ask them about a defective thermal expansion valve, he or she might search for relevant lessons online and find a bunch of car-related dialogues, none of which specifically discuss the parts or repair of a vehicle’s air conditioning system.
A language learner might spend more time searching for lessons than actually studying.
An AI Revolution
Now, let’s look at how AI transforms language learning. If I find myself in a new situation where I need to speak Chinese—either while traveling in China or interpreting in the USA for my Chinese friends—I can immediately use AI to develop a specific lesson plan just for me and my exact situation.
No longer do you need to look up words one by one in the dictionary. No longer do you have to search for relevant articles online.
Now you can simply ask AI and immediately get unlimited lessons about your specific situation, complete with vocabulary lists, definitions, dialogues, and more!
Read More
Check out some of our other articles about language learning:
How to Learn the German Language: Use Your Contextual Memory and Forget About Grammar
Is Chinese Really the Hardest Language in the World to Learn?
5 Ways to Maximize Language Learning Through a Study Abroad Experience
How to Access AI
First, I’ll introduce AI and explain how to get started. If you already have an account on an AI system, click here to skip ahead.
Access an AI Tool
Even if you dislike learning new technology, you’ve got this; it’s easy! First we’ll give you some definitions and then tell you where to access these AI tools.
What is AI? LLM? GPT?
- AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a broad term covering all types of thinking machines.
- LLMs (Large Language Models) are trained on millions of texts. They calculate which words are most likely to go together in any situation based on their training data. They are used for translation, text summarization, and answering questions.
- GPTs (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) are a specific type of LLM that uses transformer architecture to generate text.
The tool you will make use of for language learning is known as an AI chatbot. You can chat with it just like another human.
There are several popular AI chatbots you can use to get your language lesson. All you need to do is paste in the prompt we give you into the chat window on the chatbot. Depending on the chatbot you choose, you may need to sign up for a free account.
All of the following AI chatbots are excellent:
- ChatGPT: Developed by OpenAI, it is currently the most popular.
- Claude: Developed by Anthropic, it is also an excellent tool.
- Grok: If you have an X (Twitter) account, you can use Grok.
- Gemini: If you have a Google or Gmail account, you can use Gemini.
Once you create an account or log in, you will see a text field where you can start your new chat.
Enter Your Prompt
Now that you have access to an AI chatbot, you can use the prompt below to leverage AI for language learning.
The goal of this prompt is to create a custom lesson for you 1) at your skill level and 2) tailored to your specific situation.
Let’s consider our goals for this lesson. It should:
- Give a list of vocabulary words and definitions.
- Use the vocabulary words in context.
- Be hyper-focused on your situation, avoiding unrelated words.
- Not overwhelm you with words that are too advanced or too simple.
The key to using AI profitably is to prompt appropriately, so our prompt will take these goals into account.
Okay, ready for the prompt? Here’s the language learning prompt, followed by an explanation and example.
You are a highly knowledgeable and effective language tutor.
My language learning parameters are:
- Target Language: [ENTERLANGUAGEHERE]
- My Proficiency Level: [ENTERLANGUAGELEVELHERE]
- Situation for Study: [ENTERSITUATIONHERE]
Please provide the following based on the parameters above:
- An essential vocabulary list: Share 10-15 key vocabulary words relevant to the *Situation for Study*, along with their English translations.
- A realistic dialogue: Create a dialogue between two or more people that takes place in the context of the *Situation for Study*. The dialogue should be in the *Target Language*.
- Interlinear English translation: Provide an interlinear translation of the dialogue into English. Each line of the dialogue in the *Target Language* should be immediately followed by its corresponding English translation on the next line.
Ensure the vocabulary and dialogue are appropriate for a learner at my *Proficiency Level*. The tone should be encouraging and educational.
All you need to do is copy the prompt above, paste it into your AI tool, replace the text in the square brackets (e.g., “[ENTERLANGUAGEHERE]”) with your information, hit “enter,” and wait 30 seconds or so.
For “Target Language,” be specific. If there’s a regional dialect or specific writing system you want, be sure to state it specifically. For example, if you are learning Chinese, specify “Simplified Chinese” or “Traditional Chinese.”
For “My Proficiency Level,” you can use levels like beginner, intermediate, upper intermediate, or advanced. If you are familiar with a common language proficiency scale, such as CEFR or ACTFL, you can use that. Or if there is a language proficiency test level you are studying for–such as DELE Spanish proficiency test levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, or C2–you can use that.
For “Situation for Study,” again, be as specific as possible. For example, “I will be interpreting for my Chinese colleague at the dermatologist. He needs to have a mole on his face removed so they can do a biopsy.”
AI for Language Learning: Example Prompt and Response
Here’s an example of the prompt in action.
I gave it the following parameters:
- Target Language: [Simplified Chinese]
- My Proficiency Level: [upper intermediate]
- Situation for Study: [I’m going to talk with a friend about repairing a lawnmower engine]
The following is part of the response. For sake of brevity, I cut out parts of the answer and replaced them with ellipsis (…).
Lawnmower Engine Repair
Here’s your vocabulary list and dialogue for practicing Chinese in the context of repairing a lawnmower engine.
必备词汇 (Bìbèi Cíhuì) – Essential Vocabulary
割草机 (gēcǎojī) – Lawnmower
引擎 (yǐnqíng) / 发动机 (fādòngjī) – Engine
火花塞 (huǒhuāsāi) – Spark plug
化油器 (huàyóuqì) – Carburetor
…对话 (Duìhuà) – Dialogue
人物 (Rénwù) – Characters:
李明 (Lǐ Míng): Owner of the lawnmower
王刚 (Wáng Gāng): Li Ming’s friend, who is helping
李明 (Lǐ Míng): 唉，我的割草机又启动不了了。拉了好几次启动绳都没反应。
Lǐ Míng: Āi, wǒ de gēcǎojī yòu qǐdòng bù liǎo le. Lā le hǎo jǐ cì qǐdòng shéng dōu méi fǎnyìng.
Alas, my lawnmower won’t start again. I’ve pulled the starter cord several times with no response.
王刚 (Wáng Gāng): 别急，我们来看看。首先检查一下燃料够不够。
Wáng Gāng: Bié jí, wǒmen lái kànkan. Shǒuxiān jiǎnchá yīxià ránliào gòu bù gòu.
Don’t worry, let’s take a look. First, let’s check if there’s enough fuel.
….
Warning
It’s always possible for AI to get something wrong, so it’s a good idea to check on the meaning and usage of new words introduced to you by AI chatbots.
Further, we’ve found that, at least for Chinese, the pronunciation guide provided by AI is often wrong. Confirm pronunciation of words you learned from AI.
So that’s an example output from using this prompt. Beware that the chatbot may get something wrong from time to time, but this prompt has great value since it will give you highly specific learning materials almost instantly. Plus, GPTs are improving by the day, so this prompt will only become more useful and reliable in the future!
How to Study Your AI-Generated Lesson
Once you receive your language lesson from the AI tool, you can use several techniques to learn the language.
- You can read through the vocabulary list and add unfamiliar words to your vocabulary study system, whether that’s an app on your phone, a stack of paper vocabulary cards, or even writing them on the bathroom mirror with a bar of soap.
- Then, read through the dialogue several times.
- Memorizing the dialogue can be helpful, but it’s not always necessary.
- One incredibly useful language learning technique is the “look up and say” method. Read a sentence, then look away from the page and try to say the entire sentence without reading it. This forces your brain to process the words and commit them to memory.
- If you have a study buddy, you can try role playing the dialog.
Conclusion
Now you know how to use AI for language learning. The value of the prompt in this article is that you can instantly get highly specific learning materials for the language you are learning.
If you have to do anything in a second language that you are unfamiliar with, use this prompt a couple of times and study the texts. You will be ready for anything!
