How to use ChatGPT to learn a language

[svetlana14]

. One of the English teachers online claims that Chatgpt still a useful tool for learning English. She says that even if it is far from perfect (for making sometimes odd mistakes), it neverheless can correct your mistakes if asked. I found her statements pretty confusing. Firstly, as a general remark, how could I rely on its quality if it makes mistakes itself. For instance, once per 3 sentences. It is nonsense as I could try and enter a text general by the AI and ask it to check its own result. Please let me know whether under such circustance, it makes a sentce to deal with ChatGPT?

 

[emsr2d2]

One of the An online English teachers teacher online claims that ChatGPT still is a useful tool for learning English.

She says that even if it is far from perfect (for sometimes making sometimes odd mistakes), it nevertheless can correct your mistakes if asked.

I found her statements pretty confusing.

Firstly, as a general remark, how could I rely on its quality if it makes mistakes itself?

For instance, once per 3 sentences. This is not a complete sentence.

It is nonsense as I could try and enter a text general generated by the AI and ask it to check its own result.

Please let me know whether under such circumstances, it makes a sentce sense to deal with ChatGPT?

Note my corrections above. You really should install a spell checker on your browser. It would help you avoid making such errors as "neverheless", "circustance" and "sentce".

I certainly wouldn't recommend using it to learn English. As a basic research tool for finding out general information, it's probably OK.

 

[mrmvp]

I mainly uses it to look up in synonyms and antonyms. It sometimes helps you generate ideas about the topic you want to talk about. Some suggested corrections are useful. However, some don't convey your intended meaning. I agree with @emsr2d2 that ChatGPT can never supersede human abilities. I caution my students not to use it in writing assignments. Not only does it hinder your success, but one might also get exposed by AI detectors.

 

[Skrej]

She says that even if it is far from perfect (for making sometimes odd mistakes), it neverheless can correct your mistakes if asked. I found her statements pretty confusing. Firstly, as a general remark, how could I rely on its quality if it makes mistakes itself. For instance, once per 3 sentences.

Aye, (as Hamlet would say), there's the rub. It may be able to correct itself if asked, but as you point out, how does one know which parts of an answer to ask it to check?

It is nonsense as I could try and enter a text general by the AI and ask it to check its own result. Please let me know whether under such circustance, it makes a sentce to deal with ChatGPT?

That's long been a simple test for translation software - ask it to translate from one language to another, and then retranslate the translation back to the original language. How different the 2nd version is from the original version is a gauge of how effective the translation software is.

Please let me know whether under such circustance, it makes a sentce to deal with ChatGPT?

That's entirely up to you, but we've had similar discussions about this in the past. The consensus is generally 'don't use it for learning English (or any language, presumably)'. The problem with it correcting your mistakes is that depends how you phrase the questions.

See the first suggested thread below, where ChatGPT suggested that a particular sentence was 'less natural' when it was flat out ungrammatical. When the OP rephrased their question, it then stated it was ungrammatical.

AI at this point is still just reactive, not proactive. It can only respond to what you ask, not volunteer information or corrections. To me, that's just a crapshoot on how well you phrase your questions - something difficult enough for a native speaker, but compounded more when you're a language learner. Ask good questions, get good answers. Ask the wrong questions, and get wrong information. AI is also notorious for making up examples of something when it can't find any real-life examples in its database.

You see examples of this all the time on this forum. Somebody posts a question asking about X, but members chime in with information about how they're asking the wrong question, or point out additional problems to the original question itself. Take your post, for example - you had several typos, which emsr2d2 pointed out before addressing your actual question at hand. AI can't do that, at least yet.

My two cents is that AI is a potentially useful tool for both learners and educators, but like any tool it's only effective when used correctly. We're still learning the correct way to use the AI tools.

I mainly uses it to look up in synonyms and antonyms.

Also, if all you want is synonyms and antonyms, there are several decent online thesauruses. I like thesaurus.com, as it lists both synonyms and antonyms, and it gives a brief definition, all in one click. I'm sure there are probably others, but that's my go-to.

 

[mrmvp]

Also, if all you want is synonyms and antonyms, there are several decent online thesauruses. I like thesaurus.com, as it lists both synonyms and antonyms, and it gives a brief definition, all in one click. I'm sure there are probably others, but that's my go-to.

Thank you. I'd rather use:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/book_1?q=book

Some words are classified according to "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Some words also classified depending on their usages (functions). If you type the F word, you will see it is (offensive) and the idiom "kick the bucket (informal). These websites offer features that thesaurus.com doesn't.

 

[LilyVictoria]

I mainly uses it to look up in synonyms and antonyms. It sometimes helps you generate ideas about the topic you want to talk about. Some suggested corrections are useful. However, some don't convey your intended meaning. I agree with @emsr2d2 that ChatGPT can never supersede human abilities. I caution my students not to use it in writing assignments. Not only does it hinder your success, but one might also get exposed by AI detectors.

ChatGPT is the only tool that provides expert ideas and titles on specific topics. I use this to generate the proper titles for my topic; it is going very well in my case. Even, now it also become useful for most students as you mentioned above.

 

[svetlana14]

(Unnecessary quotes removed - 5jj)


I have asked ChatGPT to create three short dialogues on a topic kind of "angry wife". Then I was trying to check all the phrases it used from various sources (like SKELL, English Corpus, Sentencestack or just articles using a search engine). The only phrase I failed to find is that's a proper pickle. So I decided to change it for I'm in a pickle. Here is the result. Are they suitable for real-life situations?

Person A: "My wife's really getting on my nerves every day, mate." Person B: "Blimey, that sounds tough. Have you tried talking things out with her?" Person A: "Yeah, but it feels like talking to a brick wall sometimes!"

Person A: "The missus is driving me up the wall every single day." Person B: "Cor, that doesn't sound good. What's the trouble, then?" Person A: "She keeps nagging about the littlest things, like I'm walking on eggshells."

Person A: "The trouble and strife is really doing my head in daily." Person B: "Guv'nor, that's a proper pickle/I'm in a pickle. Have you thought about seeking some advice, maybe?" Person A: "I'm considering it; I just need a breather from all the nagging, you know?"

 

[Skrej]

They sound a bit contrived for real-life usage, but they're fine for a sitcom or slapstick comedy set in the UK.

A 'proper pickle' is an idiom or slang for being in a difficult situation. It's just another variant of 'be in a pickle'. I think it might be more of a BrE expression, whereas 'be in a pickle' is used in AmE.

You're asking it for made-up dialogue, and that's exactly what it's giving you.

 

[svetlana14]

They sound a bit contrived for real-life usage, but they're fine for a sitcom or slapstick comedy set in the UK.

A 'proper pickle' is an idiom or slang for being in a difficult situation. It's just another variant of 'be in a pickle'. I think it might be more of a BrE expression, whereas 'be in a pickle' is used in AmE.

You're asking it for made-up dialogue, and that's exactly what it's giving you.

You mean that there is no chance to paraphrase my question, making it, that is to say, a little bit tricky, instructing AM to give dialogues or texts (short essays) to meet the real life situations. Don't you? I would like to enlarge on what I actually need from AM - I am struggling to imagine some situations or take them from my real life and turn them immediately into my own scenarios, rather then looking for annoying conversations or texts being offered by youtube and internet. In most cases it is not possible to find the right stuff.