AI Revolution and Learning a Foreign Language

“What we know and what we do are two different things, but with effort, we can narrow the gap.” – Greg Satell.

The AI revolution is as Radical as the Discovery of Electricity

AI will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. As with every revolution, the AI Revolution comes with a few misconceptions and misunderstandings, which must be clarified and debunked. Let’s elaborate on a few misconceptions.

Many posts have been about using ChatGPT to support foreign language teaching and learning. They propose using ChatGPT to generate language teaching materials, provide automatic feedback in writing, and practice conversation. However, using ChatGPT with the old pedagogy of conscious learning does not resolve the known problems. First, we must create the pedagogy of subconscious training and then apply it with ChatGPT tools.

Chatbots for Practicing Conversation and Feedback are Obsolete

Conscious processing during chatbot conversation primarily focuses on formulating responses, analyzing grammar, and adhering to the controlled nature of the interaction.
This can be beneficial for practicing existing knowledge and transferring passive vocabulary into active vocabulary. Still, it will not directly trigger subconscious learning of new material because it lacks the environment for practicing reading, listening, and speaking simultaneously, which are mandatory for subconscious acquisition. Therefore, chatbot conversation might not be the most effective method for introducing and subconsciously learning new words and phrases.

Fifty years ago, prominent linguist Stephen Krashen emphasized that relying solely on conscious learning or memorization, the prevailing method of teaching English at the time did not equate to language acquisition. Krashen asserted that speaking alone did not constitute true language learning.

Instant Evaluation & Feedback – Is it Good or Bad for You?

There are about sixty companies offering chatbots for practicing conversation and providing feedback. However, corrective feedback – is obsolete advice because it activates conscious learning. We speak our native language subconsciously; why should non-native speakers speak consciously? It is impossible to consciously produce two or three words per second, which is mandatory for fluent conversation. It could be done only subconsciously, i.e., automatically without conscious control. English is like a muscle you must train to use automatically. During training, you need implicit feedback, for example, the measured fluency rate. Do not react to your mistakes and continue subconscious training of all English skills simultaneously.

Corrective feedback is not used in the subconscious training of foreign language skills for several key reasons:

• Subconscious training bypasses conscious learning and directly imprints language patterns into the subconscious mind, ensuring fluency and automaticity. However, personalized feedback, whether positive or negative, activates the conscious mind. This breaks the flow of subconscious processing and can hinder the learning process.
• Corrective feedback might discourage learners from experimenting and exploring the language naturally. The fear of making mistakes can stifle creativity and spontaneity, essential for developing a natural feel for the language.
• Subconscious training emphasizes positive reinforcement and implicit feedback, for example, through fluency rate.

Memory Types, Learning Modes, and Associated Outcomes

Let’s elaborate on what unites these pairs of words: explicit and implicit memory, knowledge and skill, and conscious and subconscious learning.

The following table shows different learning and memory processes in the human brain. Explicit and implicit memory are two forms of long-term memory that differ in the level of awareness and effort involved in retrieving them. Knowledge and skill are two aspects of learning outcomes that reflect memory’s declarative and procedural dimensions. Conscious and subconscious learning are two modes of acquiring new information depending on which part of our mind we use for its processing.

Table 1. “Memory Types, Learning Modes, and Associated Outcomes.”

The first line in Table 1 is typical for adults in traditional language classes, whereas the second line characterizes how children acquire native languages.

B1/B2 vs. C1/C2 Levels

Conscious learning involves deliberate effort, study, and practice and allows B1/B2 levels to be achieved. However, these levels are insufficient for academic growth.
In subconscious training, learners tap into intuition, automaticity, and fluency by internalizing patterns rather than consciously analyzing each word. C1/C2 speakers react swiftly, almost instinctively. Their minds process language like muscle memory. C1/C2 fluency results from subconscious mastery, where words flow like a river unimpeded by mental barricades. Grammar ceases to be a rulebook; it becomes instinct. The two or three words per second emerge effortlessly, like notes from a seasoned pianist’s fingers. The benefits of subconscious training in developing C1/C2 fluency are obvious; then why is it not used in our classrooms? The answer is in Satell’s citation above.

Can Adults Acquire ESL Using the Methods Children Use?

How to explain this situation: every child effortlessly learns a native language (sometimes a few native languages concurrently), but adult learners face great difficulties, and many fail to become fluent.

Here is why: A child uses implicit memory and subconscious training to acquire a native language as a skill. Adults acquiring a foreign language do the opposite: they use explicit memory and conscious learning to memorize it as knowledge. As a result, they face appalling forgetting curves, cross-translation problems, and an inability to think in English. Adults can use methods they used as children, but we must redefine the whole process for them. We must create an environment where all English skills are subconsciously trained.

What was True Before is a Misconception in the AI Revolution

The rhetoric surrounding personalized learning has traditionally been deficit-focused, centered on identifying and filling knowledge gaps. However, the primary drawbacks of AI-driven personalized learning aren’t solely rooted in its deficit-based approach and inevitable surveillance. Instead, its most critical flaw lies in its personalized instruction, which learners must remember. Contemporary understanding suggests that knowledge retention is less crucial in today’s education, emphasizing cultivating skills over merely accumulating educational facts. Personalized lessons created by ChatGPT for learning a foreign language have a negative connotation since they preclude language acquisition by subconscious training. However, the results will be fantastic if learners create personalized lessons using their queries in ChatGPT and then apply subconscious training and guided self-learning pedagogy. The learners will dramatically improve the acquisition of fluency in any foreign language due to the synergy of the three revolutions. This post gives practical steps to achieve fluency in any foreign language. You can use this approach irrespective of your country without requiring native speakers to practice the language skills.

How do You Avoid Dull Answers While Using ChatGPT?

Write a query: “Can we naturally overcome the appalling forgetting curves all adults demonstrate while learning a foreign language?” – you will get a dull and useless answer because it tries to appease two opposing points of view. This citation explains why ChatGPT cannot make choices for you: “For every expert, there is an equally authoritative one with an opposing point of view.”
If you write a query: “Should we use conscious learning or subconscious training in becoming fluent in a foreign language?” – the answer will be dull and irrelevant. However, if you ask, “What are the benefits of subconscious training in English skills?” – you will get informative and valuable advice.

Summary

The article describes the impact of the AI revolution on learning a foreign language, highlighting the misconceptions surrounding the direct use of ChatGPT in language education. It emphasizes the necessity of subconscious training over conscious learning methods and addresses the inefficacy of traditional approaches in achieving fluency. The text draws parallels between memory types, learning modes, and associated outcomes, advocating for a shift toward subconscious training to attain higher levels of language proficiency. It also explores the challenges adults face in language acquisition compared to children and proposes redefining the learning process to mimic child-like subconscious training. Additionally, it critiques deficit-focused personalized learning and suggests a guided self-learning approach combined with subconscious training for optimal language acquisition. The text concludes by providing practical steps to improve fluency in any foreign language and offers advice on formulating effective queries to obtain valuable responses from AI tools like ChatGPT.