AI-Powered Language Learning

My teaching journey began with a deep desire to help foreigners feel at home in my community. What drives me is creating bridges between cultures and supporting people as they navigate new environments. This passion shows up in everything I do - whether I'm teaching Italian to newcomers in Italy or supporting immigrants learning languages in Belgium.

Being both a teacher and eternal student myself, I know the value of efficient, personalized learning. Yes, teaching is how I make a living, but my real joy comes from seeing my students make quick, meaningful progress. I love focusing on content that matters to people personally - after all, I know from experience that we learn vocabulary much better when it connects to what we care about!

The Role of AI in Language Learning

Technology has always been there to solve our everyday challenges. Think about it - just like planes changed how we travel, AI is now revolutionizing how we learn languages. For me, AI isn't something to fear - it's a fantastic tool that helps us learn more efficiently, especially when we're juggling work and study. My goal? Helping students truly understand language while making the most of their time.

My AI-Powered Learning Approach

I've found that AI tools are perfect for tackling traditional learning hurdles - they let me learn at my own speed and really focus on the tricky bits. Here's my toolkit:

• ChatGPT for Translations and Simplification: This is my go-to for translating and adapting content to my current level (A2-B1). When something's too complex, I ask for a simpler version that still includes some new words to learn. If I'm still confused, I rephrase it using words I know well.
• Notion AI for Note-Taking and Analysis: Perfect for creating detailed notes, verb tables, and grammar explanations. I keep everything in Notion and use its AI to explore language patterns. At €9.50 compared to ChatGPT Pro's €20, it's a bargain for analyzing language structure!
• AI for Transcription: The ChatGPT app is brilliant at turning speech into text, which I then dig into using Notion. I can move everything over and use Notion's "Explain" feature when I hit unfamiliar words.
• Notebook LM: This is my favorite for YouTube videos - it gives you transcripts, translations, word lists, and even helps test your understanding.

Occasionally I also use Perplexity and Claude, but I easily spend weeks without really using them.

Let's Learn Better

Let's be honest - traditional language courses often miss the mark, especially when they insist on using only the target language for complex explanations before students are ready.

I've seen it myself - students often only grasp about 30% when everything's explained in a language they're still learning. Why make things harder than they need to be?

That's why I'm all about using AI tools to make learning more personal, relevant, and time-efficient. 

Thanks to Notion AI for example I can give written explanations in Russian, while it's a language that I only know passively, while I'm explaining orally in English or Dutch to a student whose English is not that great and whose target language is exactly Dutch.

The way forward in language learning is about embracing these amazing tools to spot patterns, build confidence with model sentences, and avoid getting overwhelmed. Whether you're learning or teaching, AI opens up incredible new possibilities. 

Let's make learning smarter and more enjoyable!