I’ve just finished grading my students’ essays. One student wrote, “AI translation is so accurate now that we won’t need to study English seriously in the future.” I was honestly a little worried after reading that.

Some students in my class say the same thing. Yesterday, one student used translation software to write an email in Chinese. The sentences looked correct, but the tone was extremely stiff, almost as if they were giving the teacher orders.

Exactly. AI can translate the literal meaning, but it doesn’t always know when the wording should be more tactful. And when you’re talking with someone from another country, you can’t take out your phone before every sentence, can you?

Besides, knowing a language isn’t only about translation. When you can understand the other person’s jokes, emotions, and habits, communication no longer feels as though there’s always a barrier between you.

Still, I can’t completely oppose students using AI. It really is fast at correcting grammar and looking up unfamiliar words. I occasionally use it when preparing lessons too.

Of course they can use the tool. The key is not to hand over their thinking to it as well. They can write something themselves first, ask AI to check it, and then decide whether its corrections are actually right.

Well said. Tomorrow, I’m planning to have the students complete one dialogue with AI and another by themselves, and then compare which one sounds more natural.

That sounds like a good activity. Letting them discover the problems themselves will be more effective than repeatedly trying to persuade them. I’d like to try it in my Chinese class too.