The following is my personal method for practising vocabulary by conversing with an AI chat programme. I personally use ChatGPT, usually in voice mode. ChatGPT conversations are not really the same as conversations with a real human language partner or teacher, but they are an ideal supplement. An AI chat is tireless, forgiving, and will not find your practice sentences boring or repetitive, so it is an idea tool for practising vocabulary. Here are the main steps:
- Take a chapter of your language textbook or take an article or story you’re reading and make a list of words, expressions, and constructions from it that you want to practise, leaving ample space to add notes. I keep a special notebook for all of my work with the chat. When you’re finished making this list, work through it item by item, thinking about how you can use the word in a sentence. You might want to jot down a note by the word to remember what you sentence will be about. Look up any additional vocabulary you’ll need to make your sentence.
- Initiate a chat with ChatGPT. Tell it that you want to practise some words and expressions in the language you’re learning. Then start by saying something like “The first word is ___” or “The next word on my list is ___”. Then say your sentence. Pay attention to the feedback. Try your sentence again if you need to make corrections. If you’re at an intermediate or advanced level, try to conduct your chat entirely in the target language.
- Review the transcription, preferably on the next day, and write down anything useful the chat has said in its feedback. You’re more apt to catch subtle corrections and comments in this step than during the chat. You can go back to your notebook and review your notes later.
- Ask the chat to make a list of your example sentences making any adjustments to make them sound natural and native (make sure to include this last part!). Review the corrected sentences later.
If you do this regularly, you will both watch your vocabulary grow and develop fluency.