How and why I use AI

 

If you follow me or Light Bulb Languages on social media, you will have seen that since my retirement from the classroom in the summer I have stepped up my production of resources.  I've been focussing on special days in the calendar that can incorporate a linguistic and cultural element.  This is one of the things that both primary and secondary teachers asked for recently.

When I first started making resources, in the mid 1990s, the tools I used were a photocopier, a black pen, a pair of scissors, a glue stick and Tippex.  All I could make was worksheets or handwritten and drawn acetates for my trusty overhead projector.  

In the thirty or so years since then, the tools available to the resource-making teacher have changed hugely.  The computer, printer, CD-Roms of clip art, the interactive whiteboard and therefore PowerPoint....  The most recent development has been the arrival of AI tools.

I first tried out creating resources using AI in 2023, and at that time found it quite limited and frustrating.  Since then the tools have advanced rapidly, and others added to their number.  I then returned to AI last year, using it to help with my Reading Aloud in Spanish resource.  I could see then how much the tools had improved, and how much more useful they could be.

Nowadays, anyone can create a resource simply by typing a prompt into one of the AI tools, and lots of people have been.  It is usually pretty easy to spot something that has been created using AI and shared "as is".  The materials generated usually have a certain look about them, and students are going to be seeing them popping up in lessons across all their different subject areas.

I don't use AI to generate complete resources.  I use it to assist me in creating resources.

Let's take my recent Día de Muertos resource pack as an example.  Here are the steps that I took to create the resource pack:

1. I wrote in my notebook a list of the ideas that I had for resources.
2. I asked ChatGPT, Claude.ai and Google Gemini for ideas for the resource pack, and added the ones I liked to my list.
3. I researched the different elements such as calaveras, ofrendas and la Catrina.  I didn't know much, going in, about the festival.
4. I chose the 24 resources from my list that I wanted to include in the pack, and started to create the activities in the worksheet template that I already had set up.
5. Día de Muertos is a celebration with some very striking images, and one of the main things that I used AI for was creating images to accompany the resources.  I found ChatGPT most useful for image generation.  Some of these are from Google Gemini.  I kept the images used in the activities black and white, as per my personal policy.
   
   
   
   
   
6. I also used AI tools to write texts about, for example, El cempasúchil and La Calavera Catrina.  I then took these and edited them, often deleting parts and simplifying some of the language.
7. I then checked all the texts against the GCSE prescribed word list.  I uploaded the Edexcel interactive vocabulary list to Claude.ai (I find Claude the most reliable tool for anything language based) and asked it to generate a list of the vocabulary that was in the text but not on the Foundation Tier vocabulary list.  I then glossed that vocabulary on the resource.  This has saved a huge amount of time, and means I haven't had to look up every single word on the vocabulary list myself.
8. Claude.ai was also helpful for suggesting reading comprehension questions.

Here are some of the pages of the resource pack.  You can see that I have used AI elements on each page, but compiled the rest of it according my own resource creation principles, and thinking carefully about the learners who are going to be using it.

AI tools are certainly a game changer as far as creating resources is concerned.  They save time, inspire us with ideas and can help us to adjust resources for different ages and levels of student.  However we still need to be alert to inaccuracies, also their suggestions, especially for lesson plans, can be a bit bland and repetitive, and, most of all, they don't know the students in your class and their precise needs.

Do you use AI tools to create resources for the classroom?  How and why do you use them?

Curriculum and Assessment review: update

 I've written before, at length, about the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) and especially about its implications for languages in primary schools.

I heard recently that Key Stage 3 would also be having some changes following the review, something that isn't mentioned in the DfE Response to the CAR, and which I hadn't heard about before.

At the beginning of September I asked the DfE about this directly:

One of the recommendations for KS2 Foreign Languages in the Curriculum and Assessment Review was the creation of a minimum core content. I have heard recently that KS3 MFL will also be having a minimum core content, even though this was not in the CAR or in the DfE response to the CAR. Please can you confirm if both key stages will have a minimum core content or just KS2.

Today I received a reply:

Thank you for getting in contact to request information about key stage 3 modern languages and curriculum reform following the publication of the Curriculum Assessment Review and Government response. 

As you mention in your email, one of the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review was that the government update the key stage 2 languages programme of study to include a clearly defined minimum core content for French, German and Spanish to standardise expectations about what ‘substantial progress in one language’ looks like. The government accepted these recommendations, and we are proposing some amendments to key stage 3 to maintain coherence across the key stages. This is to make sure that the cumulative linguistic knowledge introduced in primary aligns with expectations for early secondary. We will ensure that the proposed changes at key stage 3 align with the recent reforms to GCSEs in French, German and Spanish which introduced specified vocabulary, grammar and phonics for the first time. 

I hope that this response is helpful. 

It seems, therefore, that they are taking the opportunity to work from the top down, creating the KS2 and KS3 lists from the already existing GCSE lists.

International Translation Day resource packs

It's well known in the languages community that 26th September is European Day of Languages, but did you know that 30th September is also an important day for languages?

30th September each year is International Translation Day.   30th September is also the feast day of St Jerome, who in 405 AD completed a translation of the Bible into Latin from Hebrew.  For this reason, St Jerome is the patron saint of translators.

International Translation Day honours language professionals worldwide for breaking down barriers, enhancing global dialogue and connecting countries and cultures.  It was adopted by the United Nations, where it is used to highlight global diplomacy, peace and development.

Each year, there is a theme, and for 2026 it is "The power of being understood".

These resource packs aim to introduce students to different aspects of translation and interpreting, and also to practise translation in the run-up to the GCSE examination. All the French and Spanish used is from the Edexcel vocabulary lists for Foundation Tier, unless otherwise specified. Vocabulary that is not in the Foundation Tier lists is glossed on the resources. 

Each of the 10 resources in each pack also has a page of notes, information and an answer key for the teacher. These resources will be most suitable for higher ability Key Stage 3 students (age 11- 14) and for Key Stage 4 students (age 14- 16). They can be used in class as part of a lesson, but would also be ideal for enrichment activities and language clubs.

You will find the French resource pack here, and the Spanish resource pack here.

Light Bulb Languages resources moving forward

Over the last couple of weeks I have had a couple of surveys open to find out what kind of resources language teachers would like to see on Light Bulb Languages.  I had one survey for primary and another for secondary.  Today I have been collating the results so that I can see what I need to focus on from now on.  I'm sharing the findings here and signposting some resources that are already on the website.

Primary teachers would like:

• resources linked to traditional songs
• resources for daily routine
• resources about school
• resources for telling the time:  There are French time resources here and Spanish here.
• dictionary lessons
• listening resources:  Have a look at the LiPS Listening Project
• short stories with activities
• reading comprehensions, fiction and non-fiction
• retrieval resources
• sentence builders:  The majority of the units in the French scheme of work and all the unit in the Spanish schemes of work have sentence builders to accompany them.
• cover lessons that fit in with the commonly taught topics
• resources for younger learners in nursery and reception

I also asked if there were any special days or festivals that they would like resources for:

• European Day of Languages: I have recently published a pack of 40 activities for European Day of Languages.
• Christmas:  There are Christmas activities for French, Spanish and German already on the website.
• Journée internationale de la Francophonie
• Easter: There are already some French Easter resources here and Spanish here.
• Mother's Day
• 14 juillet (Bastille Day): I have blogged about this but as yet have not created any resources
• Sporting events throughout the year
• Chandeleur
• Fête des Rois
• Día de los Muertos: There are some resources here already, but not many.  I didn't teach it as both my schools were Church of England.
• International Mother Tongue Day
• Cultural events in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
• resources for Karneval
• resources for fiestas in Spanish America

In the "anything else" section, one teacher asked if I could arrange the resources in each unit in the French scheme of work in the same way as in the Spanish.  Of course I will do that.  By the way, all the scheme of work documents for the French scheme are now complete.

Now moving on to secondary.

As far as text books are concerned, there was a wide range of books being used, with some schools not using a text book:

• AQA GCSE
• Zoom
• Allez
• Studio  
• Viva 
• Mira
• Edexcel GCSE
• Stimmt
• Echt
• Kerboodle
• Dynamo
• Sentence Builders Trilogy
• Amici

Secondary teachers would like:

• Games
• Sentence builders: For Studio 1 there are resources here and sentence builders here. 
  There are also Studio 2 Rouge resources here, Studio 2 Rouge sentence builders here, Studio 3 Rouge sentence builders here and some Studio 3 Vert sentence builders here. 
  There are Viva 1 sentence builders here and resources for Mira 1 here.
• GCSE exam support
• Listening resources
• Catchy but not childish songs: There are a number of songs in French and Spanish on the Light Bulb Languages YouTube channel.
• KS3/KS4 cover lessons with marking key
• News stories about the UK as reported in other countries where the languages are spoken
• speaking games
• cultural grammar activities
• GCSE German writing practice
• Phonics and phonics games
• puzzles suitable for KS3
• authentic resources for higher students to push them to grades 7/8/9
• reading comprehension activities

They would also like resources for these special days and festivals:

• non-European festivals such as Eid in Morocco
• St Martin's Day
• Poisson d'avril
• Tour de France: I have blogged about the Tour but haven't created any resources yet.
• European Day of Languages: I have recently published a pack of 40 activities for European Day of Languages.
• Christmas: There are Christmas activities for French, Spanish and German already on the website.
• Fête des Rois
• Día de los Muertos: There are some resources here already, but not many.  I didn't teach it as both my schools were Church of England.
• Cinco de Mayo
• La Tomatina
• Feria de abril
• Journée internationale de la Francophonie
• sporting events
• Reyes: There are a number of Reyes resources in the Spanish Christmas resources.
• El Colacho
• fiestas from Spanish-speaking America

In the "anything else" section, one teachers asked for a list of different activities to use in the classroom.  Have a look at Adaptable Activities for your Language Lessons.

Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to respond to the survey.  Your responses have given me plenty to go on.  There are some things that I already have on my list but some which I hadn't thought of.  

Something else that I have planned is a major redesign of the website, which will take some time.  A dilemma that I have currently is whether or not to keep the website free.  I've now retired from the classroom, so my main source of income is no more.  The website makes very little money, as all its income is from Google Ads.  I'm also aware that some of the resources on the site are not mine.  Any constructive comments about this or about resources are welcome.

Here's wishing you all the best of luck for the forthcoming academic year.  I will try to support you as best I can.

European Day of Languages Resource Pack

 

I've written a few times about European Day of Languages and language days before, giving ideas and links to help with celebrating those days in school.

After teaching my last ever lesson as a classroom teacher on July 22nd, I have finished my first "retirement" project which is a resource pack for European Day of Languages.

It contains 40 resources, which you will be able to print off and use straightaway.  There will be something to suit all learners, from Key Stage 2 (age 7-11) to Key Stage 4 (age 14-16).  You know your learners best, and will be able to choose something to suit them.  There are some resources in French and Spanish, but the majority are in English about languages from all over the world, so will suit learners of any language other than English.

Here are screenshots of the introduction and contents, to give you an idea of what's in the resource pack.  I hope you like it, and that it helps you in your preparation and planning for European Day of Languages and other language days.