Linguistics: Language Teaching Models. Danny Moss (Essay 1)

Danny Moss

HST 401 (A)

John Horgan

Linguistics: Language Teaching Models

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved the idea of working with people across the world. Moreover, I love the idea of traveling the world. Especially in my field of medicine, the most brilliant minds work together to find new ways to tackle life’s most harmful diseases. However, these brilliant minds must communicate with one another. How are they supposed to do so when both sides speak different languages? This is why studying languages is important.

This concept is also helpful in the world of media. I love watching anime (Japanese animations), but countless masterpieces have never been translated into English. This is why one of my favorite hobbies is linguistics. But what is the best way to learn languages? There are flashcards, books, and audiobooks. However, there is a serious problem with all of them. None of them give you the chance to practice in real-world situations. For example, you cannot talk to a book. Flashcards can’t let you listen to the words on the piece of paper, and audiobooks don’t let you ask questions.

As the 3rd Century Philosophy Book Xunzi said, “Not hearing is not as good as hearing, hearing is not as good as seeing, seeing is not as good as knowing, knowing is not as good as acting; true learning continues until it is put into action.” In my experience, the only way you will ever get good at something is when you truly get involved and practice in real situations. However, from personal experience, speaking a foreign language with a native speaker always slows down the conversation and is personally embarrassing when I make a mistake, even when the person I am speaking to is happy to help. I have also tried watching shows without English subtitles, but it has made the shows much slower to watch.

That is why I am looking forward to language-learning models to teach people how to speak foreign languages. One such example is TalkOn. I practiced with this technology using my Japanese proficiency. The app provides a system where the AI speaks with subtitles for the original language and the translation. You can even ask it to change the subtitles to include the pronunciation of the words. The AI asks questions to the user about previous statements to continue the conversation. You can tell the AI to do different things. For example, you can have a conversation where the AI will answer your questions like what is your favorite book. However, you can also ask the AI to “correct me when I get something wrong.” It worked well when I tested it with incorrect grammar. The best part is that you can switch between English and Japanese like in a normal conversation, so if you forget a certain word, you can just ask for one in Japanese. It also saves a transcript of the previous statements so you can review what you learned.

Another tool that can be used is ChatGPT. ChatGPT also allows for voice transcription and listening. You can even tell the AI to slow down when you speak to it. For this, I switched between four languages. I started with English before switching to Japanese, then changed to Russian, and finally to Portuguese. I love being able to discuss topics I want to talk about. I don’t feel scared to talk to these chatbots about my nerdy hobbies, and I don’t have the same fears of forgetting a word as I would have with a real person.

This technology has many purposes. For one, it will allow people to learn conversational terms in topics they are interested in. For example, I could learn terms that are more likely to be used in shows, while an accountant could learn words that would be more common in finance. It will also greatly help refugees and immigrants who cannot afford classes or textbooks to learn a new language. This technology will also help people with conditions like ADHD maintain constant attention. The system will provide a carefree and welcoming opportunity for students to try their luck without the fear of falling behind or making mistakes.

Works Cited

Xunzi. Xunzi: Basic Writings. Translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 2003.

OpenAI. "ChatGPT." ChatGPT AI Chatbot, OpenAI, 2025, https://chat.openai.com.

InOrange. TalkOn. InOrange, https://talkon.inorange.ai/. Accessed 26 Jan. 2025.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scaling the Potential of Vertical Farming Going into 2025 and Beyond

Image
  Matthew P Kearney Scaling the Potential of Vertical Farming Going into 2025 and Beyond      Vertical farming may seem like something out of a futuristic movie, but they are very real in today’s agricultural industry. Vertical farming may promote a stronger relationship between urbanization and sustainable crop production. Based on recent innovations across agriculture and technology, vertical farming has the potential to revolutionize our current farming system. Through the development of vertical farming-based production lines, cities and otherwise unfarmable areas can be provided with fresh, local, and pesticide-free produce. Vertical farming and other adaptations of agriculture are not new ideas, but instead a historic and human process.      These technologies are ready to meaningfully address global food security through the technological and computational advancements in agriculture. Vertical farming has a promising future, which becomes a case...
Read more

Knot Your Average Problem: How do Tongue Ties Impact Oral Myofunctional Health?

Image
  Hadia Hussain      Knot Your Average Problem: How do Tongue Ties Impact Oral Myofunctional Health? Sitting in the nursery of the dental office where I worked, I reviewed Baby V’s medical history and reports from the Emergency Department at Jersey City Medical Center. I found it odd that, despite multiple visits and clear signs of malnutrition, no physician had been able to diagnose the cause. Baby V, at a low weight of 12 pounds was struggling with difficulty nursing and bottle feeding, excessive gassiness, colic, clicking sounds when feeding, milk dribbling out of the mouth, and mouth breathing—but doctors had dismissed these signs, labeling him as "healthy."  It didn’t make sense as his low weight raised serious concerns.  According to Pediatric specialists Jenny Olson, DNP, and Sarha DeVrieze, ARNP, at the UnityPoint Clinic, a 9-month-old baby boy should weigh anywhere in between the range of 17 to 25 pounds. Baby V's situation was clearly a ...
Read more

Crisis to Care: NJ’s Battle with Addiction and Homelessness

Image
Vrinda Modi Crisis to Care: NJ’s Battle with Addiction and Homelessness      “Roll a rig!”, I hear over the radio a second after the tones drop. As an EMT in Hoboken, it's all too common for me to respond to at least one 911 call per shift for an individual under the influence passed out on the sidewalk—usually flagged by a concerned bystander or a police officer who believes they might need medical attention. More often than not, the real issue isn't just medical; it's societal. These individuals, often homeless, have become part of the city’s landscape, invisible to most but impossible to ignore. When I ask for their address, it's almost always the local shelter. When we arrive at the ER, we’re often greeted by familiar eye-rolls from disgruntled hospital staff. The ER clerk barely glances up, lets out a sigh, and asks, “Substance abuse?” I nod. “Who is it this time?” By now, the hospital staff know each chronic substance abuser in the city by name. Behind the hospit...
Read more