Nicholas James Figueroa

Lecturer of Spanish, Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures

The purpose of my in-person language course: SPAN UN 1101: Elementary Spanish I is for students to establish a Spanish communicative, strategic, and pragmatic competence, with stress on basic oral interaction, reading, writing, and cultural knowledge. The class size of the course consists of 15  undergraduate/graduate students. The learning goals for students are to understand and produce commonly used sentences to satisfy immediate needs; ask and answer questions about personal details such as where we live, people we know and things we have; interact in a simple manner with people who speak clearly, slowly and are ready to cooperate; and understand simple and short written and audiovisual texts in Spanish. With a flipped classroom framework/approach, all class discussions and activities are conducted in the Spanish language through interactive, collaborative tasks. 

Teaching students to leverage AI and develop their AI literacy

I have approached teaching and learning in the age of AI with receptiveness and curiosity, implementing both new and emerging AI innovations and technologies to consistently improve my course. I have combined this with my course’s learning objectives/lesson plans to maintain students’ fundamental and critical thinking skills. I have emphasized both foundational skills and resourcefulness with a forwardness to responsibly incorporate technological AI advancements in the classroom. The goal is in balancing both traditional, ethical and educational values with the ever-evolving AI landscape. 

When teaching language in the age of AI, I try my best to instill a couple of different methods, strategies, and conversations. I emphasize with students the significance and importance of practicing the material themselves so that they engage directly with the language. I do this with various assignments, both in the classroom and for homework, to which I prohibit the use of AI as a supplement. As the course continues and my students develop a basic foundation across the five skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing, and culture), I begin to incorporate activities such as comparative analysis with AI generated texts/translations with human text productions, so that they we as a class can identify, analyze, and critique AI output, not only with errors, but the contextual and cultural misunderstandings, alongside misusages of expressions, descriptions, tone, and emotions frequent in human productions, but lacking in AI.  My students and I have conversations and reflections on maintaining AI as a supplementary learning tool and not as a solution or way of generating and replacing full content; learning is not done this way! By informing students of the limitations of AI, as well as its strengths, I continuously promote academic integrity and the ethical use of this tool when producing their original work.  There is a level and fostered environment of trust with students that they will do the best they can, responsibly using the tools at their disposal.

Course elements that evolved with the integration of AI

Overall, my course has evolved as I have integrated AI into my teaching. There has been a level of consideration of how AI and its tools are going to responsibly enhance educational outcomes and supplement the learning that occurs within the class. My interactive activities and assignments have evolved as students implement AI technologies to help improve their language learning development. For example, students have been able to use AI speech to independently practice and engage in Spanish conversations. This platform gives prompts and feedback which sharpen their listening and speaking skills. Other AI platforms have allowed students to practice their reading and writing skills. With various collaboration tasks, students are able to use differing AI models to analyze various productions, improve their problem-solving skills, and reflect on the feedback given. 

As a class, we have been able to practice using AI to help navigate and solve difficulties that may arise in the real world and linguistic landscapes. I have taught my students to leverage AI and develop their AI  literacy by enforcing the notion that it is to be used as a supplement, not a replacement. By entrusting  students with a full level of transparency, there is a constant, ethical conversation and understanding throughout all aspects of the course regarding AI. Throughout various opportunities, such as interactive activities, projects, and reflections, I focus on various scenarios and how AI can serve as an asset in the  real world, evoking continuous learning.  

Lessons learned from teaching and learning with AI 

Teaching and learning with AI is an eye-opening experience if one allows themselves to engage with it. It can be an effective tool in helping to promote the learning experience for students in the classroom. AI has allowed me to expand the depth of my teaching practices through the activities and assignments in my course. Now with such tools that allow my students new opportunities that were difficult to embody previously, I have learned that when responsibly integrated, AI has assisted and allowed learning to be more personalized and readily available as a resource. Learning and working with AI has enhanced the creativity and critical thinking that occurs in both the collaboration and communication with my students. This is vital as both qualities are essential in the language learning environment when used responsibly  and effectively. 

Advice for colleagues on leveraging AI for teaching and learning

The advice I have for other instructors at Columbia University is that although many of us are accustomed to our course designs over many years, I implore everyone to explore AI and its platforms/technological tools. As the world is constantly evolving, especially across learning and dialogue, it is imperative that we too evolve. It can truly be a direct benefit in the learning development and experience of students in  the classroom. I would advise my colleagues to step out of a realm of fear and look into the possibilities of personalized tools that may be provided through AI platforms. With various AI tools available, they can assist in their students’ needs and learning styles, while simultaneously predicting the ways in which they can become a deterrent. I would advise incorporating AI in small ways throughout their learning outcomes and lessons, noting the effect it has on their student’s engagement and learning. Finally, I would  recommend finding a balance of AI in both the teacher’s and student’s journey while staying updated to the recent advancements in AI. In addition, getting feedback from the reflection of students and other colleagues will allow you to continuously modify and revise lesson plans. In responsibly incorporating AI into the classroom, instructors can effectively create more engaging lessons, activities, projects, and  memorable experiences.