‘Correct’ can’t be corrected because you’ve hit a ceiling.’
Today, I’m sharing an experimental tool I built to help come up with ‘upgraded’ versions of (spoken) sentences. I believe it could be useful for teachers who want to give non-corrective feedback at the sentence level (or language upgrades). If you’re not familiar with the concept or are looking for practical ideas on how to upgrade language rather than correct it, watch this Adrian Underhill’s webinar (Beyond Correction) and read Rachel Tsateri’s post (Upgrading or Correcting?). I think this is exactly the assessment area that should be a particular focus in CPD sessions at the moment. The traditional right or wrong paradigm, with teachers as the main arbiters of ‘correctness’, is becoming less relevant with the rise of large language models. Teachers are not being replaced (well, shouldn’t, except in the fairy-tale vision promoted by parts of the tech industry and education management) but their roles are clearly shifting.
The tool can also serve as a learning resource for students, ideally with teacher guidance, especially for learners who feel stuck as they work toward advanced proficiency (the plateau effect).
Gridskai
The app is easy to use: it provides ‘upgrade’ options in small bites for learners to chew on (‘grickaj’).
It offers two levels of upgrades, similar to what we often do in the classroom. The first focuses on language and wording, suggesting more sophisticated vocabulary and grammar to help learners introduce greater variety into their speech (and providing brief explanations of changes introduced). The second level expands ideas slightly, helping learners avoid sounding like a tech manual (‘strictly functional’).
I’ve also included a number of register options (see the roles under Custom: Diplomat, Disruptor, IT Guy, Counsellor, and Trendsetter, along with the option to add custom instructions. And there’s always the option to ground a sentence when it feels a bit off.
Here’s a quick snapshot of how it works.
All new additions to the seed sentence are highlighted in green, and every word is clickable if the user needs a quick reference.
Paraphrasing the infamous saying, one click is worth a thousand words, so you can try it for yourself here and see whether it works for you and your learners. Or perhaps it will spark a few ideas about how to include (or expand) language upgrades in your classroom practice, with or without AI.
Happy sentence making!
If you fancy playing with individual words, check out my Wordsplainer word playground.
And if you have interesting ideas or applications in mind, I’m always open to them!
Share this:
Discover more from ELT-CATION
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
