Using AI to learn new Languages

The use of AI as a social learning tool goes beyond the scope of helping autistic people connect to their peers. Another way that AI can be employed for communication development is by utilizing it as a language learning program.

Setting up your learning plan

Don't go straight to your AI tool of choice and say, "I want to learn language X". An open-ended prompt will likely leave you with an unsatisfactory learning plan. To ensure you create the learning plan most compatible with your goals, make sure that your AI prompt is specific. This means including things like experience level in the language you want to learn, how proficient you want to become in the language, how quickly you want to reach that proficiency, and the amount of time you intend to devote per week to learning the language of your choice.

For example, I am a half-white, half-Filipino man with no experience with any Filipino dialects who aspires to become a physician. I would like to learn important medical terms in both Ilocano and Tagalog to better connect with members of my community. I plan to devote four hours per week to learning, and hope to reach my proficiency goal in 6 months.

Let's plug my specified goal into ChatGPT and check out the learning plan that is created for me.

My Learning Plan

Using the following prompt: "I am an aspiring physician and want to learn important medical terminology in Tagalog and Ilocano. I have no prior experience with the languages, but I would like to reach the previously stated level of proficiency within the next 6 months. I plan on devoting 4 hours each week to that goal. Can you please write me a learning plan to learn medical Ilocano and Tagalog, please?"

I received this learning plan:

PHASE 1 (Weeks 1–4): Foundations

Goal: Get your mouth, ear, and brain comfortable

Tagalog (2.5 hrs/week)

Focus

• Alphabet & pronunciation

• Sentence structure (Verb–Subject)

• Polite forms (very important culturally)

• Basic greetings

Medical Core

• Body parts

• Pain descriptors

• Yes/no questions

Must-learn phrases

• Masakit ba dito? – Does it hurt here?

• Saan ang sakit mo? – Where is your pain?

• Kailan nagsimula? – When did it start?

• May lagnat ka ba? – Do you have a fever?

Ilocano (1.5 hrs/week)

Focus

• Pronunciation (different stress patterns than Tagalog)

• Basic sentence structure

• Polite addressing

Medical Core

• Body parts

• Pain

• Time words

Must-learn phrases

• Adda sakitmo ditoy? – Does it hurt here?

• Sadino ti sakitmo? – Where is your pain?

• Kaano nagsubli? – When did it start?

🎯 Outcome: You can ask where pain is, when it started, and if it’s severe.

PHASE 2 (Weeks 5–8): Symptoms & History

Goal: Take a basic HPI

Tagalog

Medical Vocabulary

• Headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting

• Chest pain, shortness of breath

• Fever, cough, sore throat

• Diarrhea, constipation

Structures

• Duration (Ilang araw na?)

• Severity (scale 1–10)

• Frequency

Key Phrases

• Gaano kasakit mula isa hanggang sampu?

• Palagi ba o pabalik-balik?

• May hilo ka ba?

Ilocano

Medical Vocabulary

• Fever, pain, cough, breathing difficulty

• Weakness, vomiting

Key Phrases

• Mano ti tultuloy ti sakit? – How long has it lasted?

• Nalaka wenno nadagsen? – Mild or severe?

• Aguy-uyek ka? – Are you dizzy?

🎯 Outcome: You can conduct a simple symptom-based interview.

PHASE 3 (Weeks 9–12): Physical Exam & Instructions

Goal: Direct a patient clearly

Tagalog

Commands

• Breathe in/out

• Sit, stand, lie down

• Point to where it hurts

Examples

• Huminga nang malalim.

• Higa po kayo.

• Ituro kung saan masakit.

Ilocano

Examples

• Ag-inhawa ka.

• Umayka ditoy.

• Itudom ti masakit.

🎯 Outcome: You can guide a basic physical exam.

PHASE 4 (Weeks 13–18): Diagnosis & Counseling

Goal: Explain simply, reassure clearly

Both Languages

Learn how to say

• “This is not dangerous”

• “We need tests”

• “Take this medicine”

• “Come back if it gets worse”

Tagalog

• Hindi ito delikado.

• Kailangan natin ng pagsusuri.

• Inumin ito dalawang beses sa isang araw.

Ilocano

• Saan a delikado daytoy.

• Masapul ti eksamen.

• Inumem daytoy dua a beses iti aldaw.

🎯 Outcome: You can explain next steps and safety-net.

PHASE 5 (Weeks 19–24): Integration & Speed

Goal: Sound natural, not perfect

Weekly Routine

• 1 hr: Medical dialogues (listening + shadowing)

• 1 hr: Role-play aloud

• 1 hr: Vocabulary recall

• 1 hr: Mixed Tagalog/Ilocano review

Practice Scenarios

• ER triage

• Primary care visit

• Post-op instructions

• Concussion check (👀 relevant to you)

🎯 Outcome: You can handle real clinical interactions with confidence.

Getting my Language Practice from AI

Now that I have my learning plan, I must find the resources to apply to the plan. Luckily, ChatGPT pointed me towards some resources when I initially prompted it for my learning plan. This included Tagalog medical phrasebooks, the University of Hawai'i's Ilocano materials, and medical-specific Anki flashcard decks.

ChatGPT also offered to write me medical scripts that I could use to practice the new vocabulary I am learning, similar to how we discussed using it to practice social scripts in a previous blog post.

Personally, I want real-time feedback, so I have decided that I will do most of my learning through ChatGPT itself rather than using external resources. The benefit of this is that ChatGPT can now act as my tutor, a standardized patient, pronunciation coach, and medical phrase generator all in one place while providing a real-time feedback loop as well. This also gives me the ability to tweak my learning schedule on the fly to adapt to my progress and any possible changes to my learning goals.

Why is this important?

Perhaps, the greatest benefit of AI is that it is free. It can provide any given person with an almost unlimited bank of knowledge anytime, anywhere, without spending a dime. Using AI to learn a language is just another way to use this knowledge bank as a valuable tool to learn a new skill.

The capability of AI to quickly create learning plans, provide external resources, and create its own resources allows for the creation of a comprehensive, and uniquely crafted learning experience for any individual. Additionally, the presence of a voice chat feature allows for real-time, open-ended conversation to truly get an immersive learning experience.

Learning a new language is a great way to connect with different members of our communities. Personally, I hope to strengthen my connection with my culture, and to be able to communicate effectively with those in the Filipino community who do not speak English as their first language. Utilizing AI is an exciting new way to learn, and I urge those who aspire to learn a new language to give it a try, rather than using traditional language learning apps.