Transcript of AE 1415 - 6 Ways to Use AI to Improve Your English

G'day, you mob! Welcome to Aussie English. I'm your host, Pete, and my objective here is to teach you guys the English spoken Down Under. So whether you want to sound like a fair dinkum Aussie or you just want to understand what the flippin hell we're on about when we're having a yarn, you've come to the right place. So sit back, grab a cuppa, and enjoy Aussie English. Let's go. G'day you mob.

Welcome to the Aussie English podcast. I hope you're all going well. Now today we're going to be talking about something that is absolutely everywhere, at the moment, AI.

But more specifically, how you can actually use AI to improve your English.

Because here's the thing. Most people are using AI completely wrong. They're treating it like Google. They're asking questions, reading answers, maybe learning a few new words, but they're not actually improving their English in any meaningful way.

They're not speaking. They're not getting feedback, and they're not repeating anything. And so even though they've got access to this incredibly powerful tool, nothing really changes.

And you might be doing this right now without even realising it. So here's the key idea for today.

AI should be your personal English coach, not just a dictionary.

If you use it passively, nothing happens. But if you use it actively, if you speak, interact, get feedback, you can improve ridiculously fast.

So in today's episode, I'm going to give you six smart ways to use AI properly.

These are all practical. They're all simple and they're all things you can start doing today. In fact, if I were learning another language right now, this is exactly how I'd be using AI.

Before we get into the meat of this episode though, guys, quick heads up. I've put together a free PDF that fixes all the issues that people have with AI, and it goes with today's episode.

It shows you exactly how to turn AI into a speaking partner, how to get feedback properly, and a simple ten minute daily routine that you can follow. So instead of just listening to this episode, you can actually start improving today. You can download that for free in the description.

All right. Let's get into number one.

Method one: AI is a speaking partner. So first, and probably the most powerful way to use AI is to use it as a speaking partner.

Now, one of the biggest problems for English learners is not having someone to practice speaking with. Maybe you don't know many native speakers. Maybe you don't have time to meet up with people, or maybe you just feel a bit nervous speaking English in real life. But that's completely normal.

But this is where AI is incredibly useful, because you have someone you can talk to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With zero pressure and zero judgement.

So, how do you actually do this? It's very simple.

You open up AI, could be ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, whatever it is that you're using, and you ask it to role play a situation.

For example, you could say, pretend you're an Australian barista. I'll order a coffee. Correct me if I make mistakes and then you just start speaking. You order a coffee, you respond to questions, you have a conversation.

And you can do this for anything, any topic you want. You could practice job interviews, small talk, conversations at work, chatting with friends, opening a bank account, anything you're likely to experience in real life.

Now, here's the really important part. Most people will still use this incorrectly. So make sure you do these three things.

First, speak out loud. Don't just type your answers. Actually speak. Even if it feels a bit weird at first because fluency comes from speaking, not typing.

Second, keep your answers short. Don't try and say everything perfectly in one long sentence. Keep it simple. That way you can get more back and forth conversation. More turns equals more practice.

And third, don't interrupt yourself for corrections. Finish what you want to say and then ask for feedback. That way, your training fluency first and accuracy second.

Now here's where you can make this even better, especially for Aussie English. You can tell the AI something like "use casual Australian English" or "use natural expressions", or "make it sound like a real conversation".

And now you're not just practising English, you're practising how Australians actually speak.

And this works so well because you're not translating in your head anymore. You're reacting, you're responding, you're thinking in English. And that's exactly what you need to do to build fluency. So instead of just reading English, you're actually using it in real time.

All right. Now once you're doing that, the next step is making sure you're actually improving from it. And that's where method number two comes in.

Method two: get instant feedback. All right. So once you're actually speaking. The next step is making sure you're improving because speaking on its own is great. But if no one corrects you, you can end up repeating the same mistakes again and again.

And this is what we call fossilisation, where your mistakes become habits and they're really hard to fix later.

Now this is where AI becomes incredibly powerful because it can act as your personal teacher and give you instant feedback.

So here's what you can do. After you've done some speaking. You can take what you've said and you can ask AI to correct it.

In fact, if you have the same chat open, you can just ask AI to read back over the text you said and correct it for you.

For example, you could say something like "Correct this and explain my mistakes simply, then rewrite it into natural Australian English".

And what you'll get back is your corrected version an explanation of what you did wrong and a more natural way of saying it.

And this is where a lot of learners make a mistake. They read the correction and then they move on. Don't do that.

This is where the learning actually happens. You need to slow down, look at your mistakes and understand what did I say? What should I have said? Why is this better?

And then, this is the key. Say the corrected version out loud. Repeat it. Use it again. That's how you actually improve.

Now you can also take this further. You can ask AI to give you a more natural version, a more advanced version, or even a simpler version. So you can see how the same idea changes depending on your level.

And again, this is where you can bring in Aussie English. You can use prompts like "make it sound more Australian" or "make it sound like something an Aussie would actually say".

And now you're not just learning correct English, you're learning natural, real world English.

And the reason this works so well is because of something called "noticing". You start seeing the gap between what you said and what a native speaker would say.

And that gap, that awareness, is what drives improvement. So now you're not just practising, you're actually getting better every time. All right.

So once you're speaking and getting feedback, the next step is working on how you sound.

And that's where pronunciation comes in.

Now this is where a lot of people get stuck. You might be thinking, okay, this is great, I get it. But tomorrow you don't do anything. It's not knowledge, it's consistency.

And consistency is hard when you don't know what to say, what to practice, or what to focus.

That's exactly why I created the 100 day AI fluency plan. It removes all of that. Every day you just show up and speak. If you need that kind of structure, it's in the description. Go check it out.

Method three: train your pronunciation. Now, pronunciation is one of those things that a lot of learners either ignore or don't really know how to improve. You might feel like "I know what I want to say, but people don't always understand me", or "Maybe I don't sound natural".

And the problem is, most learners don't know which sounds they're getting wrong and how to actually fix them.

And again, this is where AI can help you massively. You can use it as a pronunciation coach. So what do you actually do?

You can ask it for very specific practice. For example, "give me minimal pairs for the vowels /I/ and /e/ in Australian English. And in that prompt I should add, you can see the IPA symbols for those vowel sounds. That's what's key. Using the right symbols and saying Australian English.

Or you could say something like "give me ten sentences to practice the vowel /æ/". Again, the IPA symbols are there in the prompt. And what you'll get is targeted practice for the exact sounds you need to work on.

Now here's how to actually use this. Don't just read the sentences once you want to repeat them multiple times. Say them slowly, then naturally record yourself and compare.

This is where the improvement happens. You hear the difference. You adjust, you improve.

And this is where you've got a huge advantage with Aussie English because you can focus on Australian vowel sounds, connected speech reductions, all the things that make your English sound more natural.

You can even ask things like "Give me sentences with connected speech in Australian English". And now you're training how English is actually spoken Down Under and not just how it's written.

And the reason this works so well is because it's targeted. You're not guessing. You're not just trying to sound better. You're working on specific sounds with repetition and feedback. And that's how pronunciation improves.

One thing I will add here is that it's very difficult to kind of get personalised feedback from AI on your pronunciation of sounds when speaking with it. It doesn't have that capability yet.

So if you need that kind of feedback from a native speaker who teaches pronunciation, definitely get in touch with me, send me a message and tell me you're interested in some private lessons.

And even if it's just one lesson, I can give you feedback on your pronunciation issues, what to focus on, and then you can go away and work on those issues using what you've learned here.

All right, so now you're speaking. You're getting feedback. You're improving your pronunciation. The next step is making sure you're learning vocab in the right way. And this is where most learners go wrong.

Method four: learn vocabulary in context. All right. So now let's talk about vocabulary, because this is another area where a lot of learners go wrong.

Most people learn vocab as individual words. They memorise lists, they translate, they try to remember definitions. But then when it comes time to speak, they can't actually use those words naturally.

And that's because language isn't made up of just individual words. It's made up of chunks, multiple words together, collocations, common patterns. So instead of learning words in isolation, you want to learn them in context.

And again AI is perfect for this. So instead of asking it something like, what does this word mean? You can ask, "Give me ten collocations with this word used in everyday situations", or "Use these vocab in short natural sentences".

So for example, instead of just learning the word "take", you learn, "take a break", "take your time", "take responsibility", "take a chance" and you see how they're actually used in real sentences.

Now you can also take this further. You can ask things like "Make this more informal" or "Make this more formal". Or "How would an Australian say this?" And now you're not just learning vocabulary, you're learning how to actually use it.

And here's the key tip: Always learn vocab as word, plus context, plus example, not just the word on its own. Because that's what allows you to use it fluently later.

And the reason this works is because your brain starts recognising patterns. Instead of building sentences word by word, you start using chunks automatically. And that's what fluency really is.

All right, so once you're building your vocabulary like this, the next step is making sure you're actually using it consistently. And that's where daily practice comes in.

But before we get into that, if you want to actually use all of this, don't forget to grab today's free downloadable PDF because this episode is great for understanding the ideas, but the free PDF turns it into something you can actually use.

It gives you the prompts, it gives you the structure, and it gives you the daily routine so you don't have to remember anything. You just open it, follow it, and start speaking the links in the description.

Method five: build a daily speaking habit. Now, this one is probably the most important overall because you can have the best tools, the best methods, the best resources.

But if you're not consistent, you're not going to improve. And this is where most learners struggle. They practice one day, skip three days, do it a bit more, and then stop again.

And I'm totally guilty of this when it comes to guitar at the moment, that's what I'm working on. And I keep doing exactly this, skipping days, forgetting to go back. As a result of doing this, there's no system, no routine, and no real progress.

So what you want to do is use AI to build a daily speaking habit. And the key here is structure, not randomness.

So instead of just opening AI and asking random questions, you give it a clear job. For example, "Give me three daily speaking questions. Ask the same ones every day, but change the topic slightly".

And now you've got a routine! Every day you're doing something familiar but slightly different. So you might be describing your day, giving your opinion, solving a problem.

And the magic here is repetition. You're repeating the same types of tasks but with new content. So your brain gets faster, more automatic, more fluent.

And this is exactly how language is learned. Not by doing something once, but by doing it again and again and again with small variations.

Now you can also add an Aussie English layer here. You can ask the AI to "include casual expressions from Australian English". "Use natural phrasing from Australian English". "Practice agreeing and disagreeing politely in Aussie English".

So now you're not just practising English, you're practising real conversations using Australian English.

And this works so well because it reduces hesitation. You don't have to think as much. You just respond. And that's when you start feeling fluent.

All right, now the final method is probably the most powerful in terms of long term improvement.

Method six: turn your life into English practice. And this one is all about making your English personal.

Because one of the biggest problems with learning English is that it often feels disconnected from your real life. You're talking about random topics, doing textbook exercises, learning things you don't actually use, and so it doesn't stick. But what if you used your own life as the content?

This is where AI becomes incredibly powerful. Because you can talk about your day, your job, your experiences, your opinions, and then get feedback on them.

For example, you could use a prompt like, "Here's what I did today. Correct it and make it sound more natural". And then you describe your day, what you did, who you spoke to, what happened, and the AI helps you improve it.

Now you can take this even further. You can ask it things like make it more fluent, make it sound more native-like: "Make it more natural in Australian English". And now you're learning English that is directly relevant to your life.

And that's why this works so well. Because it's meaningful, it's emotional, it's real. And that makes it much easier to remember, much easier to use again, and much more motivating. So instead of learning English in isolation, you're integrating it into your daily life.

And that's where real progress happens.

Three mistakes to avoid. All right, before we finish up, I want to quickly go through three mistakes to avoid because these will completely kill your progress even if you're using AI.

First, being passive. If you just reading AI responses and not speaking, you're not going to improve your fluency. You have to use the language.

Second, not asking for feedback. If you're not getting corrections, you're going to keep making the same mistakes and they'll become habits.

And third, using AI like Google. Just asking random questions, jumping from topic to topic with no structure. You need a system. You need repetition. You need consistency. That's what drives progress.

So to wrap things up, AI is an incredibly powerful tool, but only if you use it properly. If you use it passively, nothing really changes. But if you use it actively, if you speak, get feedback, repeat and build a routine, you can improve your English much, much faster.

So here's a simple challenge for you. Pick just one of the methods from today's episode and try it today. Don't wait. Don't overthink it. Just start.

And if you're serious about your English, not just understanding more, but actually becoming someone who speaks fluently, then the next step is simple. You need a system.

Because fluency doesn't come from watching videos or listening to podcasts. It comes from speaking every day, improving every day, and staying consistent.

That's exactly what the 100 day AI Fluency Plan is designed to do. So instead of thinking, "what should I do today?", you already know. You just show up and you speak.

If that's what you need, check it out in the description. And if you want to take it a step further and actually practice speaking with real people, including myself, you can also check out the Aussie English Academy as well. That's where we do this kind of training together. Again, the link will be in my description.

All right guys, so thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope it gave you a lot of ideas, and I hope you will take those ideas and level up your fluency starting today. Besides that, I'm Pete, this is Aussie English. Thanks for joining me and I'll catch you next time. Tooroo!

All right, that's it for today. If you found this one helpful, leaving a quick review really does help other learners find the podcast. And if you know someone who's learning Aussie English, feel free to share this episode with them too, mate. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you in the next one!