On Thursday afternoon, S2 German pupils worked with the Gemini chatbot to see how it could support the accuracy and use of thematic vocabulary when writing role plays and giving directions. 

This formed the main focus of a teacher exchange project that Mrs Eadon, Teacher of Modern Languages, has been involved in for a week with her exchange partner Steffi Rhode from Hittorf-Gymnasium, Recklinghausen, organised by the Goethe Institut. 

Responding to an AI generated map, the chatbot followed our prompt and gave detailed feedback to pupils on their work. Teachers' feedback involved a dartboard of comments generated by Oncoo, as well as a class Q&A session. 

Pupils’ feedback included: “We could learn at our own pace” “New experience, it corrected errors”, but they also expressed a wish to use a mix of resources in class, and that the chatbot should not replace working with other pupils.

Staff and pupils were very aware of being critical of AI. Mrs Eadon and Mrs Rhode attended the Goethe Institut AI in Modern Languages conference in London last week, and pupils heard our Director of Digital Education Mrs Power, talk on the sensible use of AI at a recent assembly. Mrs Power said: “Artificial intelligence can be a powerful learning partner when used wisely. It should never replace human creativity or connection, but it can help pupils reflect on accuracy, language, and expression in a way that feels immediate and engaging."