How to learn French with an artificial intelligence (GPT Chat)?

 

What is the GPT chat?

The GPT chat was created on the basis of artificial intelligence. It works as a virtual assistant designed to answer our questions. It understands our questions and can give us precise and relevant answers.
 

It is also programmed to be able to communicate in a natural way, so that we can interact with it as with a real person.
 

Even if this is not its primary purpose, it can eventually be used to help learn French in different ways and this is what we will see now!
 

 

 

GPT chat answers your questions about French

You can use the GPT chat to answer your questions about French: grammar, vocabulary and even culture.
 

I find her answers quite precise, well explained and with examples.
 

For example, I will ask him: how to use the imparfait tense in French?
 

Then the GPT chat tells me:
 

🤖 L'imparfait is a past tense that is used to describe an action that took place or was repeated in a usual or regular way in the past. It also expresses a state or situation that was in progress at a given time in the past.
 

That's right, that's correct. Then he gives me some examples with the imparfait tense:
 

• 🤖 Je regardais la télévision tous les soirs. (repeated action)
   

Yes, I would say it was a habit.
 

• 🤖 Il faisait chaud hier. (state)
   

• 🤖 Nous habitions en ville à l'époque. (situation)
   

Afterwards, he gives me explanations on how to form the imparfait tense and conjugated verbs in the imparfait tense as examples. It's great!
 

The examples are good. I admit that it may lack a little detail. But, you can always ask him for more details, that's the advantage of this chat.
 

 

I'm going to ask him: why is the imparfait tense used in this sentence “Je regardais la télévision tous les soirs.” ?
 

🤖 You are using the imparfait tense in this sentence because you are talking about an action that was usually or regularly taking place in the past. The imparfait tense is used to talk about actions or situations that were ongoing in the past, without specifying how long they lasted or how they ended.
 

Ok, it's well explained! And then he gives me more examples.
 

It's good frankly!
 

 

 

I'm going to ask him another question: What is the difference between the pronoun EN and Y?
 

🤖The pronoun EN is used to replace an indirect object in a sentence, while the pronoun Y is used to replace a place or destination.
 

Hmmm... That's a vague answer, not very precise.
 

🤖 Here are some examples of how these two pronouns are used:
 

• 🤖 Je vais mettre la pomme sur la table. Je vais y mettre. (Here, the pronoun Y replaces "sur la table".).
   

So, this example is wrong. It's not natural at all. We'll say instead: Je vais mettre la pomme dessus or Je vais la mettre dessus.
 

• 🤖 J'ai acheté un livre à mon ami. Je lui en ai acheté un. (Here, the pronoun Y replace "un livre".)
   

Yes, then the pronoun EN replaces LIVRE and you must remember to add the UN at the end.
 

🤖 The pronoun EN can also be used to express duration or quantity. For example:
 

• 🤖 J'ai passé trois heures sur ce travail. J'y ai passé trois heures. (Here, the pronoun Y replaces "trois heures".)
   

So it's the Y pronoun for duration, not EN. He told me the opposite just before.
 

• 🤖 J'ai acheté deux kilos de pommes. J'en ai acheté deux kilos. (Here, the pronoun EN replaces "deux kilos".)
   

🤖 Does this answer your question?
 

Well, that answers my question, but it's not perfect. It's not worth a lesson from a certified teacher. You have to be careful when you ask him questions about grammar.
 

 

I find the GPT chat much better on vocabulary. For example, if I ask it what is the difference between AMENER and EMMENER?
 

🤖 AMENER and  EMMENER are two French verbs which have similar meanings, but which are not quite identical.
 

🤖 AMENER means to lead someone or something to a place. For example, we can say "Je t'amène à la gare" pour dire que l'on va conduire quelqu'un jusqu'à la gare, or "Il a amené son chien au parc" to say that he drove his dog to the park.
 

🤖 EMMENER means to take someone with you when moving to a place. For example, you can say "Je t'emmène en voyage" pour dire que l'on va prendre quelqu'un avec soi en voyageant, or "Il a emmené sa famille en vacances"  to say that he took his family with him when he went on vacation.
 

Yes, that is correct! When you have a question about French, the GPT chat can give you a satisfactory answer.
 

 

You can also ask her for useful phrases in many situations. For example, I'll ask her for useful phrases at the airport:
 

🤖 Here are some phrases that can be useful at the airport:

• 🤖  Je voudrais acheter un billet d'avion, s'il vous plaît.

• 🤖 Où se trouve le comptoir d'enregistrement de ma compagnie aérienne ?

• 🤖 Quand est-ce que l'avion décolle ?

• 🤖 Je dois enregistrer ma valise. Où puis-je le faire ?

• 🤖 Je n'ai pas trouvé ma carte d'embarquement. Où puis-je la récupérer ?

• 🤖 Je voudrais changer de siège. Est-ce possible ?

• etc.
   

It's great honestly! It's really good for learning new vocabulary and useful phrases.
 

 

 

The GPT chat corrects your sentences in French

The GPT chat can help you correct your French sentences. If you write a text in French, you can ask it to correct your mistakes.
 

I'll write a sentence with a mistake in it, let's see what he says : Si j’aurais acheté cette maison, je vivrais à Marseille.
 

🤖 Here's how your sentence should be corrected: Si j'avais acheté cette maison, je vivrais à Marseille.
 

So, the GPT chat has corrected my sentence well. I must say “Si j’avais” and not “Si j’aurais”.
 

But the explanation is not good at all.
 

🤖 The verb tense used in this sentence is the past conditional, which expresses an action that could have happened in the past but did not. The verb "avoir" conjugated in the past conditional tense is "aurais", not "aurai". In addition, the verb "vivre" must be conjugated in the second person singular in the present subjunctive, which gives "vive".
 

It doesn't make sense!
 

Well, it's efficient, but not perfect!
 

 

 

The GPT chat can translate your sentences into French

The GPT chat can also be used to translate text from one foreign language to another. You can then ask it to translate several sentences.
 

I will ask him to translate a sentence in English into French: I’m learning French with you.
 

🤖 Je suis en train d'apprendre le français avec vous
 

Yes, it is correct. We could also say : J’apprends le français avec vous ou toi.
 

You can also do the opposite. You can ask the GPT chat to translate a sentence from French to Spanish.
 

How to say in Spanish "Je suis en train d'apprendre le français avec vous" ?
 

🤖 "Je suis en train d'apprendre le français avec vous" se dit "Estoy aprendiendo francés contigo" en espagnol. 
 

 

 

Speak in French with the GPT-3 chat:

So, you can also practice your French with the GPT chat. This is not its main purpose, but you can try.
 

So I asked him : Can we have a conversation in French to practice ? You ask me one question, I answer and you ask another question after. You can correct me only if my sentence is wrong.
 

So, GPT told me:
 

🤖 Bien sûr ! Je vais commencer. Quel est ton livre préféré ?
 

I reply: Mon livre préféré est "Le monde de Sophie". C'est un livre qui parle de philosophie. J'aime très bien ce livre.
 

So I made a mistake on purpose "J’aime très bien” this is not correct, we will say “J’aime beaucoup ce livre”. But GPT did not correct me.
 

So, next, the GPT chat told me:
 

🤖 Très bien ! As-tu lu d'autres livres de Jostein Gaarder ?
 

I am quite surprised at the relevance of these questions. I answered: Non, c'est le seul que j'ai lu.
 

And he said to me:
 

🤖 Je te recommande de lire "L'étoile de Noël". C'est un autre livre de Jostein Gaarder qui est aussi très intéressant et qui parle de thèmes similaires à "Le monde de Sophie". As-tu déjà été en Norvège, le pays d'origine de l'auteur ?
 

I'm really impressed with the relevance of these questions, it feels very natural!
 

I answered: Non, mais j'aimerais beaucoup y aller
 

GPT chat tells me:
 

🤖 La Norvège est un pays magnifique avec de nombreux paysages époustouflants. Tu devrais absolument y aller si tu en as l'occasion. Quel est ton voyage préféré que tu aies fait jusqu'à maintenant ?
 

And the conversation continues it's quite natural and interesting frankly!
 

Well, on the other hand, the GPT chat does not naturally correct my sentences or sometimes the corrections are not always good.
 

 

 

In conclusion on the GPT chat:

The GPT chat is a very powerful artificial intelligence that can help you in many ways to improve your French.
 

It's efficient for :
 

• answer your questions about grammar, vocabulary and French cutlure (even if you have to be careful because he himself makes some mistakes or is not very precise)
   

• GPT chat can help you by correcting your sentences in French
   

• translate your sentences
   

• and also, you can chat with him in French
   

However, it is important to note that GPT is still a developing system and was not designed specifically for foreign language learning.
 

And the GPT chat told me so himself, because I asked him how to learn French with it. And he answered me:
 

🤖 It's important to note that GPT-3 chat can help you learn French, but it will not replace a teacher or a structured learning program. To make rapid progress in French, it is recommended that you take courses or work with a qualified teacher.
 

Thank you chat GPT you will not kill the profession of French teacher!
 

It's true that if you want to practice your French and get corrections from teachers. And even more than that, access a community to learn French, improve your vocabulary and grammar. I suggest you join my French conversation group Ohlala French Coffee.
 

GPT chat is a good complement to improve your French, but a group with real people and real teachers is the best solution to improve your French.