Getting children and teens to practise their English skills and complete their homework can be a challenge with all of the distractions that are easily found through a mobile phone.
To help TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teachers get around this problem, Trinity has partnered with artificial intelligence (AI) experts to create the Skill Up! app, an exciting new way to harness gamification techniques to help English language learners improve their English at school and at home.
Working alongside Astrid, one of the world's most innovative AI voice intelligence companies, the Trinity Skill Up! app uses generative AI to create a personalised learning path to help students aged 5-14 years.
The app’s gamification techniques, which include quizzes, puzzles, and interactive exercises, encourage students to learn English in a fun and enjoyable way. Listening to stories aids comprehension and helps build new vocabulary, while associated activities and exercises develop oral communication skills, enhance spelling, and improve sentence construction.
The team at Trinity is keen to point out that Skill Up! is much more than just “another learning app”. It also includes an inbuilt AI listening and pronunciation tutor that gives learners both instant feedback on pronunciation and assistance with challenging words.
Associate Professor Blanka Klímová, a member of the research project Language in the Human-Machine Era, has assessed the useability and usefulness of AI for students of foreign languages. Her research suggests that AI is very helpful for vocabulary development, grammar and other language skills, especially when it offers corrective feedback.
The technology being used by Trinity means that the app adapts itself to each student's learning pace and ability. The vast library of story content – all designed by Trinity’s specialist educators and academic team – covers the needs of every young learner, from students with special needs to those preparing for Trinity GESE exam levels (Graded Examinations in Spoken English).
Trinity has also developed a special SkillUp! teacher dashboard that allows teachers to monitor and keep track of the progress of both their classes and individual students. The user-friendly interface helps teachers identify areas for improvement, provides insights that can feed into future teaching and lets teachers update parents on learning objectives and the results being achieved.
Erez Tocker, CEO at Trinity, says that “the Skill Up! application is every teacher's ally. It will help to empower and motivate language learners through the personalised learning offer and the immediate, AI-driven feedback.
“As a modern heritage business, we know the importance of staying relevant to our customers. The Skill Up! app is a good illustration of how Trinity is transforming its business using technology while also maintaining high standards of academic integrity.”
Teachers and language schools interested in finding out more can currently visit our Italian Skill Up! webpages or email skillup@trinitycollege.com.