10 Best AI tools for TEFL teachers and how to use them

We’ve seen a seismic growth in the power and influence of Artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years. For teachers, the fear is that AI is now so powerful, that it could soon make their jobs redundant. 

Is this the end of teaching as we know it?

We say no. We’d like to offer an alternative take – one where teachers, specifically TEFL teachers, use AI tools to complement their lessons, creating an immersive and personalised learning experience like never before.

If harnessed in the right way, today’s AI-powered tools can be used for everything from automating administrative tasks and creating dynamic lesson plans, to pinpointing learning gaps and creating virtual learning environments.

And AI is constantly evolving, with new tools emerging all the time. The possibilities are seemingly endless.

So, what are the 10 best AI tools for TEFL teachers? Let’s take a look.

1. Chat GPT

The most popular AI tool out there, Chat GPT can be used for just about any creative task you can think of. For teachers, it’s one of the most useful AI tools available, with so many uses.

Chat GPT can serve as a virtual teaching assistant for TEFL teachers, complementing teaching efforts by answering questions during class, assigning homework, creating lesson plans and generating a rubric to help evaluate the quality of students’ work.

Another powerful feature is conversation sharing. Teachers can create a conversation with a chat bot, setting the difficulty level, subject and the AI’s conversational style, then let students carry on the conversation. They can then share this conversation with the teacher, who can provide feedback. Other excellent AI-based virtual teaching assistants are Microsoft Copilot and ClassPoint.

2. Quizgecko

Quizzes are a great way to engage students in the classroom and offer immediate feedback, giving students an idea of areas they need to improve. The thing is, creating a quiz yourself can be time-consuming and using a pre-existing quiz doesn’t allow you to tailor the themes to your students’ interests.

That’s why AI-based quiz and assessment generators are so effective. TEFL teachers can use AI tools like Quizgecko to create quizzes and tests in an instant. You can turn any text, YouTube video or webpage into a quiz with just a few clicks.

Other good AI quiz generators that teachers can use include Quizizz and QuestionWell 

3. Exact Path

An excellent analytical platform that can be used by all types of teachers, Exact Path can be used to ascertain students strengths and weaknesses. This AI tool for teachers differentiates subjects and activities for your students, utilising adaptive assessments to pinpoint knowledge gaps and provide a personalised learning path

Let’s say one of your students is struggling with a certain theme – the past continuous, for example. The tool can create vocabulary and speaking exercises, with open-ended prompts, perfectly tailored to address the specific needs of the student.

Another quality AI platform that allows you to assess your students’ learning and meet their individual needs is ClassPoint. These tools are some of the best AI tools for teachers in smaller groups or one-to-one teaching scenarios and can significantly enhance the effectiveness of personalised learning. 

4. Canva

Another wonderful AI app, Canva has many different uses. It can be used to create any type of visually appealing educational content, such as whiteboards, documents or presentations. 

The platform also comes with a dedicated AI text-to-image generator, Canva Magic Write, which can inspire the creativity of your students, providing creative ideas for your lessons. It can be used to generate lesson plans, summarise concepts in an engaging, easy to understand way.

Canva can also be used to create social media posts, videos, posters and photo collages to keep your students engaged. Good alternatives include VistaCreate and Visme

5. Zapier

Not every teacher's task is about inspiring students with incredibly creative content and amazing imagery. A lot of a teacher’s time is taken up dealing with less than fun admin side of things. But it doesn’t have to be. 

There are now some excellent AI tools out there like Zapier that can effectively streamline administrative work, reducing the amount of time spent on tasks like collecting and organising student data or sending out email reminders.

As a TEFL teacher, you can use these automation tools to take care of tasks across all platforms, giving you more time to focus on teaching, interacting with and inspiring your students.

6. Story AI

The best AI tools for TEFL teachers can also make learning more exciting, engaging and relatable by generating compelling stories and narratives. The likes of Story AI can generate stories based around your students’ interests. All you need to do is choose certain parameters, including specific genres, characters, locations, endings, then the tool will generate the story.

These stories can help language learners pick up grammar and syntax in a natural way, while creating vivid context to enable students to make language connections and improve vocabulary.

Another great AI tool for TEFL teachers who specialise in teaching young learners is Storywizard.

7. Duolingo

Some of the best AI tools for TEFL teachers are platforms that students often use for self learning. These AI-powered adaptive learning platforms, of which Duolingo is the most popular, enable students to personalise their language learning. 

Teachers should take advantage of the fact that most students are already familiar with platforms like Duolingo. These platforms use data-driven algorithms to provide tailored recommendations specific to students’ needs.

Duolingo can be seamlessly integrated into the classroom. You can create and share assignments, give awards, set progress quizzes and incorporate remote learning. Other excellent adaptive learning platforms powered by AI include Babbel and Memrise. 

8. DeepL

Just as maths students use calculators and creative writing students use a dictionary or thesaurus, language learners will need an effective translator when learning in class. They don’t get better than DeepL, an AI-powered platform that can instantly translate texts and full document files. 

TEFL teachers can also use this AI-based tool to facilitate in-class communication and create materials, while supporting the learning journey of students from all over the world. 

Other great AI-based translators include Quillbot and Smartcat.

9. Winston AI

We’ve listed some of the best AI tools for TEFL teachers above. But what about the potential for students to misuse the technology, utilising it to help them cheat on assignments? Well, in this instance, it’s time to fight fire with fire. 

There are now AI tools available that can help teachers detect plagiarism and ensure academic integrity. The likes of Winston AI can scan students’ work to detect instances of academic misconduct, with accuracy levels of around 99%. 

Popular AI tools like Grammarly and Originality AI can also be used to check for plagiarism. 

10 Mondly VR

Finally, a foray into the virtual world of language learning. Mondly VR is the world’s first language learning experience with chatbot and speech recognition, immersing students in real world situations.

Students get the chance to practice conversations in realistic scenarios, with instant feedback on pronunciation to help them build the confidence to speak new languages in real life.
TEFL teachers can harness this AI tool to provide authentic simulations, putting students into virtual travel scenarios and simulating typical experiences and conversations. Alternative include Language Lab and ImmerseMe.