I got an email from Transkriptor inviting me to try it again saying that it was now "free."
So, for the first time in just over a year, I tried Transkriptor again. This is what I found with my 'trial account', where I had plenty of minutes' credit left:
Easy to edit out errors in the transcript
Easy to export the transcript without speakers and timestamps on the app
Easy to paste transcript into ChatGPT and then add 9-step prompt at the beginning
After that, it was all down to the ChatGPT app and everything worked just as well as with Turboscribe.ai
So I made a video of the recording playing on Transkriptor and then of the 9 steps on the ChatGPT app on my Android phone and posted it on my YouTube channel. I have since deleted the video as I subsequently discovered this:
If you want a 'free account' you need to give your credit card details, which I wouldn't recommend and haven't done, so I will never discover whether you get 30 minutes every day split among any number of recordings or just one transcription of up to 30 minutes. I suspect the latter.
If you have a 'trial account' with Transkriptor, there are limitations on the length (5 minutes) and percentage (80%) of your recording that will be transcribed, so I can't really recommend that. The workaround is to keep recording anything whatsoever for a quarter of the time after the time you have recorded!
I did the webinar more than a month ago and on and off in the last month I've been trying to edit the video that I made using Zoomto prepare for it. The video had to be in two parts because my free Zoom account limited me to 45 minutes.
There were a number of problems that I had to solve:
I must have coughed at least twenty times
Some of the audio I played was too quiet
I needed to add some text to suggest viewers pause the video to do the different tasks, or to explain things I hadn't remembered to explain.
I wanted to add subtitles in English, Vietnamese, Kazakh and other languages
I'm still not sure whether to post just one long video or to break the video up into four or five linked videos. Maybe I''ll do both but for the moment it's just one with chapters
Coughs
I have always used Microsofts Clipchamp to edit videos and I discovered that there are two ways to remove the coughs: you mark with the scissors just before and after the cough. Then you can either turn off the sound in that very short segment of the video or delete it. Deleting it was my first choice as it shortened a very long video.
Too quiet audio
My first approach was to mark the segment where the audio was playing, turn off the sound and add an additional audio track in its place. I learnt through trial and error that another way to solve the problem is to mark the segment and then cick on 'Audio' on the right ansd pt the volume up much higher for that segment.
Adding a text box
I found that there was an area on the right of the screen under the next slide and my face, which was always empty and where it would be best to add a text box. I had to make my instructions or comments very brief.
Subtitles in Vietnamese and Kazakh
I exported the .srt file with the subtitles in English from Clipchamp and uploaded them to YouTube. I then asked YouTube to provide subtitles in these two languages as well as in the languages in which I could check that the translations were correct: Catalan, Spanish, French and Italian.
Here, finally is the 75-minute long video with the following chapters:
00:00 Intro + using Turboscribe.ai and ChatGPT to get feedback on speaking
08:45 Demonstration of the nine-step prompt to get feedback on speaking
28:54 Now you do it - a hands-on task as if a student wanting feedback on their speaking 58:41 Suggestions for communicative speaking tasks for students to do in and out of class
1:11:47 Outro + websites that help your pronunciation, Facebook groups on edtech
I learnt about this possibility from Joe Dale on LinkedIn and Facebook and immediately wanted to use it with this recording made 10 years ago by Vicki, one of my Intermediate students.
She was an excellent B1 student, as I think you will agree when you listen to her in the video, so I suggested to Gemini that it could make a StoryBook based on the transcript of her recording and I suggested it could be at B2 as that might help her be exposed to some new comprehensible input. I discovered later that Gemini was very happy to explain any new vocabulary the student asked about.
I have used five different tools in the past to create podcasts based on this same recording, some of which I have made videos of. I also made a video of me being interviewed by ChatGPT voice about the story following a suggestion from Daniel Martin. I'll add links to these at the end.
The idea behind all of these ideas is for students to use their own content, spoken or written, to generate new content at a slightly higher level. This works very well with B1 students, who can probably handle texts on familiar content at B2, but it may not be so useful for lower levels as the sophistication of the language and the speed of the audio will probably be beyond them.
Here is Gemini's StoryBook based on what Vicki said when retelling the story of the Spanish Couple on the Titanic:
Here are some links to two podcasts and one interview about the story retold in the same recording:
I usually post about English Language Teaching, but this is different.
The other day I asked Copilot, "What address could this be from 1911 It's Southend Road, maybe number 5?" (accompanied by a hand-written address)
Copilot couldn't help with transcribing the address.
I then asked, "What was Beckenham like in 1911?" and got a lot of information.
I asked Copilot, "5 Southend road was very different then, I imagine" and got more information including, "Back then, Southend Road was lined with large Italianate villas built in the mid-1800s, part of Beckenham’s transformation into a leafy commuter haven." I asked a few more questions and then I said, "Ideally, I'd like a picture of 5 Southend Road in 1911." and Copilot said, "That would be a gem to uncover, Chris!" and suggested some places where I might try to find one.
Then Copilot asked, "If you’d like, I can help you visualize what the house might’ve looked like based on architectural styles and street descriptions from that time. Want me to sketch a period-style interpretation?"
The 'sketch' is amazing and totally unexpected. I've downloaded it and added a caption that says, "Copilot sketching how it imagined 5 Southend Road (was) in 1911" to make sure no one assumes it is a picture of that house.
The moment I heard this I wanted to try it out for myself so I tried it with the video on YouTube I had made when rehearsing for the JALT/EUROCALL joint webinar.
Here is the video of the rehearsal:
This is the summary created by NotebookLM:
Summary
This webinar rehearsal, led by Chris Fry, introduces educators to a method for providing instant speaking feedback to language students using AI tools. The primary focus is on Turboscribe AI for transcription and ChatGPT for comprehensive error analysis and improvement. Students, aged 13 and over with parental consent, can use free accounts to record their speech, receive a transcript, and then engage with a nine-step AI-powered feedback process. This process incrementally guides them from identifying and correcting basic errors to generating and listening to increasingly sophisticated versions of their spoken output, facilitating a gradual improvement in their language proficiency.
Here is the video overview created by NotebookLM based on just this one source:
This source introduces an innovative, free two-part AI system that acts as a personal language tutor, designed to help learners achieve fluency in any language. The system addresses the common problem of lacking immediate feedback when practicing speaking independently, enabling users to receive instant, detailed feedback on their spoken language. This "AI language tutor" combines a transcription tool, like Turboscribe AI, to accurately convert speech into text, with a language model, such as ChatGPT, to provide comprehensive corrections and improvements. The process unfolds across three progressive levels: firstly, fixing obvious errors in grammar and structure; secondly, polishing phrasing to ensure natural, fluent expression; and thirdly, upgrading vocabulary to enhance expressiveness and sophistication. By systematically addressing these areas, the AI not only corrects mistakes but also significantly boosts a learner's confidence and control over their language acquisition journey, working for over 90 languages.
I then wondered how the video overview might change if I added two more sources.
This source outlines a nine-step process for refining transcriptions, likely from an AI tool like Turboscribe, by systematically improving their quality. The core purpose is to elevate a text from its initial flawed state to a highly sophisticated version, moving through incremental levels of linguistic complexity and coherence as defined by the GSE and CEFR frameworks. Each step involves identifying and correcting errors, then progressively rewriting the text to incorporate more advanced grammar, richer vocabulary, enhanced logical structure, and greater detail, with all changes meticulously marked to show the evolution of the transcription.
A pdf showing the different steps and how to introduce them in different stages:
Summary of source by NotebookLM
This document outlines a nine-step process designed for improving transcription quality by systematically refining text. The methodology progresses through several "stages," beginning with identifying and correcting errors in an initial transcription. Subsequent stages focus on enhancing the language and structure of the text, first by rewriting half a CEFR level up with improved cohesion and vocabulary, then by further elevating the complexity, detail, and logical flow of the prose. The overarching purpose is to provide a structured approach for achieving increasingly sophisticated and error-free transcriptions.
Perhaps surprisingly the video overview based on three sources was actually shorter:
This source outlines an innovative method for transforming a personal device into an AI language tutor, offering immediate and tailored feedback on spoken language. It details a system leveraging two free tools, Turboscribe for accurate transcription and ChatGPT as the expert AI coach, to help learners progress from basic corrections to sophisticated expression. The core of this method is a "magic prompt" – a series of instructions that guides the AI through three stages: fixing errors, improving natural style, and levelling up language to more advanced forms. This personalised approach aims to build confidence and enhance learning by providing instant, customised feedback based directly on the user's spoken input.
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of addressing about 250 participants in a workshop about how students can get feedback on their speaking whenever they use Turboscribe to record themslves.
I started off using a DirectPoll survey to find out whether participants were equiped to participate in the workshop. Only 120 of the 250 people present responded.
So I suggested the people who hadn't got an account with Turboscribe.ai should get one as soon as possible.
Fortunately, nearly everyone had the ChatGPT app on their phone. I explained that the app was much better than the browser version when it comes to listening to texts read aloud unless they were using the Edge browser, which also allows you to select text and ask for it to be read aloud.
I explained that anyone using their phone to follow the webinar might have problems using the same device to also record themselves and use ChatGPT.
The question I didn't ask, and regret not asking was whether participants had a QR code reader or not, but of course that would only have worked if someone had put the short URL in the chat.
Nearly two hours later I asked participants to evaluate the ideas I had been putting forward and they had been using as if they were students. This time there were only 32 responses, but they were overwhelmingly positive:
Finally, I invited everyone who was still following the workshop to join my WhatsApp group called 'Speech to Text in Language Learning and Teaching'. Only 18 people joined, which was slightly disappointing.
An improved 9-step prompt
The main difference between this version of the webinar and previous versions was that I had improved the 9-step prompt to try to guarantee that there would always be a steady progression in level between the original transcription and the corrected version and the three improved versions. Here is the revised prompt:
Remove timestamps.
Decide the level on GSE and CEFR (+ for half bands) but don't reveal it.
After each of the steps 1 to 9, wait for me to say "next."
Write in continuous prose.
Answer questions at the learner's level.
Steps:
1 Identify errors in bold and enclose them in brackets
2 Correct errors, showing corrections in bold next to (errors)
3 Write the corrected version without mistakes
4 Rewrite half a CEFR level up from the version in step 3 but more logically structured, with better cohesion, more complex grammar, richer and more idiomatic vocab, and more details, marking changes as in step 2
5 Write the changed version
6 Rewrite one CEFR level up from the version in step 5, improving as in step 4, marking changes as in step 2.
7 Write the changed version
8 Rewrite one level up from the version in step 7, more complex, even better linked, even more detailed, even more logically structured, marking changes as in step 2
9 Write the changed version
Here is a QR code and short URL that link to the prompt so that you can use any slight improvments I make in the future.
I suggested that teachers and even learners could adapt the prompt to suit their needs. For example, leaners aiming to improve their IELTS speaking scores could ask ChatGPT to use this scale rather than the GSE and CEFR scales. I reminded everyone that there is a limit of 953 characters including spaces when making changes to the Custom Prompt to be pasted into Turboscribe.ai
Setting up Communicative Speaking Activities
A second difference between this version and previous versions of the webinar is that this time I had added a section with suggestions about how to set up communicative speaking activities for students in class and for homework. These were taken from my presentation for a Google Hangout with the late Vance Stevens back in 2016.
Recordings of the webinar
I recorded a rehearsal for the webinar, but haven't had time to edit it yet, but when I have, I'll share it on my YouTube channel Chris_Fry_Barcelona - YouTube
TESOL Simple Education have already shared the edited recording of the live webinar. The link is here. You will need to ask for a translation of the page into English, create an account and click on the Admissions button.
How good is ChatGPT at writing at specified CEFR levels?
I had always used Pearson's Text Analyzer to get a grade for the different versions of transcripts produced by ChatGPT, but was slightly suspicious that grades rarely went higher than B2, so I compared these grades with the ones assigned for 'writing' on TextInspector. They were often higher, particularly at B2 and above, so I used an average of the two grades as in the table below.
Using the average (and the sums) convinced me that the progression was useful even if ChatGPT isn't perfect at writing at the levels demanded of it. ChatGPT is 'good enough'!
I have created a new version of my shortest video outlining the nine steps I have recently recommended for learners to get feedback on their speaking. This version is optimized for mobile phones and includes subtitles made using ClipChamp, which were very good and only needed me to add in the punctuation.
Incorporating Jasmin Silver's ChatGPT prompt to guide students' attempts to self-correct their written errors into doing the same with spoken errors
Last week I watched the webinar by Macmillan ELT about Assessment and although Jasmin Silver wasn't talking about getting feedback on speaking, I thought one of her ideas could be adapted for students to use with transcripts of their speaking.
Her part of the webinar is here:
Here is her original prompt:
And, below is how I adapted it so students could use it with a recording made on their mobile phones using Turboscribe.ai
After each of the steps 1 to 5 below, wait for me to say "next" Use language at the level of my transcript Step 1 You are a teacher who facilitates self-assessment for learning. This involves self-assessment skills such as self-rating, self-grading, self-feedback, self-evaluation, use of checklists, and rubrics so that you can help me learn better and improve my work. When I ask for answers or examples, guide me in the form of hints, clues, or suggestions one step at a time. Try not to give me a direct answer. Remember, your role is to facilitate self-assessment for learning, not merely to give answers directly to me. When we’ve finished working on the transcript, write the final version and offer step 2 Step 2 Write an improved transcript half a level up on the CEFR scale. Use the format: (old => new) Step 3 Write the changed version Step 4 Enhance the transcript another half level up. Format as above Step 5 Write the changed version
After students have recorded themselves using Turboscribe.ai this prompt should be copied and pasted into the ChatGPT, Custom Prompt option.
Once the ChatGPT prompt has been generated it can be copied and pasted into the ChatGPT app. There is an example of how this might work below.
Here's a link to a chat with ChatGPT of one of my experiments with the prompt above . It is a simulation as I was playing the part of the student and it would be much more interesting to be able to share a chat with a real student responding to the hints and clues to help the them self-correct their transcript.
I have already changed this prompt once and may well do so again, in which case a link to the latest version might be useful
I’ve just watched the plenarythat Neil McMillan gave in the morning
of the final day of #IATEFL2025. I’d attended live Catherine Walter’s plenary
session on what has changed in 50 years as that is very much the same timeframe
that I have lived through. I’ll watch the other plenaries later on.
Task Based Language Teaching has always been a hard-sell
even among people who see the logic of it, maybe because it isn’t as easy as that to actually do for
the many reasons Neill outlined. One of the reasons is that it’s much easier to
use English File, which is so packed with exercises and other material that the
teacher will never run out of material instead of choosing a task-based
curriculum and persuadingstudents,
parents, colleagues and bosses that you haven’t lost your mind as well as your
way!
Research is very much a university thing so it is difficult
to find research papers about the use of tasks in language schools and even
harder to find them used in secondary or primary schools. Lack of research
though isn’t the only obstacle: a much bigger one is the fact that there are
very few commercially produced materials that are based on TBLT and equally few
databases of tasks for teachers to draw on. There are two, provided by Neill: https://www.iatblt.org/resources
Just as I was noting, “Please can we have more examples of
tasks that could form part of a TBLT course or that could be a task based on a
standard coursebook. We are at the half way point in the talk!” Neill provided
one that would not have showed up on anyone’s needs analysis! How to solve ‘the
problem of alligators in the Underground of New York’
The task could be done in small groups with groups comparing
solutions and learning from each other, but some sort of monologue outlining
the planned solution(s) seems to me inevitable as the final part of the task.
This could and should be recorded.
Neill included in the list of possible Post-task options, ‘Discuss
and Correct errors collected by the teacher’ and ‘Transcribe and analyse
transcriptions: what could I have said better?’
We all try to relate what we hear in presentations to our
own situations and our own ideas, so I jumped on these two post-task activities
as being exactly what my 9-step prompt for ChatGPT aims to do: to work on
errors (Steps 1-3) and suggest better ways to say the same thing (Steps 4-9).
Steps 3, 5, 7 & 9 are all there to allow students to listen to the improved
version, so there are really only 5 steps:
Identify errors
Correct errors
Suggest improvements at the student's current level
Suggest improvements at a slightly higher level
Suggest improvements at an even higher level
Here are some YouTube videos about my 9-step prompt from the shortest to my full presentation as at #IATEFL2025:
Screen Recording of My 9-step prompt in action using Turboscribe.ai ChatGPT (7 minutes)
How students can use Turboscribe and ChatGPT to get feedback on a recording they have made (17 minutes)
"Your students can get feedback every time they speak" Rehearsal for EUROCALL JALTCALL webinar (43 minutes)
I was very happy with the way my session "Your students can get feedback every time they speak" went at #IATEFL2025.
hashtag#IATEFL2025went this morning. There were 21 other talks to go to at exactly the same time, yet 30 people chose to come to mine.I started off with a poll usingvevox.com, which 19 people completed. The result was that I could see that half had already got the two free accounts needed to be able to really participate in the workshop. As a result I felt we could really get to work on the workshop, which involved participants recording themselves speaking a language they knew they would make mistakes in and going through the 9 steps as if they were students
One of the joys of giving a live in-person presentation was that I could go round trying to help people when they had problems. However, this took a lot of time.
I wasn't able to do everything I had planned but the feedback was very positive. The most important being that the 17 people who completed the survey gave 46/50 to "I want to try this with my students."
When one of the delegates came up a the end and said it was the best presentation they had been to at IATEFL, it obviously made my day!
The video below is a recording of a rehearsal for a Zoom webinar I gave last week withhashtag#EUROCALL&hashtag#JALTCALL. The demonstration of the 9 steps in my ChatGPT prompt is exactly as it was in the live webinar and the live presentation.
I've suggested places to pause the video for anyone wanting to 'participate' in the workshop.
Here is the 9-step prompt I asked participants to download or copy from the screen using the cameras on their mobile phones and the text extraction that most mobiles offer:
9-step Custom Prompt - Version without revealing levels
Instructions:
- Remove timestamps
- Decide what level the transcript is on the GSE and CEFR scales and half scales using + but don’t reveal any levels
- After each of the steps 1 to 9 below, wait for me to say "next"
- Write in continuous prose for all steps.
- Answer any questions I ask at a level suitable for this level
Steps:
1 Identify the errors in bold and enclose them in brackets. Do not correct them. Just show where they occur
2 Correct errors, showing corrections in bold while keeping original errors in brackets next to them. Use the format: (error => correction)
3 Display the correct version without mistakes
4 Write an improved version at the same level on the CEFR scale above. Use the format: (old => new)
5 Write the changed version
6 Write an improved transcript one level up on the abovementioned CEFR scale Format as above
7 Write the changed version
8 Enhance the transcript to two levels up. Format as above
