Gemini's StoryBooks can be based on student produced content - here a transcript about a Spanish Couple on the Titanic

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:

Podcast by Elevenlabs:

ZenMic com podcast

ChatGPT interviewing me about it

NotebookLM now offers a 'video overview' as well as an 'audio overview'

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:

Using an average of scores from Pearson's GSE Text analyzer and Text Inspector the transcript is about B2/B2+ 

Summary by NotebookLM

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.

1. My nine-step prompt revised to produce a smoother transition between the different levels of suggested improvements. 
   
   Summary of source by NotebookLM

   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.

2. 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:

Using an average of scores from Pearson's GSE Text analyzer and Text Inspector the transcript is about B2 

Summary by NotebookLM

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.

"Your students can get feedback every time they speak" at #IATEFL2025

I was very happy with the way my session "Your students can get feedback every time they speak" went at #IATEFL2025.

hashtag#IATEFL2025 went 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 using vevox.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 with hashtag#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

9 Write the changed version

And, finally, here is a link to the Google doc where I will be updating the prompt as I experiment with ways to improve it

 

My presentation "Your students can get feedback every time they speak" for EUROCALL and JALTCALL

I thoroughly enjoyed presenting my ideas about how to help students get more feedback on their speaking with Turboscribe.ai (speech-to-text) and ChatGPT.

Only 40% of the people attending already had (free) accounts for both Turboscribe.ai and ChatGPT, but that was enough to give it as a workshop where participants experienced the 9-step prompt that I shared with them as if they were students.

Here is a link to the prompt I shared with them

or a QR code to access it.

I made two videos in English to demonstrate the method I was suggesting, but in fact it works in 90+ languages, of which I have only tried 4.

This one is about 7 minutes long and uses the same examples that I used in the presentation:

This one is about 17 minutes long and is a screen recording made in real time showing the 9 steps in the prompt I suggested:

At the end, I asked participants to answer a few questions about these ideas and this is what 11 of them said:

From this it seems that the only problem was that it wasn't really easy to connect Turboscribe with ChatGPT. I think that with a little practice  teachers and students will find it easier and easier.

These are a few of the comments in the chat:

• “I definitely would like to try this with my students - but I think it is also good to use for improving my own L2 Japanese!”
• “Thanks Chris! I really enjoyed your workshop, it was an introduction to TurboScribe for me, and your super prompt is a great idea.”
• “Thanks Chris - that was great :-)”
• “I’ve used TurboScribe before but never imagined using it in this way. Amazing idea”
• “Thank you very much Chris. Want to play with it now”
• “Ah, this is very useful for self-study and feedback generation.”
• “Ohhhhh I love this! I did it in Italian and it felt so good seeing the smooth version of what I had said. I listened to myself and noticed all the pauses and repetitions but the story itself - that story is mine. It felt good and I think I’ll use this more for my own L2 practice and also introduce it to my students.”