Creating Meaning and Connection in Language Curricula in the Age of AI

Amy Flynn

Amy Flynn

— 6 min read
Creating Meaning and Connection in Language Curricula in the Age of AI

As Language educators, we do more than teach words and rules. We help students to find their voice, make sense of other perspectives and use language to participate meaningfully in the world. Whether it’s building sentence confidence in Year 1, supporting a newly arrived student with EAL or guiding our classes through challenging texts, teaching language means constantly balancing clarity with the curious questions, structure with student agency and high standards with human connection. 

With limited teaching time, large classes with diverse learning needs and increasing pressure to meet exam goals, language learning can very easily become a repetitive tick-box exercise. We cover the grammar points, drill vocabulary and prepare for assessments, without enough headspace or energy for the deeper purpose of language: communication, curiosity and understanding others. 

Meanwhile, AI is now able to write essays or translate texts instantly, which puts even more pressure on us to ask and answer the question: If technology can do the surface-level tasks, what is our human role in language learning? 

The answer lies in helping our students to make meaning, through exploration, interpretation, emotional expression and real connection with people, texts and ideas.  

A strong language curriculum goes beyond teaching fluency or exam skills. It helps students to explore who they are, understand different perspectives and communicate with purpose and empathy. It gives them the tools to navigate language not just as a subject, but as a way of understanding the world and their place in it. 

Now let's look at how we design language curricula to support these deeper aims, using both pedagogical insights and digital and AI tools. This sits at the core of Semio-Semantics: helping teachers and educators to create meaning and connection through language, while AI is reshaping how we write, learn and interact. 

1. Remember Language is inherently meaning making 

Language is more than a skillset. It’s a domain of knowledge that carries thought, identity, power and emotion. A meaningful curriculum should build not just fluency, but: 

  • Declarative knowledge: grammar, vocabulary, structures 
  • Procedural knowledge: how to analyse, draft, adapt and revise 
  • Conditional knowledge: when and why to shift tone or style in communicating 

The EEF (Education Endowment Foundation) encourages teachers to make these types of knowledge explicit. As when students see how things link and why they matter when learning, they gain both competence and confidence, along with sufficient knowledge and critical thinking skills to learn other languages in future.  

AI tools to explore: 

  • Lexplore Analytics: visualises reading patterns for early literacy insights 
  • Wordtune: helps learners paraphrase and rewrite with nuance 
  • NoRedInk: adaptive grammar and writing practice with real-time feedback 

 

2. Design around big ideas, not just features 

Too often, language units revolve around isolated grammar points: "the passive voice," "direct speech," "future tense." However, these only become truly meaningful in the context of big ideas: 

  • Perspective: How does language shape how we’re seen? 
  • Power: Who gets to speak, and how are voices silenced? 
  • Change: How does language evolve with culture and context? 

These ideas give coherence to learning across units and key stages. They also align with Ofsted’s emphasis on meaningful curriculum design and reinforce the Semio-Semantics commitment to exploring the connections between communication, interpretation and identity. We already explore such questions at A-level through literary and cultural texts and works of art, but how often do we explore such questions in our KS3 and KS4 curricula?  

AI and digital resources to explore: 

  • ChatGPT (Custom GPTs): generate versions of the same sentence to explore tone or audience 
  • Diffit: rewrites complex texts for differentiated reading levels 
  • Explainpaper: simplifies and annotates challenging texts 
  • Fabulang: selection of stories for independent reading at varying levels 
  • RFI: le français facile :  French news stories for A1-B1 level  
  • Kwiziq : Supported reading practice by level for independent reading in French 
  • JR Artist : French creator of public art projects inspiring passers by to ask questions and confront their own perceptions – opportunity for cross-curricular critical exploration 
  • Les misérables with LawLess French : first chapter presented side-by-side in French and English, with CEFR level options from A1-B2. (Text can be uploaded into Diffit for more activities/vocab lists/comprehension questions)  
  • Mr Peabody and Sherman, The French Revolution Film clip: Video resource to open discussions on French history, Power and who gets to speak.  

 

3. Set endpoints that reflect growth, not just grammar 

While it's important for students to learn how to use grammar correctly or spell accurately (aka "correctness"), that's not uniquely what success should look like today in language curricula. 

We should also be aiming for human-centred outcomes, such as: 

  • Confidence in self-expression: Can students share their thoughts and ideas clearly and without fear—even if their grammar isn’t perfect? 
  • Register-shifting: Can our learners change how they speak or write depending on the situation (e.g., formal vs informal, peer vs teacher)? 
  • Cultural and linguistic awareness: Do they understand that people use language differently and that their own multi-lingual background is a strength, not a deficit? 

The Bell Foundation suggests that such outcomes are particularly important for multilingual learners (like EAL students), who may not always see themselves reflected in standard curriculum goals. In recognising their voices and experiences, we can make education more equitable. This links to a broader ethical point: in a time where automation and AI are rapidly advancing, the kind of learning that builds human identity, empathy, and voice is more important than ever.  

AI tools to explore: 

  • Write & Improve with Cambridge: free writing checker for EFL learners 
  • Perplexity: research and compare viewpoints 
  • Speakable : Read texts and speak aloud to get personalised pronunciation feedback without fear of judgement  
  • Marvely.ai : Speak without fear and develop confidence with curriculum-aligned scenarios and create your own to practise talking about whatever you like  
  • TalkPal AI: chatbot for general spoken language practice 

 

4. Make tasks feel purposeful 

When a task feels real, we remember it. This includes writing a letter or message to a real person, debating a genuine current issue, creating a story using our imagination and to explore our own and others’ identities. Tasks grounded in real-world use promote deeper engagement and fluency. 

Good tasks... 

  • Reflect on how a subject works in real life (e.g. persuasive letters for advocacy, reviews for experiences ) 
  • Invite creativity and choice (provide guiding boundaries with flexibility) 
  • Allow for reflection and nuance (explicitly model and embed reflective practice as an approach to learning) 

These tasks reinforce the Semio-Semantics vision that education is a space for genuine communication that matters, where we can learn both how to say something and how to be understood. 

AI and digital resources to explore: 

 

5. Use language that includes, not obscures 

Overly complex language and vague or hard-to-understand goals in curriculum materials can confuse or exclude learners, especially: 

  • Learners with EAL (English as an additional language); and 
  • Learners with SEN (special educational needs). 

As we teachers and learners know, when instructions and objectives are clear, direct, and accessible, all students can fully understand what they’re learning and what’s expected of them. 

This is why organisations like the EEF (Education Endowment Foundation) and the Bell Foundation strongly recommend that curriculum resources use straightforward language and avoid jargon or overly abstract learning targets. 

In practice, it’s not just about learners with EAL or SEN - simpler, more precise curriculum language really does help everyone. For example: 

Replace: “Evaluate the author’s linguistic manipulation of narrative voice” 

With: “How does the author’s voice affect how we feel?” 

This aligns with the Semio-Semantics approach to inclusive meaning-making: clear communication as a foundation for equity. 

AI tools to explore: 

 

6. Return, reflect and reconnect 

When you think about spaced retrieval, what is the first word that comes to mind?  

Memory?  

Spaced retrieval is of course necessary for memorisation as well as helping students to personalise their learning. By revisiting concepts like persuasion or modality in new contexts over time, we can both show progress and invite reflection. 

Reconnection fosters a sense of coherence and growth, which is essential to the meaning-making process we champion in Semio-Semantics. 

AI tools to explore: 

  • Notion AI: track notes, reflections, and revision timelines 
  • Quizizz / Quizalize / Gizmo : engaging retrieval activities 
  • Mote: record and embed personalised audio feedback 

 

Language as Human Connection 

There is no doubt that technology will continue to evolve and AI is rapidly becoming part of every teacher’s toolkit. However, what AI cannot replace is the teacher or educator’s ability to truly see learners in their unique context, build their trust and shape meaning through human connection. 

A language curriculum built with care, clarity and opportunities for nurturing human connection will prepare students for exams, but more importantly, will prepare students to think, speak, and listen in a complex world that increasingly needs all three. 

This is the essence of Semio-Semantics: using education, language and thoughtful design to create shared understanding in an age that progressively risks disconnection. In our work, helping people to find, create or connect with meaning, understand themselves, others and the world more deeply is our mission. 

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