“How I Learned English—From ChatGPT.”
Back home in Bogotá, my English education in school was limited to just two hours a week—barely enough to cover the basics. Later, I pursued tourism and hospitality at Agustiniana University. English was essential for my career, so I moved to Toronto in 2019 to study ESL. My first conversation with a native speaker—a border officer at Pearson airport—was a disaster. He spoke fast, and I struggled to understand him. I had to use Google Translate just to get by. Those early days were hard, but my ESL teachers helped bridge the gap and I kept using Google to translate new words. After six months, I returned to Bogotá with enough English to read articles and give presentations, but casual conversations still threw me off.
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Toronto lingered in my mind—its seasons, skyscrapers and job prospects. So, in December of 2021, I came back to study tourism management at Niagara College. Ten days in, I found work in a fast-food kitchen, but my English was still so limited that I could only ask basic questions, like how many hours I’d work and what I’d get paid. After a month, my boss suddenly told me I was no longer needed, then paid me for only half the time I’d worked. I didn’t know how to defend myself in English. I started questioning my decision to return to Canada.
One of my professors noticed a few of us were determined to improve our English. She offered extra sessions on resumé writing and job interviews. That helped. So did my co-op placement working the front desk at a hotel in Niagara Falls. I spoke with guests every day—handling complaints and dealing with accents from around the world. There were crisis moments, like when a customer yelled at me over a cancelled reservation. My English faltered, and I had to call my supervisor for help. But I got better over time. Eventually, I could understand conversations, solve problems, even date.
After graduation, I found work as a sales manager at an ESL school in Toronto, communicating with agents worldwide. I felt confident, but sometimes I couldn’t understand queries—agents often had highly specific requests and demanded detailed responses. Once, a Thai agent asked about Canada’s reduction in study permits and how it would affect our programs. I pieced together a response, but his confused expression told me I’d missed the mark. I was mortified.
Everything changed when my friends suggested I use ChatGPT for questions and translations. I quickly realized that it offered more accurate answers than Google. Soon I was using it to adjust my tone, pick up business vocabulary and express my ideas more clearly over email. I learned to frame responses to tricky questions and deploy the right industry terms. My vocabulary expanded, and I sounded more natural in English. Of course, ChatGPT had its flaws. Sometimes the suggestions were stiff or didn’t sound like something I would say, so I edited its responses to make them sound more natural too.
As my English skills have grown, I rely on ChatGPT less, but it’s still my safety net for complex phrases or formal language. For instance, I still use the program when I have to write quick summaries of dense, technical articles. Sometimes, my boss asks me to read reports on Canada’s international-student policies and provide him with an overview. I’m always pressed for time, so I typically paste the articles into ChatGPT and ask for a summary. In seconds, I have a clear outline of the main points. From there, I weave in details from the original article and the app’s response to write my report.
ChatGPT has also become my go-to for navigating Canadian culture. When a friend’s husband died recently, I wasn’t sure how to offer condolences in English. In Colombia, we usually say “God is with them” and offer prayers. ChatGPT suggested telling my friend that I was sorry for her loss. It helped me understand that a simple remark like that would be enough. My next big goal is to apply for permanent residency, a competitive process that may require learning French to earn enough points. It’s daunting and a lot of hard work—but I have a secret weapon. ■
—As told to Maria Calleja
