Have you used ChatGPT for language learning? It’s an interesting idea, and I’ve found some different examples of how to use artificial intelligence to fuel your studies. I recently stumbled across a video explaining how to use ChatGPT to generate stories with the 200 most common words. Another strategy is to use ChatGPT as a speaking partner. The conversations are robotic, but they’re conversations nonetheless. These approaches aren’t very attractive to me, but it did get me thinking.

How can I use ChatGPT to learn languages more efficiently? Here’s some uses for AI that I’ve come up with while studying Turkish.

1) Supplement My Reading & Listening

Lately, I’ve been listening to a Turkish podcast series that summarizes popular self-help books. I listen to this series because it’s interesting, but also because the vocabulary is pretty repetitive. It’s easy to listen to. I supplement my listening with book summaries produced by ChatGPT.

For example, if an episode of the series discusses Atomic Habits, I’ll ask ChatGPT for a 1000-word summary of Atomic Habits in Turkish. Naturally, the summary is rich in high-frequency vocabulary and the language is inevitably simpler. Then I imported it into LingQ and studied it.

I can do this with any book. Pick the 10 bestsellers in English, ask ChatGPT to summarize them in Turkish, Spanish, French—you name it—and now you’ve got a goldmine of learner-friendly, high-frequency input.

This is important. Artificial intelligence does not replace listening and reading as the best approach to language learning. It merely enhances our experience. Now, when I listen to this Turkish podcast, I can listen to episodes with more familiarity and background knowledge. .

2) Explore More Complex Topics

I love history. It’s a fascinating field of study, but the vocabulary can be dense and difficult to grasp. ChatGPT is a great tool to make difficult genres more approachable.

“Write a 1000-word summary of the Ottoman Empire,” I asked ChatGPT. Boom—done in seconds. Then I tried, “Summarize Turkish history since 1900.” No problem.

You can do this with any topic: Islamic philosophy in Central Asia, ancient Persian poets, you name it. Just feed it to ChatGPT in your target language, import it into LingQ, and now you’re reading about something that actually interests you, in the language you’re learning.

This is a fantastic way to explore deeper content without needing a PhD-level reading ability. And it’s helping me move through Turkish at a solid pace, as my spiked curiosity naturally leads to more reading and listening.

3) Make Literature Accessible

Another potential way to learn a language with ChatGPT: literature. Literature in your target language can be dense. These types of texts are linguistically richer and more challenging for language learners. ChatGPT can help us enjoy these materials more easily.

I became a member of a Turkish audiobook site, Storytel, and downloaded novels by Elif Şafak. Listening was difficult—too much I didn’t understand. So I got an ebook version, imported it into LingQ, and started slowly building up familiarity.

Then I asked ChatGPT to summarize the book—in Turkish. The result? Excellent. It gave me the major characters, themes, structure. With that overview and some help from LingQ, I can now enjoy the story more while reading.

You don’t need to read 300 pages cold. A summary gives you a foothold. Combine that with LingQ or another tool, and suddenly literature becomes accessible (and more enjoyable).

Why I Don’t Use ChatGPT for Speaking Practice

I’ll be honest—I don’t talk to ChatGPT.

I’m not into robotic conversations. I prefer the real thing: I meet with two Turkish tutors, four sessions a week. Of course, artificial intelligence is still present. One of my tutors uses ChatGPT to generate grammar examples for me, based on where I struggle. Then he sends me a detailed write-up.

However, this raises an important question. Why are you learning a language?

Personally, I value human and tailored interactions.

But I get it. If you want to use ChatGPT to practice speaking, go for it. It’s just a bit rigid and not how I prefer to learn.

Final Thoughts

In the end, ChatGPT is a tool. And when used thoughtfully, it can create powerful, personalized learning material—whether you’re into self-help, history, or literature. For me, it’s helping increase my vocabulary, deepen my understanding, and stay motivated with Turkish.

Just one more way to make input more compelling and useful.

Thanks for reading—and happy language learning!