Spark Study Buddy (Explorer): Wuhan teacher uses AI to inspire students
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A teacher in Wuhan used AI-generated career portraits to inspire her students.
Photo: SCMP composite/DouyinContent provided by British Council
[1] Xiao Yuan is a primary school teacher in Wuhan, China. She found a creative way to inspire her class. She used AI technology to create professional portraits. Her warm personality makes her popular among students. Last month, she shared a video of a special activity from her class’s New Year’s Eve party on a video-sharing platform.
[2] She used an image generation app to create future career portraits for each student. They received the pictures as New Year presents. One boy who dreamed of becoming a chef was happy to see himself in his AI-generated photo, complete with a white chef’s hat.
[3] Another student who wants to be a soldier said, “Wow!” when he saw himself in a smart military uniform. A girl dreaming of stardom loved her portrait. It showed her glowing in a red dress and sparkling necklace. She whispered, “I’m so beautiful!” Other students also shared dreams of becoming firefighters, historians and artists.
[4] One netizen commented that choosing a career like “celebrity” was “controversial” and “unhealthy”. Xiao defended the value of all professions. “Every career has its worth as long as it does not harm society or break the law,” she said. “The world is diverse because everyone has different dreams.” Xiao said her goal was to inspire children to “dream big”. She wants them to chase their future with courage. “This is also the wish and ideal of every teacher,” she added.
[5] The AI-generated career portraits became popular on social media. One user praised Xiao’s creative teaching. “This is the true meaning of using AI. I am deeply moved by the children’s joyful laughter and the teacher’s kind heart,” the user said.
[6] A parent shared that their child proudly showed off their portrait. “Mum, this is what I will look like when I grow up,” their child said. The mother wrote: “Thank you, teacher Xiao, for planting a seed of hope in my child’s heart. It will inspire them to keep striving to become who they want to be.”
[7] Many parents in China are sharing how they use AI in parenting. One mother from Hainan province helped her four-year-old son with his spoken English with ChatGPT. In November 2023, a couple with PhDs used ChatGPT to comfort their son after he was teased for falling on the playground.
Source: South China Morning Post, January 21
Questions
1. In paragraph 1, the purpose of the AI-generated portraits was to …
A. impress parents.
B. encourage students to chase their dreams.
C. decorate the classroom.
D. introduce students to different sorts of jobs.
2. Which job is not mentioned in paragraph 3?
A. lawyer
B. firefighter
C. soldier
D. artist
3. Why did the netizen mentioned in paragraph 4 disagree with what Xiao did?
4. According to paragraph 4, what app did one parent use to help their child with his English?
5. One boy, ... dream is to be a chef, was excited to see himself in his AI-generated photo.
A. who
B. which
C. whose
D. whom
6. Arrange the words below to form a grammatically correct sentence. Begin the sentence with a capital letter and end with a full stop.
Chinese / pictures / her / jobs / a / students / in / their / created / teacher / dream / of
Answers
1. B
2. A
3. because they believed that careers such as celebrities are “controversial” and “unhealthy” and should not be encouraged in young children (accept all similar answers)
4. ChatGPT
5. C
6. A Chinese teacher created pictures of her students in their dream jobs.