Abstract:

Technology has developed enormously in the last few years with a boom in AI. As always, foreign languages have been linked to the various and extended array of tools for teaching and learning. One very useful teaching method for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is guided discovery where the students are guided through a series of activities that lead to their comprehension of the new terminology. This is precisely useful when teaching specialized vocabulary regardless of the language level because in this case the method relies less on the students' previous knowledge of English. The role of AI in guided discovery is that it provides instant hints and ways to approach the subject in a much faster manner with tailored materials for the seminar. With the abundance of materials specifically made for ESP students, AI tools can guide the teacher and give ideas for new materials. From this perspective, the present paper presents diverse scenarios designed by AI for Business English. The method has been used within the Bucharest University of Economic Studies within the Marketing, Management and Accounting Faculties. The study follows the steps of guided discovery and its two approaches. For the marketing and management students, implicit learning is more appropriate because it is easier for students to discover the new terminology as the vocabulary is easier to anticipate. The accounting vocabulary is more difficult to guess so the deductive approach is recommended more. Also, the order of the guided discovery stages is reversed with a preference for MPF (Meaning-Pronunciation-Form) rather than MFP (Meaning-Form-Pronunciation) because pronunciation is more important than grammar when learning difficult vocabulary such as specialized business terminology. Nevertheless, even if the guided discovery method is extremely useful for the vast majority of students as it places language in a context, it may not work for all students as they may lack previous knowledge on the subject. All in all, the exercises provided by AI for guided discovery and the method itself help the students to think on their own, connect ideas, find logic in learning and develop critical thinking. More importantly, students leave the class with knowledge on the subject because the method makes students find answers themselves in a guided context instead of solely being exposed to information.

Keywords:

Guided discovery, AI tools, ESP, business English.