ɫèAV

English teachers today face increasing demands: create engaging content, differentiate instruction and address diverse learner needs �C all within a limited time. The rise of Generative AI, like ChatGPT, offers a promising solution. But without proper guidance, AI-generated content can lack educational value. This blog post introduces a practical, research-informed approach to using AI tools aligned with the Global Scale of English (GSE). You will learn how this framework helps educators design accurate, personalized and level-appropriate English teaching materials quickly and confidently.

Why GSE and AI are a game-changing combination for ELT

The Global Scale of English (GSE) is a CEFR-aligned framework developed by ɫèAV, offering detailed "can-do" learning objectives. It includes nearly 4,000 descriptors across speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, offering more precision than traditional level labels like A2 or B1. At the same time, Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can generate entire lessons, tasks and assessments in seconds. The challenge lies in ensuring this content is aligned with clear pedagogical outcomes.

Pairing AI��s creative speed with the GSE��s structured outcomes offers a scalable way to meet learner needs without compromising instructional quality.

Unlocking measurable, differentiated and efficient teaching with GSE and AI

The GSE makes objectives measurable

Unlike generic teaching goals, GSE objectives are specific and measurable. For example, a B1-level learner objective might state:

��Can identify a simple chronological sequence in a recorded narrative or dialogue.�� (GSE 43)
?This clarity helps teachers define outcomes and ensure each AI-generated task targets an actual language skill, not just generic content.

Generative AI enhances productivity

Teachers using Generative AI can create draft lesson materials in minutes. By inputing a structured prompt such as:

��Create a B1 reading activity that helps learners summarize the main points of a short article.��
ChatGPT can instantly generate content that meets the learning goal. When guided by the GSE, AI becomes a collaborative assistant as well as a time-saver.

The GSE + AI combination supports differentiation

Because the GSE includes descriptors across a wide proficiency range (from pre-A1 to C2), teachers can tailor AI-generated content to meet the exact needs of their students. Mixed-level classrooms or tutoring contexts benefit especially from this, as teachers can create multiple versions of a task with consistent scaffolding.

Practical tips

• Use the GSE Teacher Toolkit to select objectives based on skill, level or function.
• When prompting ChatGPT, include the GSE descriptor in your input for more precise results.
• Always review and adapt the AI output to match your learners�� context, culture and curriculum.
• Create a prompt library mapped to GSE codes to save time in future planning.

A step-by-step example of the GSE and AI in action

Here is a typical application of the workflow:

1. A teacher selects a GSE objective, such as:
   ��Can write a basic formal email/letter requesting information.�� (GSE 46).
2. Within seconds, a sample formal email, accompanied by a short reading comprehension task and a vocabulary activity, is generated.
3. The reading task serves as a model to help learners analyze the structure, tone, and key language features of a well-written email before attempting their own.
4. The teacher then reviews and refines the output for clarity, appropriateness, and context relevance.

This process supports targeted teaching while significantly reducing preparation time.

Overcoming challenges: Ensuring quality and relevance

Challenge: AI outputs may lack cultural context, level appropriateness or instructional clarity.
Solution: Always pair AI with professional judgment. Use the GSE to check that skills match the intended outcome, and adjust the complexity of the language as needed.

Challenge: Teachers may be unfamiliar with how to write effective AI prompts.
Solution: Start simple with templates like:

��Create a [skill] activity at [level] that supports this GSE objective: [insert objective].��

Challenge: Risk of over-relying on AI for instruction.
Solution: Use AI as a starting point, not the final product. Combine AI-generated content with classroom interaction, feedback and your own creativity.

Teaching tools that make this easier

• : for exploring and selecting level-appropriate learning objectives
• : for generating customizable teaching content
• GSE Smart Lesson Generator: an AI-powered lesson creation tool developed by ɫèAV that uses the GSE framework to automatically generate high-quality activities and lesson plans
• Google Docs or Word: for editing and organizing your materials before class

Confidently transforming English teaching

Combining Generative AI with the Global Scale of English allows teachers to design materials that are both fast and focused. The GSE provides the structure; AI provides the speed. Together, they offer a sustainable solution for personalized English instruction that respects both learner needs and instructional quality.

Why did I want to learn English? When I was 9 years old, I became sick of French at home and I decided to go for the "opposite": English. I fell in love with it the moment I started learning. Though I could not see the point in many activities we were asked to do, such as turning affirmative sentences into negative and questions, or transforming conditional statements, I was good at it and hoped that at some point, I would find the meaningfulness of those exercises.

Overcoming challenges in English language learning

I kept on learning English, but the benefits were nowhere to be seen. In my school, classes are monolingual and teachers and students all share the same mother tongue. However, translanguaging was not an option. I even remember being told to forget Spanish, my mother tongue, which was as ridiculous and impossible as asking me to forget I have two legs. Before I finished secondary school, I knew I wanted to take up a career that had English at its core.

From student to teacher: Finding purpose in teaching English

I started the translators programme, but soon I saw that it was teaching that I loved. I changed to that and I have never stopped teaching or learning. All the pieces fell into place as I was asked to use English meaningfully, as I started focusing on meaning rather than on grammar. And I made this big learning insight one of the principles and main pillars of teaching. Some heads of school wondered why I would not follow the coursebook. My answer, since then, has been: I teach students, not a book or a syllabus. Because I was focusing on using English with a purpose �C using it meaningfully �C the results were excellent, and my students were using the language. And they passed the tests they needed to take.

Teaching English with meaning: Moving beyond the coursebook

I used coursebooks, as every other teacher did, but continued to make changes that I thought would be beneficial to my learners. As I taught Didactics at university in the Teacher Education Programme, I was invited by some publishing houses to give feedback on new coursebooks. As I was told, the feedback proved to be useful, and I was asked to start modifying international coursebooks to fit the local context and design booklets to provide what was missing in these adaptations, until I was finally invited to write a series for Argentina.

In all the series I��ve written, my first comment has always been:? ��This is the result of my experience in several different classrooms, with different students from various backgrounds. This is a series by a teacher and for teachers and their learners. The focus is not on teaching, but on what is necessary for students to learn."

Flexibility has always been at the core of these series and my teaching as well. Sometimes students need more work on something, and in the Teacher��s book I included several suggestions for further activities, which I called ��building confidence activities��.

Flexible teaching strategies and confidence-building activities

As I got involved with the GSE, I saw how it can help students learn much better, and how it can support teachers as they help learners. How so? Because it starts with a focus on using English rather than on learning about it, that is, learning about its grammar. I��ve shared my views on it with every colleague I can and it has been the topic of several presentations and national and international conferences. It��s a fantastic resource for both teachers and learners, but also for the wider educational community. When the scales were finally published, I remember thinking, ��Oh my, I was born in the wrong century!��

I am still teaching English �C working at schools as a consultant, designing professional development projects and implementing them, and yes, actually working in classrooms, teaching learners. After many years of teaching English, and still loving it, the best advice I can give is this:

Advice for English teachers

Teachers, we��re blessed in that we do what we love, and despite its challenges and hard times, teaching is absolutely rewarding. Nothing can compare to the expression on a student��s face when they've "got it".

Remember to focus on meaning, help learners become aware of what they already know and set a clear learning path that will keep you and them motivated. The GSE is the best resource and companion for this.

In academic ops, we��re always finding the balance between precision and practicality. On one side: the goal of delivering lessons that are level-appropriate, relevant and tied to real learner needs. On the other hand, we juggle hundreds of courses, support teachers, handle last-minute changes and somehow keep the whole system moving without losing momentum or our minds.

That��s exactly where AI and the Global Scale of English (GSE) have changed the game for us at Bridge. Over the past year, we��ve been using AI tools to streamline lesson creation, speed up course design and personalize instruction in a way that��s scalable and pedagogically sound.

Spoiler alert: it��s working.

The challenge: Customization at scale

Our corporate English learners aren��t just ��students��. They��re busy professionals: engineers, sales leads, analysts. They need immediate impact. They have specific goals, high expectations and very little patience for anything that feels generic.

Behind the scenes, my team is constantly:

• Adapting content to real company contexts
• Mapping GSE descriptors to measurable outcomes
• Designing lessons that are easy for teachers to deliver
• Keeping quality high across dozens of industries and levels

The solution: Building personalized courses at scale

To address this challenge, we developed an internal curriculum engine that blends the GSE, AI and practical, job-focused communication goals into a system that can generate full courses in minutes.

It is built around 21 workplace categories, including Conflict Resolution, Business Travel and Public Speaking. Each category has five lessons mapped to CEFR levels and GSE descriptors, sequenced to support real skill development.

Then the fun part: content creation. Using GPT-based AI agents trained on GSE Professional objectives, we feed in a few parameters like:

• Category: Negotiation
• Lesson: Staying Professional Under Pressure
• Skills: Speaking (GSE 43, 44), Reading (GSE 43, 45)

In return, we get:

• A teacher plan with clear prompts, instructions and model responses
• Student slides or worksheets with interactive, GSE-aligned tasks
• Learning outcomes tied directly to the descriptors

Everything is structured, leveled and ready to go.

One Example: ��Staying Organized at Work��

This A2 lesson falls under our Time Management module and hits descriptors like:

• Reading 30: Can ask for repetition and clarification using basic fixed expressions
• Speaking 33: Can describe basic activities or events happening at the time of speaking

Students work with schedules, checklists and workplace vocabulary. They build confidence by using simple but useful language in simulated tasks. Teachers are fully supported with ready-made discussion questions and roleplay prompts.

Whether we��re prepping for a quick demo or building a full 20-hour course, the outcome is the same. We deliver scalable, teacher-friendly, learner-relevant lessons that actually get used.

Beyond the framework: AI-generated courses for individual learner profiles

While our internal curriculum engine helps us scale structured, GSE-aligned lessons across common workplace themes, we also use AI for one-on-one personalization. This second system builds fully custom courses based on an individual��s goals, role, and communication challenges.

One of our clients, a global mining company, needed a course for a production engineer in field ops. His English level was around B1 (GSE 43 to 50). He didn��t need grammar. He needed to get better at safety briefings, reports and meetings. Fast.

He filled out a detailed needs analysis, and I fed the data into our first AI agent. It created a personalized GSE-aligned syllabus based on his job, challenges and goals. That syllabus was passed to a second agent, preloaded with the full GSE Professional framework, which then generated 20 complete lessons.

The course looked like this:

• Module 1: Reporting project updates
• Module 2: Supply chain and logistics vocabulary
• Module 3: Interpreting internal communications
• Module 4: Coordination and problem-solving scenarios
• Module 5: Safety presentation with feedback rubric

From start to finish, the course took under an hour to build. It was tailored to his actual workday. His teacher later reported that his communication had become noticeably clearer and more confident.

This was not a one-off. We have now repeated this flow for dozens of learners in different industries, each time mapping everything back to GSE ranges and skill targets.

Why it works: AI + GSE = The right kind of structure

AI helps us move fast. But the GSE gives us the structure to stay aligned.

Without it, we��re just generating content. With it, we��re creating instruction that is:

• Measurable and appropriate for the learner��s level
• Easy for teachers to deliver
• Consistent and scalable across programs

The GSE gives us a shared language for goals, outcomes and progress. That is what keeps it pedagogically sound.

Final thought

A year ago, I wouldn��t have believed we could design a 20-lesson course in under an hour that actually delivers results. But now it��s just part of the workflow.

AI doesn��t replace teaching. It enhances it. And when paired with the GSE, it gives us a way to meet learner needs with speed, clarity, and purpose. It��s not just an upgrade. It��s what��s next.