ENGLISH VOCABULARY · PART 1 OF 3 · 2 MIN 37 SEC
Everyday words: Hello, Thank You, Apple and Cat
Students introduce useful words through examples and read-along practice. Continue the lesson in the video library.
Where it began
Who gets to benefit from technology?
While preparing for a debate about AI and employment, I began wondering whether unequal access to AI could widen the gap between communities.
I visited schools serving children with fewer educational resources and spoke with students and teachers. Their limited opportunities to practice English gave that big question a concrete direction.
The journey
Progress meant changing course.
The first ideas did not solve the problem. Each attempt taught me more about what students and teachers actually needed.
- 01
A debate became a question
Debating AI's effect on work pushed me to ask who might be left behind when access to new tools is uneven.
- 02
Listening came first
Visits to schools serving left-behind children and children of migrant workers brought me into conversations with teachers and students about the scarcity of English learning and practice resources.
- 03
Videos were a start
I founded a club at Keystone Academy where students recorded English lessons. The videos offered explanations, but they did not give learners a way to respond and practice.
- 04
The first app needed rethinking
In Grade 9, I began using AI-assisted coding to prototype a conversational practice agent. Repeated versions struggled with unreliable AI responses and an interaction style unfamiliar to many users.
- 05
A classroom pilot took shape
In summer 2026, an introduction through an education nonprofit connected me with a boarding school in Qinghai. Limited devices led me to build structured English practice for a shared interactive screen.
Student-made learning content
It started with English learning videos.
Tina led classmates in recording lessons students could watch again. The videos also show how the team moved from one-way explanations toward interactive practice.
The current tool
Built for the classroom at hand.
Students practice through guided questions on a shared display. AI helps prepare the content rather than generating live dialogue during exercises.
Local textbooks
The school's English curriculum sets the scope for each practice unit.
AI-assisted question banks
AI helps organize textbook content into questions specific to each unit.
Guided interaction
A standalone app presents structured exercises on a shared interactive screen.
Companion interface
A management interface was delivered alongside the student-facing app.
Qinghai pilot / 2026
One screen is a beginning.
At the pilot boarding school, Grades 3–6 have 17 classes. Our team has donated one interactive screen with the English practice app and management interface. Reaching one screen per class would require 16 more.
Class and screen figures reflect the team's plan as of September 2026. School feedback and classroom media will be added after permission to publish is granted.
Gesanghua Foundation report
A gift three years in the making
The Chinese-language report describes students choosing to practice at the screen and Tina refining the app with feedback from the principal and English teachers. It says the current exercises cover all units of the Grade 3 and 4 textbooks.
17Classes in Grades 3–6
01Screen donated
16More to reach every class
The next step