World Language teachers, get ready! I’ve kept hoping for this day within the capabilities to use Generative AI right in Google Slides and it’s finally here!
Recently, Google Slides just became an even more powerful tool for our language classrooms! These are my top updates to Google Slides and a brief video overview is linked here.
#1 – Supports multiple languages: Gemini now understands and works in multiple languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and much more! I had previously shared about the amazing capabilities of creating podcasts and audio content in multiple languages – one of the platforms was Google’s Notebook LM. To learn more, check out this previous post.
#2 – Video Recording: We can record our voices directly onto the slides. We can filter the background, we can use speaker notes. Wow! There are so many awesome capabilities! And, with digital storytelling, students can use their own video to narrate right on the screen to tell their stories. Here is a short workshop about digital storytelling for the language classroom. Anyone can add their voice without leaving the platform! It’s also an easy way to support listening comprehension exercises. Teachers can share a link to force a copy of the slideshow and students can record themselves replying to questions based on what they hear.
#3 – Generative AI: Gemini is now built into Slides, which means you can generate entire slide layouts—complete with questions, vocabulary, images, and even video—just by asking aka prompting well! If you are not sure how to prompt well, check out my online library of Generative AI courses for language teachers – one is specific to prompting! So, if you need a slide with five comprehension questions in Italian and an image of a piazza in Florence? Type it in, and Gemini gets to work! It’s like having a creative assistant co-create alongside you! Of course you still need to check the language accuracy and ensure there are no hallucinations – but what an incredible time saver! As generative tools continue to evolve, they’re becoming more intuitive, more multilingual, and more supportive of our creativity in the classroom. If you haven’t explored these new features yet, now is the perfect time to dive in and see what’s possible! And if you are looking to explore more about Generative AI as a language teacher, I invite you to consider joining our upcoming 2nd annual AI Summit for Language Educators that is a donation-based virtual event and consider becoming part of our AI Innovator Community for the 2025-2026 school year.
