The Rose Collective

Not gonna lie – ChatGPT is so convenient, especially when you need to write a formal email because the house you rent is leaking, your landlord doesn’t pick up your calls, and they won’t fix it until you send an email to “prove” you’ve taken action.

But you have absolutely no idea how to sound polite or natural in British culture.

In situations like that, I often use ChatGPT to “fix my tone” – to make sure I don’t sound rude or too direct. It really helps, especially since English isn’t my first language and I don’t want misunderstandings to make people think I’m rude or, worse, dumb.

After a while, though, I realised something : I was slowly losing my personality, my own voice in English. The more I let ChatGPT rewrite my messages, the more everything I wrote started to sound the same : polite, perfect, and not me.

I want to speak more freely. I want people to see how funny I am in my first language – without me laughing along but having no idea what they’re talking about.

Knowledge should belong to me, not depend on ChatGPT.

Learning with ChatGPT – but Thinking for Yourself

You’ve probably heard people say things like:

“I don’t know, but Chat GPT said…”

ChatGPT is a language model – basically a big system trained to predict and generate text. But it’s not perfect. I like to think of it as my personal trainer : patient, available 24/7, and never judging me too harshly.

But we have to remember : it doesn’t really understand things like a human does.

Sometimes it even gives wrong answers confidently, especially with numbers and data. So here’s what we can do : always question the sources and double-check what it says. Verify facts by cross-referencing reliable sources before using them for anything serious.

How I Talk to ChatGPT

Think of it as writing a magic spell: 🅰️ + 🅱️ = Perfect Prompt!

🅰️ Tell It Your Situation & Goal

Include:

• What you’re focusing on
• What you want to improve
• Your level or challenge

For examples:

1️⃣ I’m an English learner. I want to speak more fluently and naturally.
2️⃣ I want to improve my (written/spoken) English and prepare for (exam/ shopping/ booking/ asking directions/ ordering food/writing email…).
3️⃣ I’m going to book an appointment with my GP. Help me understand what the receptionist might say.

🅱️ Tell It What to Do

Include:

• Action verbs like: Ask, Check, Correct, Explain, Role-play, Give, Suggest, Create…
• How and when you want feedback
• Clear instructions about the task you want ChatGPT to perform

For examples:

1️⃣ Ask me 5 questions about my hobbies and correct my grammar after I answer.
2️⃣ Check my grammar, explain why it’s wrong, and give me examples to rewrite.
3️⃣ Role-play a GP phone call with me. Suggest 3 natural ways to respond.

Example of a full prompt, 🅰️+🅱️ =

I’m an English learner. I want to speak more fluently and naturally. Ask me 5 questions about my hobbies and correct my grammar after I answer.

Boom! That’s how you make ChatGPT your personal English buddy.

🌟 Extra Tips

💡 Always ask for explanations + examples, they help you learn better
💡 If something sounds too hard, say : “Explain it to me like I’m 5.”
💡 Be specific about skills (grammar/ vocabulary/ pronunciation…) and levels (A1-C2)
💡 You can customise ChatGPT’s feedback style in settings : click Your user name > Settings > Personalisation> Custom instructions.
💡 Remember: ChatGPT works best when your instructions are clear! The clearer you are, the better it helps 🙂

ChatGPT won’t magically make us fluent overnight. But if we guide it well – giving it our situation, our goal, and clear instructions – it becomes a really supportive partner in our learning journey.

Sometimes learning English feels lonely, especially when you notice you can’t fully express yourself or miss the topic people are talking about while they’re already on the next one. Remember to look back and see how far you’ve come – every step counts! Moreover, now you always have ChatGPT to practise with anytime anywhere.

Enjoy and have fun!

Helpful Resources for Learning English

🎧 Listening
BBC 6 Minute English – Interesting topics with clear English and transcripts, perfect for building vocabulary.

🗣️ Speaking
YouGlish – Learn natural pronunciation with real video examples and captions.
Natural Readers – Practise speech shadowing with voiceover from any text.

📚 Reading
BorrowBox (App) – Free eBooks, audiobooks, newspapers, and magazines.
Libby (App) – Free eBooks and audiobooks, especially great for children’s books.
Manchester Library Courses and tutorials – Free online courses and tutorials.