3 Fun Ways to Personalize, Engage, and Totally Wow Your Students Using Artificial Intelligence

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How cool would it be if your students walked into class and felt like the lesson was designed just for them? Like, not some generic worksheet, but content that feels real, relevant, and totally engaging. Well,guess what? With a little help from artificial intelligence, we can actually make that happen!

Let me walk you through three super fun, highly customizable activities I’ve designed using AI tools — and trust me, your students are gonna love them.

While this example focuses on the topic of crime, the real beauty of these activities is their flexibility. The prompts, tools, and AI-generated content can be easily adapted to suit any topic or level — from beginners learning food vocabulary to advanced students tackling social issues. It’s all about making the content work for your class

Creating  a Personalised Listening Comprehension Text and Questions

We’ve been diving into the topic of crime for the past two weeks, and students have already built up a solid bank of vocabulary: burglary, fraud, suspect, on probation, to be sentenced, life sentence, to sue… you name it. So I thought, why not take it up a notch?

I used ChatGPT to help me craft a fictional news story about a crime happening right in their own region. Yep, something that felt local, real, and instantly relatable. I made sure to weave in the vocabulary they’d been learning — so as they read, they were like, “Wait, I know that word!”

But I didn’t stop there. I also asked ChatGPT to generate comprehension questions — true, false, or not stated — based on the story.

These are the prompts I used.

Prompt 1. Create a piece of news about a crime in Asturias for C1 students of English. Use C1 vocabulary and structures. Include the words: assault, on probation… Length:about 250 words.

Prompt 2. Write 10 True, False, or Not Stated statements based on the text, ensuring you do not copy the exact wording but instead paraphrase or use synonyms. The statements should follow the same order as the information appears in the text and include a balanced variety of true, false, and not stated items. Be careful that the Not Stated sentences are clearly distinguishable from the false ones. For each statement, provide the correct answer (True, False, or Not Stated) and indicate the relevant section or line of the text as evidence where applicable.

PDF: Teacher’s and Student’s

From Teacher to News Presenter — with a Little AI Magic!

This is where things got extra fun — I took a photo of myself (because why not?) and turned it into an AI avatar that read the story out loud in a perfect native English accent. And listen, my English is good… but let’s not kid ourselves — it’s not BBC News-level good!

Did I feel awkward about putting my animated face on a fake newscast? Nope. Not even a little. I mean, I’m clearly past the point of being easily embarrassed — and honestly, it was a hit! I used a  news-style template, added some dramatic music and headlines, and just like that, we had a super realistic, super fun classroom news report.

The students? Mesmerized. It was like watching the 6 o’clock news — except starring their teacher, speaking English they actually understood!

I have used Canva for education to create the video and the avatar

From Teacher to App Creator: Making Vocab Revision Fun with AI

Okay, now let’s talk about Claude, one of my favorite language models (yes, I’m a bit of a fan). I used it to create an interactive app that helped us revise all that juicy vocabulary we’d been working on — and throw in some new words too. And let me tell you, that mix of revision and fresh vocabulary? It made the whole thing way more exciting!

So,  I designed the game for two teams to compete. The rules were simple: each team took turns choosing a square on the grid and picking the correct option. If they got it right, they scored a point automatically and the grid changed to green. If a team got it wrong, the other team could choose that square again and steal the point by answering correctly.

But here’s where the fun kicked in: some of the vocabulary was just revision, while other words were completely new. This added a whole new layer of competition!

This the prompt I have used. I have had to iterate 4 or 5 times until I got what I wanted.

Create an interactive board game using html. I want two Teams. Team A and Team B who take turns answering questions. Each team has its own score counter that updates when they answer correctly. There should be visual indicators showing which team’s turn it is.

The game should include 20 different questions about crime and punishment, vocabulary appropriate for C1 English students. Each of the 20 squares has a unique question. When you click on one square a question about crime and punishment for C1 students will be displayed. When a team answers a question correctly, the corresponding square permanently changes to green.

The background colour should be red and the website link “www.cristinacabal.com” is displayed at the bottom

Finally, can you give me the answers to the questions in the game?

Ready to try them and adapt the prompts to your own context?

Revising, Teaching and Consolidating Different Crimes, Cristina’s Style

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I have some awesome activities to share with you today! From traditional pen-and-paper tasks to the most advanced AI possibilities and more… I hope these fun ideas inspire you to create something exciting of your own. And if nothing else, I hope they make you smile when you see me dressed up as a police officer. 😄

When you’re teaching a C1 class and introducing a big topic like Crime and Punishment, jumping straight into phrases like “contest a verdict” or “beyond reasonable doubt” can be overwhelming. It’s just too much too soon—and nobody wants cognitive overload!

So instead, we took a step back. We began with the basics: different types of crimes. Just the vocabulary. A total of 25. Now, C1 students already know quite a few, so this was more of a review… with a little something extra. Like I always say, “just un poco más.” Once the crime words are clear—burglary, fraud, arson, and the rest—then it’s much easier to explore the more complex collocations and legal language. One step at a time, building confidence as we go.

Let’s hop into it!

FIRST CLASS: REVISING AND INTRODUCING VOCABULARY

Step 1: Preparation: A paper, a Bag and 10 crimes

Here’s a fun little activity we did using just some paper and a bag. I cut 10 small pieces of paper and wrote a different crime on each one. Then, I popped them all into a bag. I split the class into two teams so that each team would end up with five crimes total.

Let’s say Team A goes first. I pull a paper from the bag and read the crime aloud. Now, here’s the twist—any student on Team A who thinks they know the meaning of the crime in Spanish must stand up. The number of students standing becomes the number of potential points they could win—or lose!

How do they win or lose those points? A student from Team B chooses one of the standing students and challenges them to give the correct meaning in Spanish. If the answer is right, Team A gets all the points (equal to the number of students who stood up). If the answer is wrong, they lose those points instead.

Then it’s Team B’s turn.

The crimes in the bag were: burglary, harassment, shoplifiting, squatting, smuggling, hijacking, mugging, blackmail, bribery, forgery

Step 2. The Song "City of Crime": A Fill-in-the-gçGaps Traditional Exercise with a Personalised Twist
Time for more crimes —but hang on a sec!  Because there’s a world of difference between giving students  a boring list of offences … and, turning it into a full-blown musical experience. A song (yes, made with AI), sung by none other than me—in full police officer gear. Don’t I look very pretty?
Print the activity here
Now

City of Crime de cristina.cabal

SECOND CLASS: CONSOLIDATING VOCABULARY

Step 3.  An Interactive Personalised  Taboo Game

Yes, they’ve learned the crimes and offences—but if we want that vocab to stick, we have to  help them use it! So, it’s game time: an  AI-powered Taboo, totally personalized and right on trend with the whole vibe coding movement.In just minutes, I created an interactive crime-themed Taboo Game that’s fun, fast, and super effective.

Do I know how to code? Nope.
Do I need to? Not with AI!

Game

Step 4: Speaking

Now it’s time to put this vocabulary into action!  Students have learned the words and now it’s their chance to talk and share opinions.

Speaking: Crimes de cristina.cabal

 

THIRD CLASS:  SPACED PRACTICE: Poetry and Song (yes, again)

Let’s face it—our brains aren’t always great at holding onto new vocabulary after just one try. That’s where spaced repetition comes in! By reviewing content at regular intervals, we help our memory lock it in for the long term.

This time, we’re making it a little more creative (and a lot more fun) by revisiting this vocabulary through poetry and a song. Yes, but a different song.

Step 5: Poetry. Flipcards

No, I am not a poet, but it seems ChatGPT is. And hey, if when asked to create a song, he gives me lines that rhyme, who am I to say no to a good verse?  So, students read the lines with the correct entonation and try to guess the crime.

There are seven crimes. You might need to register to see all of them. Here

Step 6: Freeze that Crime

And  finally, we revise spelling. How??? With a song and some challenge.

I asked ChatGPT to create a song using some of the trickiest crime-related words to spell ( 8 words), placing each one at the end of a verse.

Here’s how it worked:

  • I told students I’d play the song and pause it 8 times. They numbered their papers from 1 to 8, and each time I stopped the music, they had to write down the last word they heard. The song is only played once.
  • Then, they swapped papers with a partner, and we corrected the answers together on the board. For every correctly spelled word: 1 point. Final scores were written on the paper before giving it back to the original student to check their mistakes.

Song Lyrics here. In red, the words where I stopped the audio,

Freeze that Crime de cristina.cabal

And of course—what’s a challenge without a prize? hahahahThe winner got a big round of applause and a sweet.

A super engaging way to lock in spelling and make it stick!

Read Along: Reading and Pronunciation Buddy for Beginners

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It’s been a long time since I haven’t written a post for primary teachers and A1 learners, but hey!  This one’s for you!

If you’re just starting your reading journey—or helping little ones do the same—Google’s Read Along is the perfect tool to make learning fun! While designed primarily for children, these stories can still be valuable for adult learners focusing on reading skills and pronunciation practice. The child-friendly content doesn’t diminish its effectiveness as a learning tool for readers of any age. For me and my adult students, it just makes the whole activity more visually appealing while still focusing on the same goal—helping you improve your reading and pronunciation.

What is Read Along?

It is a FREE tool (yep, no cost at all!) that helps students learn to read  and pronounce correctly while having fun. It works both as an app and online, making it super accessible for everyone.

How does it work?

Meet Diya, the friendly reading buddy!

  • She listens to students and helps them then they struggle with reading
  • Students can choose from hundreds of levelled stories
  • Students can earn badges and rewards as they read

Ready to pronounce? t is important to activate the microphone.

  • Diya, the reading buddy, will prompt you to pronounce;  or alternatively, you can click on the words to hear them being pronounced.
Why do I like it?
  • There are four levels of stories, each with a different level of difficulty. The higher the level, the more challenging the reading—so you can progress at your own pace.
  • You can listen to individual words in a story, and there are also fun activities where you get to record yourself reading aloud! Perfect for practicing pronunciation and building confidence!
  • Uses AI to offer real-time feedback
  • Completely inclusive and accessible for all learners
  • Helps students gain confidence and fluency in reading

So, whether you’re a teacher looking to support your students or a beginner reader wanting to improve pronunciation, Read Along might be the tool for you.

Complaint Letters/Emails: 2 Warm-ups

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Writing a complaint letter sounds serious, right? But before I ask my students to get into that, let’s help them loosen up with two quick warm-ups!

 

First—let’s reflect. Do you often complain, or do you just let things go?

Then, let’s turn up the fun! There’s a challenge: can you guess the complaint just by interpreting a few clues? Some might be obvious, but others will definitely make them think!

Once we’ve had a good laugh (and maybe a little self-discovery), we’ll dive into writing complaint letters that actually get results. Here are the two quick warm-ups. Hope your students enjoy them.

WARM-UP 1: CONVERSATION QUESTIONS
  • Do you think you complain a lot, a little, or just enough? In what situations do you usually complain?
  • In your country/culture, is openly complaining common, or is it considered rude? How do people usually complain?
  • What do people in your city/country often complain about? (e.g., public transport, slow service, bad weather)?
  • Can you recall a time you complained and got a solution? How did you handle it?
  • Do you prefer to solve a problem by complaining or ignore it? Why?
WARM-UP 2: GUESS THE EMOJI

Let’s have fun!You will see emoji sequences and you must try to guess what type of complaint each represents.

 

Complaint emojis de cristina.cabal

Gender Stereotypes in Fashion

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Fashion is one of those topics that can turn a simple conversation into a lively debate—because let’s face it, we all see style a little differently! Some people love experimenting with bold trends, while others stick to their tried-and-true favourites. One person’s “effortlessly cool” might be another’s “what were you thinking?” And don’t even get started on the age-old question: “Why do you need so many shoes?

But, do men and women see fashion the same way? Or is there actually a difference in how they approach style—and even a whole day of shopping? Some are all about the thrill of the hunt, while others might just want to get in and out. Let’s watch a fun video and spark some thoughts on this. Ready for a good laugh and a fresh take on the entire fashion thing?

Let’s get started.

Warming-up: Choose and explain your choice
  1. I plan my outfits carefully, always thinking about how they show my personality and fit with the latest styles, avoiding quickly passing fads.
  2. I like to stay updated on fashion and try out new, unusual combinations to show off my style.
  3. I prefer to buy clothes that will last and not go out of style quickly. Good quality and usefulness are most important to me.
  4. I usually stick to a style I like, focusing on being comfortable, but I sometimes add a special piece to make it interesting.
  5. I choose clothes that work well for my life. I avoid things that are too flashy or uncomfortable.
  6. Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to fashion. As long as my clothes are clean and look okay, I’m happy and focus on other things.
Ready for a healthy laugh? Watch the video. I bet you'll want to watch it more than once.

Speaking: a more serious analysis of the ad
  • The video compares the women’s reaction to the walk-in closet with the men’s reaction to the beer fridge. What do you think the creators of the ad were trying to communicate with this contrast?
  • What assumptions about the target audience do you think the advertisers were making when they created these two scenarios?
  •  If you had unlimited resources? What is your equivalent of a walk-in closet fantasy? A garage full of tools? A high-tech entertainment system?

I hoped you liked this little thing I did for my student. We certainly had some fun!