A few days ago, I had dinner with some friends, and one of them shared a Reels video introducing the new ChatGPT Live feature.
As someone who loves trying new tools (especially AI tools 😄), I watched the video and immediately thought, "I have to try this."
The first thing I did after watching it? I grabbed my kids and asked them to be my guinea pigs.
At first, I was simply curious whether talking with ChatGPT would really feel as natural as everyone claimed.
After spending an evening testing it, I realized the most valuable part wasn't actually the conversation itself, it was everything that happened after the conversation.
In this post, I'd like to share my experience, the challenges we ran into, and the workflow that has worked well for us. Hopefully, it will also be helpful if you're looking for a fun way to practice English with your children, or even improve your own workplace English.
Now, here's what I discovered after spending an evening experimenting with it.
It Didn't Go Smoothly at First
Our first conversation lasted less than five minutes before things got awkward.
The biggest problem wasn't that my son was afraid to speak.
It was that ChatGPT sounded too much like a real native speaker.
Since it was their first time talking to an AI, my kids weren't sure what to say and looked a little uncomfortable. On top of that, ChatGPT spoke at a natural pace. Whenever an unfamiliar word came up, they immediately got stuck and couldn't keep up with the conversation.
So the first thing I did was adjust how ChatGPT interacted with them.
Here are the settings that worked best for us:
- Speak slowly.
- Ask only one question at a time.
- Say each question in Chinese first, then in English.
- Wait until they finish answering before asking the next question.
- Correct grammar mistakes immediately.
Once I made those adjustments, the conversation became much more relaxed and enjoyable.
You Don't Need Any Textbooks
I didn't prepare any learning materials.
Instead, we simply talked about things my kids already knew well:
- Badminton
- What they did today
- Their favorite sports
- Competitions
- Muscle soreness or injuries
- Summer vacation
Whenever they didn't know how to say something, I encouraged them to ask ChatGPT directly.
For example, my son wanted to say "ice it" but couldn't remember the English phrase. He simply asked ChatGPT, learned the expression, and then repeated the whole sentence.
That day we also learned words like:
- improve
- sore
- ankle
- ice it
- the difference between hobby and habit
Because the vocabulary came from things they genuinely wanted to express, it was much easier to remember than memorizing random word lists.
The Best Part Happens After the Conversation
After finishing our conversation, I asked ChatGPT to organize everything we had practiced.
For example:
- A complete transcript of the conversation
- New vocabulary
- Common grammar mistakes
- Frequently confused words (such as hobby vs. habit)
- A brand-new practice dialogue based on today's conversation
- A review sheet my kids could use the next day
To me, this is what makes ChatGPT different from most English-speaking apps.
One conversation automatically becomes tomorrow's learning material.
How I Currently Use It with My Kids
This is the prompt I usually give ChatGPT:
- Use simple English.
- Speak slowly.
- Ask one question at a time.
- Say each question in Chinese first, then in English.
- Correct grammar mistakes immediately.
- Summarize everything after the conversation.
This makes my kids feel much less nervous and much more willing to speak.
If your children are still young, I'd also recommend sitting beside them and practicing together.
Interestingly, when I introduced the same method to my older son, who's in high school, he quickly started chatting with ChatGPT on his own. 😄
How I Plan to Use It for Myself
Besides helping my kids, I can already see plenty of opportunities to use ChatGPT Live for work.
For example:
- One-on-one meetings
- Small talk
- Presentations
- AI demos and sharing sessions
- Conversations with overseas colleagues
After each conversation, I can also ask ChatGPT to:
- Review my most common mistakes
- Rewrite my answers in a more natural way
- Create a personalized vocabulary list
- Generate another practice scenario based on today's conversation
That means every practice session builds on the previous one.
I'll probably write another post once I've used it more extensively for workplace English.
Final Thoughts
Before trying ChatGPT Live, I expected it to be a pretty good AI conversation partner.
After actually using it, I think it's much more like a patient English tutor.
The conversation itself is only the beginning.
The real value comes from how it organizes everything you've learned and turns today's conversation into tomorrow's lesson.
For kids, it helps build speaking confidence.
For professionals, it's a great way to improve workplace English.
We'll definitely keep using it at home, and I'd love to hear how you're using ChatGPT Live as well.
💡 PeggyWu's Life Lab Notes
At first, I thought the best part of ChatGPT Live was its voice conversation feature.
After using it for a few days, I realized the real magic is this learning cycle:
Talk → Correct → Summarize → Practice Again
Every conversation becomes the starting point for the next one.
And that's what makes learning feel continuous instead of repetitive.
