Learn to read a novel in a new language with AI tutors
Writer Stewart Slater used free AI tutors in short daily sessions, mainly ChatGPT and Gemini, to learn Italian well enough to read The Leopard in the original in about five months. He says they were patient and always available, but sometimes gave wrong answers and needed nudging.
What they did
He spent about five weeks on grammar, then vocabulary, then reading and conversation, in sessions of about 20 minutes. When ChatGPT's answers started going wrong, he switched to Gemini, later splitting general and literary Italian between the two. He used another AI for a weekly progress test.
How it went
He started The Leopard on Christmas Day and finished it on January 2, ahead of the schedule he'd set. His only cost was the book.
Worth knowing
Long chats get worse over time, so start a fresh one when answers turn strange. Cross-check with a second tool or a textbook. He notes that writing words out by hand may help them stick.
Try it yourself
Copy this into ChatGPT (or any AI assistant). Replace the parts in [brackets] with your own details.
I want to learn [language] well enough to [goal, e.g., read a simple novel, or order and chat on my trip] in about [number] months. I already know [any languages]. Make a 20-minute daily lesson plan for the first two weeks, starting with the most useful grammar. Each lesson: a short explanation, 10 practice sentences, and a mini-quiz. Correct my mistakes gently and explain why. Every Friday, give me a short test to check my progress.
Source: Stewart Slater, Stewart Slater's Substack, Jan 7, 2026. Read the original →
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