During the pandemic, I wanted to maintain my Spanish proficiency and improve my facility with the language. A friend recommended a Spanish teacher who lived in Guatemala and offered lessons virtually. I took ten one-hour classes with the tutor, conversing with her throughout the sessions and doing homework in between. She pointed out grammatical mistakes I didn’t know I was making and highlighted subtle country-specific vocabulary. The classes were challenging, but I learned, improved, and felt satisfied after each one.

I tell this story because I recently saw a post in which one student suggested that another use AI for medical school interview practice. Like everything with AI, this approach has benefits and disadvantages.

AI is free and accessible, but it hasn’t been involved in admissions decisions and can’t offer experienced advice. So while AI can suggest endless questions, it can’t provide seasoned, nuanced feedback. AI can also be obsequious. While that might make an applicant feel less anxious about a mock interview, it’s critical to have a veteran interviewer offer strategy and feedback in a kind but effective way, like my Spanish tutor did. 

I recently heard that some people are practicing foreign language conversation with AI. Although Claude is fantastic for other tasks, I’m eager to improve, so I continue to practice with my fluent Spanish-speaking friends and family: I need to challenge myself fully and learn from subtle cues that only an experienced speaker can provide.