Active Reading In Foreign Languages As Part Of Autonomous Learning With New Language Learning Tools

In today’s fast changing world, in which information travels at an unprecedented speed, going beyond one’s mother tongue to obtain up-to-date information about current economic, political, cultural, scientific or military issues has become almost routine for a considerable number of people. This process of continuous information and self-instruction is based on active reading. The emergence of AI tools that translate instantly and accurately from almost all foreign languages into any target language is an undeniable help, but also a threat to the individual’s wish to invest effort in learning. AI tools such as ChatGPT have seen a remarkable increase, but other tools, known to a much lesser extent, offer comparable benefits, being readily applicable. This is the case of add-ons, which are tools designed to improve not only safety, but also web browsing functionalities. In the field of communication, there are several add-ons that provide language support for translation, correction, processing and improvement of texts in any foreign language. The present article aims to show how people can use the facilities of add-ons in the field of foreign languages intelligently, so that they remain in a state of active engagement and do not completely abandon themselves to technology, disregarding personal effort and critical thinking. Active reading with add-ons, necessarily associated with post-reading actions, allows individuals to retain authority over their own learning and control over the progress they make autonomously in one or more foreign languages.