From Villages to IITs: How AI Is Opening English Access for Everyone

I came across a video recently that blew my mind. A college student in South India was bargaining with an auto driver. The student didn’t speak the local language. The auto driver didn’t understand the student’s language either. Normally, that’s a deadlock. Both walk away frustrated.

But here’s what happened. The student opened ChatGPT’s voice mode, spoke in English. Instantly, the AI translated it into the driver’s language and played it out loud. The driver replied back in his language, and the app spoke it back in English for the student. A full two-way conversation. On the street. In real time. And they settled the fare.

Now think about that. No coaching class. No middleman. No “learn the language in 30 days” book. Just pure access to communication, powered by AI.

I see this everywhere. An IT professor preparing for a big seminar — not because his English is “weak,” but because he wants to sound sharper, more professional when the Chief Minister and the Vice Chancellor are sitting in the audience. He can ask AI: “Here’s my draft introduction. Refine it so it’s formal but not robotic.” That’s not cheating. That’s smart preparation.

A farmer in Haryana trying to sell produce to a buyer in Mumbai — earlier he’d depend on a middleman. Today he can use AI voice translation to send messages, bargain directly, and build trust.

A college student in a Tier-2 city preparing for placements — she already knows basic English, but she can now say to AI: “Play the role of an interviewer. Ask me five tough questions and give me feedback on my confidence and grammar.”She gets practice without judgment.

A local corporator writing to government departments — instead of struggling for words, he can dictate in Hindi and ask AI to produce a clear, respectful English letter. That’s empowerment, not dependence.

A small business owner — say a girl selling her handmade art on Instagram or a boy running a hoodie brand — can use AI to draft product descriptions, send professional messages to customers, even create polite reminders for late payments.

This is what people don’t understand when they dismiss AI as “fake” or “robotic.” It’s not replacing your thoughts. It’s refining your voice. You still bring the ideas, the intent, the story. AI just makes sure it reaches the world clearly.

And that’s why I believe this is bigger than just “learning English.” This is about removing barriers to communication — across class, across regions, across industries. From villages to IITs, from farmers to professors, from shopkeepers to corporates — the same tool works, but in different ways.

For decades, English has been a wall in India. AI is turning that wall into a bridge. Not a shortcut. Not magic. Just access. And access changes everything.