AI in the Classroom Part I: Make AI Speaking Work for You

AI Speaking Technology: Your New Classroom Assistant

AI tools are being adapted by many industries, and second language teaching is no exception. In an effort to adopt this new technology to further the success of your English students, it is important to recognize the abilities of AI, as well as its limitations.

Online resources have become a staple for English language teachers, especially for listening, reading, and writing skills. Speaking, however, has largely been limited to direct teacher evaluation either in the classroom, online, or via a recording. Using voice-to-text, audio recordings, and speech recognition, AI can now analyze spoken English and generate instant feedback for learners.

While a powerful tool for practice, AI does not replace the guidance, knowledge, and empathy students receive from their language teachers. Human interaction and connection are integral to language learning and cannot be replicated by AI. Additionally, teachers act as important mediators in addressing potential bias in AI materials. Rather than replacing teachers, AI is a tool that can save teachers time and improve outcomes for students. So knowing that technology cannot fill the teacher’s role, how can English teachers utilize the power of AI as an assistant to their students?

Rather than replacing teachers, AI is a tool that can save teachers time and improve outcomes for students.

Using AI to Enhance Your Lessons

Both class time and teacher time are extremely valuable. Teachers spend hours crafting lessons and preparing materials to ensure their students’ success. AI can significantly reduce the time teachers spend creating materials, allowing them to focus on connecting with their students and monitoring their progress. 

Additionally, AI can provide students with more thorough and specific corrections than are feasible during class time. Teachers, mindful of students’ self-confidence, resist over-correcting errors during class. AI-generated feedback minimizes potential embarrassment students may experience due to errors, as it occurs in the absence of human interaction. This allows students to receive detailed feedback on individual problem areas from the AI, while teachers provide broader instruction on social norms and body language.

AI can significantly reduce the time teachers spend creating materials, allowing them to focus on connecting with their students and monitoring their progress.

Among the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), speaking is often the most challenging to master and practice without assistance. Students must practice this skill in front of their classmates and publicly receive corrections, which can deter shy students from speaking up. AI-driven speaking practice allows students to practice in a safe learning environment while still receiving constructive feedback, building their confidence for the classroom and beyond.

Tailoring AI to Fit Language Learning Needs

FLOW Speak is a platform for building English conversational confidence that provides students with AI-powered speaking practice. Students are able to practice expressions, phrases, vocabulary, and even conversations with AI through the app. FLOW Speak’s AI speech analysis checks pronunciation, speed, fluency, and grammar. Students receive a score with a breakdown for each word. This exceeds the quantity and specificity of corrections that teachers can make in the classroom.

Beyond the benefits that FLOW Speak’s analysis provides, students are able to repeat a lesson or a phrase an unlimited number of times, allowing students to master new vocabulary or expressions. Time constraints and differing proficiency amongst students makes endless practice impossible in the classroom, so AI enables students to focus on their individual problem areas and continue their learning after class. 

In order to fit classroom needs, FLOW Speak offers dynamic learning content focused on work, health, feelings, food, sports, expressions, and more. This allows teachers to find materials directly related to their lessons that can be assigned for homework or practiced in class.

Time constraints and differing proficiency amongst students makes endless practice impossible in the classroom, so AI enables students to focus on their individual problem areas and continue their learning after class.

AI-powered Speaking Homework

In order to master a language, a learner must be willing to practice outside of class time. Teachers encourage target language use beyond the classroom and assign homework to facilitate learning after hours. Traditionally, speaking and conversational homework is difficult to design and even more difficult to evaluate. Using AI analysis allows students to get immediate feedback on their speaking homework while teachers track student results and attempts.

Despite teacher encouragement, students are unable to practice speaking skills due to a lack of opportunity. Even in countries where students are immersed in their target language, many students avoid speaking practice out of fear of embarrassment. This avoidance can stall their learning and make even simple conversations difficult. AI speaking practice can provide a stepping stone for students to gain confidence and fluency in spoken English before they are ready to interact with native speakers. 

AI speaking practice can provide a stepping stone for students to gain confidence and fluency in spoken English before they are ready to interact with native speakers.

AI Assistance to Prepare Your Class for Success

FLOW Speak is designed with both teachers and students in mind. The app utilizes AI to provide precise, action-oriented feedback to improve learners’ speaking ability. FLOW Speak motivates learners through weekly lessons, speaking scores, and a Confidence Level score. This provides new content, detailed results, and rewards consistent practice, respectively. FLOW Speak encourages daily practice which supports language retention and forms successful study habits.

Through FLOW Speak’s Admin Dashboard, teachers can track students’ participation, lesson scores, and Confidence Level score. This enables teachers to use FLOW Speak as a portion of the students’ grades if desired, or simply to keep track of student participation and focus. 

Ultimately, using AI in the classroom allows teachers to focus more on teaching and less on lesson prep. FLOW Speak combines AI technology with meticulously designed lessons, ready for teachers to use in class or for homework. The app tailors AI to English learners’ needs while also extending learning time beyond class hours, promoting speaking practice, and improving student outcomes.