Speak Review: How to Practice Speaking with AI

Speak is built around saying things aloud. Its courses give you expressions to learn and practice; its AI conversations give you somewhere to use them. You can follow a lesson when you need direction or bring your own topic when you already know what you want to talk about.

That makes it worth considering if you want more speaking practice but do not want to arrange a lesson or find a conversation partner every time. The important difference is between repeating a sentence and coming up with an answer yourself. Speak offers both, so it helps to know where to start.

What you actually do in a Speak lesson

Start with a topic on your course path. Learn the expressions, listen to the examples and say them aloud. Then work through the speaking practice rather than stopping once you understand the explanation. Speak describes this approach as Learn, Practice, Apply: learn a phrase pattern, repeat it, then use it in an AI conversation.

The preparation is useful when you would struggle to start a conversation from a blank screen. You have some words to work with before you need to make a reply. Lessons may use video or a tutor-led format, so the course does not always look like chatting with a bot.

Once you finish an exercise, try using one expression to say something about yourself. If the topic is weekend activities, could you describe what you usually do on Sunday? You can say that sentence on your own before moving on. Remembering the example and using the expression for your own meaning are different tasks.

If you already know the material, choose a suitable course level rather than repeating the easiest units just to complete them. The useful question is whether the next activity asks you to say something you cannot yet say comfortably.

Use Free Talk to practice choosing your own answers

In the Free Talk tab, choose a situation you want to practice. You can also use Create Your Own to set up a scenario. For a first attempt, pick something familiar enough that you have ideas to express, such as meeting someone who shares a hobby.

The roleplay tools include hints, translations and corrections. Chat mode uses separate turns; Immersive mode puts the conversation into a voiced character-and-scene format. Choose the available format you find easier to follow.

Try giving a short answer before opening a hint. If you cannot find a word, use the help to finish that thought. You do not need to make every answer long. Saying one thing clearly and responding to the next question gives you something more useful to work on than reading a polished paragraph aloud.

When a correction appears, look at the part that changed. In Immersive Roleplay, Retry lets you return to the latest response and say it again. Use that chance to repeat the idea with the change, rather than just reading the correction and carrying on.

Use Speak Tutor for something you want to talk about

The course chooses the material for you. Speak Tutor lets you ask about an expression or request a lesson on your own topic. You can open it from the bottom of Home or the Practice tab, ask for a personalized lesson, then tap the lesson it creates.

For example, you could request:

Create a beginner speaking lesson about taking photos on walks. I want to explain what I like photographing and why.

This is a suggested request you can adapt, not a script you need to memorize. Keep the topic specific enough to use your own details: the things you photograph, where you go or what makes you stop and take a picture.

You can also ask a smaller question, such as how to describe a photo that is too dark. If the explanation introduces unfamiliar words, ask for a simpler explanation before returning to the speaking task. There is little value in collecting corrections you cannot understand or use.

Who is Speak useful for?

Speak is worth considering if you want a course to suggest what to say, plenty of spoken practice and an AI conversation you can start on your own schedule. If your main interest is an open conversation about your life, spend more time exploring Free Talk and Tutor than repeating introductory material.

For a more experienced learner, look closely at what happens after your first answer. Are you explaining reasons, responding to details and trying different expressions, or mostly repeating things you already know? Those are better reasons to continue than simply finishing another unit. Speech-recognition accuracy and the usefulness of feedback also need checking in your own language and voice; a completed exercise alone does not answer either question.

Speak is a phone-and-tablet app. English speakers can learn Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Italian and Simplified Chinese; English courses also support learners with other native-language settings, including Japanese and Korean. Check the language setup if you need explanations in a particular language.

On cost, the short version is that Premium includes courses, roleplay and Tutor questions; Plus adds personalization and higher limits on certain custom lessons. You do not need Plus just to try AI conversation. Speak offers a seven-day trial requiring a payment method, so check the renewal terms and cancel at least a day before it ends if you do not want to continue.

Speak vs HelloTalk: which kind of conversation do you want?

Speak gives you a place to rehearse. HelloTalk is a language exchange app where you practice with real people and help them learn your language in return. You each bring your own experiences and questions to the conversation. The choice depends on what you want to practice.

Take the photography topic. In Speak, you can work on explaining what you like taking pictures of. On HelloTalk, you can find out what someone else likes photographing—and have a reason to respond to an answer you did not prepare.

Start by looking for a language partner who mentions photography. Ask whether they would like to exchange a few messages about it. Share something about your own interest and ask what they enjoy taking pictures of. If they mention street photography, you might ask what makes an ordinary street interesting to them.

HelloTalk supports text and voice messages, so you can begin with text and suggest a short voice exchange once you are both comfortable. Make time for the language your partner is learning too. Help with an expression is something to ask for, not something the other person owes you.

Choose Speak when you want to work on an answer privately and repeat it. Choose HelloTalk when you want the conversation to include another person's ideas, habits and perspective. You can use both around the same interest, but you do not need to finish a course before trying an exchange—or add another app if your current practice is enough. Our AI and human conversation guide explains that choice in more detail.