You can practise English speaking with AI in about 10 minutes a day: talk out loud with a voice AI for a few minutes, read the feedback, and then say the same thing again, better. That last step is the one most people skip, and it's where most of the progress comes from.
AI is a good speaking partner for one simple reason: it is always there and it never gets tired of you. You can talk at 6 a.m., you can repeat the same topic five times, and nobody is waiting for you to finish your sentence. But AI also has real limits, and if you don't know them, you can spend weeks "chatting" without getting much better.
In this guide I'll explain what AI is good and bad at, give you a simple daily routine, show you how to ask for feedback that actually helps, and show you how to do all of it for free on this site.
What AI is good at for speaking practice
It gives you a lot of speaking time. The biggest problem for most learners is not grammar, it's that they don't speak enough. With a voice AI you can get more minutes of speaking in one evening than in a week of normal life.
It adapts to your level. A good AI tutor can speak more slowly, use simpler words, or make the conversation harder when you are ready.
It doesn't judge you. Many people freeze when they speak English with real people because they're afraid of making mistakes. With AI, a mistake costs nothing. You can stop, start again and try a different word.
It can show you a better way to say something. If you say "I am working here since three years", AI can show you "I've been working here for three years" right away, while the sentence is still fresh in your mind.
It lets you rehearse real situations. Calling a clinic, returning something at a shop, a job interview, small talk with a neighbour: you can practise these before you need them.
What AI is not good at (and how to work around it)
It often understands you too well. Speech recognition is designed to guess what you meant. So if a sound is unclear, the AI may still understand the word and never tell you. A real person on a bad phone line might not understand you at all. Work around it: check your pronunciation separately, with a tool that compares your recording to the sounds of English.
It can be too polite. Many AI tools praise everything. "Great answer!" feels nice but doesn't help you improve. Work around it: ask for corrections directly (I'll give you the exact prompts below).
It can be wrong. AI sometimes "corrects" a sentence that was already fine, or gives an explanation that is confusing. Work around it: if a correction surprises you, look it up or ask a teacher.
It's more predictable than people. Real people interrupt, change the topic, speak fast and use slang. AI is a great place to build confidence, but it can't fully replace conversations with real people. Use it as the training ground, not the only place you speak.
A 10-minute daily routine for speaking with AI
Here is the routine I suggest. You only need a phone or a computer with a microphone.
Minutes 0–1: choose one topic
Pick something from your real life: your work, your weekend, a problem you need to solve, an opinion you have. Real topics give you words you'll actually use.
Minutes 1–5: speak out loud
Have a voice conversation for about four minutes. Answer in full sentences, and try to say two or three sentences each time, not just "yes" or "I think so". If you don't know a word, explain it in other words, the same way you would with a person. Don't stop to read or translate; the goal here is to keep talking.
Minutes 5–7: read the feedback
Look at the corrections and suggestions. Don't try to learn all of them. Choose two: the ones you think you make often.
Minutes 7–9: say it again, better
Now answer the same question again, out loud, using your two corrections. This is the step that changes how you speak, because you are not just reading a correction, you are using it in your own sentence.
Minutes 9–10: write down three phrases
Write three useful phrases in a notebook or in your notes app. Tomorrow, before you start, read them out loud once and try to use one of them in your conversation.
Do this most days of the week. If you have more time on some days, you can make the conversation longer, but keep the review and the "say it again" steps every time.
How to get useful feedback from AI
The quality of the feedback depends a lot on what you ask for. These are simple prompts you can type or say at the start of a conversation:
- "Please speak slowly and use simple English. My level is about B1."
- "Don't correct me while I'm speaking. At the end, give me my three most important mistakes."
- "After each answer, show me one more natural way to say what I said."
- "Ask me follow-up questions. Don't let me give one-word answers."
- "Tell me which of my sentences sounded unnatural, even if the grammar was correct."
- "Let's role-play: I'm calling a dental clinic to change my appointment. You are the receptionist."
Two tips that make a big difference:
- Ask for fewer corrections, not more. A list of fifteen mistakes is hard to use. Two or three that you can fix today are much better.
- Ask "why". If you don't understand a correction, ask: "Why is 'for three years' better than 'since three years' here?" A short explanation helps you remember it.
A note about privacy
When you speak with an AI tool, your voice or text is sent to a computer system to be processed. Before you use any AI speaking app, it's worth checking a few things in its privacy policy: what it sends, to which companies, and whether it keeps your recordings.
A simple habit keeps you safe with any tool: don't say personal details you wouldn't post online. That means your full name with your address, ID or passport numbers, immigration file numbers, bank details or health information. For practice, you can always invent the details: "My name is Anna and I live on Main Street" works just as well.
On MashaEnglish, the AI practice recording is used to create the reply and the feedback and is not kept after the AI has replied. You can read the details on the privacy page.
How to practise speaking with AI for free on MashaEnglish
I made these tools available so my students and anyone learning English can practise speaking between lessons. Here is what each one is for.
Live Voice: real-time spoken conversation. You talk out loud and AI Masha answers out loud, in real time, at your level from A1 to C2. When you finish the call, you get feedback on your conversation. This is the best tool for the "speak out loud" part of the routine.
AI Conversation: chat by text or voice messages. Choose a topic and chat at your own speed, and review corrections from your conversation. It's a good choice if live speaking still feels too fast, or if you want to think a bit before you answer.
Real-life situations: practise a specific situation. Reschedule an appointment on the phone, return a shirt at a shop or sort out a suitcase mix-up at the airport. You type or speak, decide what to say, and get feedback at the end.
Pronunciation check: the part conversation can't do. You read five sentences aloud, one at a time, and see which sounds are clear and which are worth practising, with examples from your own recordings.
What you get for free
| Without an account | Free account (confirmed email) | |
|---|---|---|
| Live voice conversation | 5 minutes, once | 10 minutes, once |
| AI chat replies | 5, once | 50 every month |
| Pronunciation checks | 3, once | 20 every month |
| Writing reviews | 1, once | 3 every month |
The guest trial is a short taste so you can see how it works. A free account is the better choice if you want to follow the routine for a few weeks: the chat replies, pronunciation checks and writing reviews come back every month. If you want more live voice time for daily practice, Membership gives you a monthly allowance.
Not sure where to start? Take the free level test first, then tell the AI your level at the start of the conversation.
Preparing for a speaking test?
AI conversation is great for fluency, but a test asks you to do specific tasks in a specific time. If you are preparing for the CELPIP test or IELTS, use AI practice for daily speaking, and also practise the real task types with a timer. My speaking practice plan for the CELPIP test and IELTS Speaking practice with natural answers show you how.
More ways to practise speaking
AI is one tool, not the whole plan. If you want more ideas, read the best ways to practise English speaking and how to practise speaking English alone, which covers shadowing and self-recording. Mix them with your AI routine, and from time to time speak with real people too.
AI feedback is practice support, not an official language assessment. CELPIP is a trademark of Paragon Testing Enterprises. MashaEnglish is an independent teacher's website and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Paragon.