r/learnEnglishOnline

Hi everyone! I’m a PhD student working on a university project about AI and English practice.

We all know how hard it is to find someone to practice with, but it is even harder to practice with someone who knows what exactly we need to practice... Can AI help with that? That's what I am trying to investagate.

I’m looking for adult beginner/intermediate English learners (A2/B1) who would like to practice regularly for 2 months with an online platform developed by my university (fully non-profit) focusing on grammar in communication-based activities.

Feel free to comment or message me and I can send more information.

First of all, this is not for beginners. This is for those who have a certain level of knowledge in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and chunks but still struggle to speak (they can't activate their knowledge).

(This method uses Artificial Intelligence, so your English should be sufficient to verify the accuracy of the information it provides.)

(When I realized this method worked, I booked an IELTS exam one month out. I forced myself to apply the method for about 4 hours a day. And I scored a 7 in IELTS Speaking. I don't know if this method is already in use, but I couldn't find it online. I wanted to share a technique that brought me success.)

Let's start!

The Setup

• Problem: Having passive knowledge but failing to turn it into active knowledge. In other words, "I understand, but I can't speak."
• Solution: Feedback-driven practice: Forcing yourself to express yourself, and when you can't, being reminded of your passive knowledge.
• Who will remind us? ChatGPT! (Other LLMs might also work. I used GPT.)

Open a new chat in ChatGPT and write the following prompt first: "Translate the sentences I write into 7 different ways of conversational English." (Using a very small number will reduce variety. Using a very high number may cause the AI to give nonsensical results. My preference was 7.)

Now you have a chat that translates every sentence you write into English. (I'll explain why we prefer this over a standard translation tool in a moment.)

How It Works?

1. Find Questions

Forget the classic questions you always answer at the beginning (What's your name? Where did you study? Where are you from? etc.). I was answering IELTS questions, but anything works. Try to cover as many different topics as possible (art, travel, phobias, etc.).

2. Answer

Define a time limit for each answer. For example, you give yourself 15 minutes to answer any given question. Now, during this time, you will try to express yourself sentence by sentence, out loud, in English (Please don't spend too much time on one question, but don't make it too short either).

Set a maximum time limit of 5–10 seconds for each sentence (Adjust this time to fit your needs, but don't make it too long, or you'll waste time; don't make it too short, or you won't force your brain to express itself. Make sure you are challenging yourself enough).

• Please try to express things that challenge your comfort zone instead of simple expressions. The sentences should not be so easy that they flow out of your mouth, nor should they be too difficult for your level. For example, instead of "I love drawing," try something like, "Man, I can't stop drawing, it must be some kind of sickness."
• Sometimes, what you want to express may come out perfectly. But sometimes, you might find yourself avoiding the difficulty by limiting what you want to say to the English words that come to mind at that moment, thereby turning it into a simple, comfortable expression. DO NOT DO THIS! You will only waste time this way. Only push yourself to express what you really want to say. Our goal is not to construct a perfect/correct sentence, but to try to construct it/force ourselves.
  • For example: If a hair clip makes you start thinking about your childhood, force yourself to express it. – instead of "This hair clip is nice," try "This hair clip reminds me of my childhood..."
• It's okay if nothing comes out of your mouth, just make sure you have pushed yourself enough.

NEVER think in your native language and translate it into English, think about grammar, or try to construct the perfect sentence! Just try to express what you want to say! Let it be wrong.

Depending on your situation, progress, or mood, make the things you want to express even more challenging/different. For example, if the question is "What is your favorite food?", later on, you can answer by putting someone else as the subject. ("My mom loves soups; this is something her grandmother taught her. So most of the food I've eaten at home throughout my life was that. I guess that will influence my answer. Man, I love soups!").

3. Check and Get Feedback

If you are confident in the correctness of the sentence you constructed and you expressed exactly what you wanted, move on to the next sentence.

If your 10 seconds are up and you couldn't express it, or you are unsure, or you just feel like it, write the sentence in your native language into the chat you set up with GPT (I used speech-to-text to quickly input my sentence into the chat). In this part, don't think about grammar or anything else; just let the GPT result remind you.

• You can write the entire sentence, but I think the best way is to ask GPT the simplest sentence that best expresses only the part you want to ask about, making sure your sentence is easily understood by the AI.

The AI needs to understand the sentence you write well, and the sentence you write should clearly express the part you want to learn. For example, if your native language sentence refers to multiple tenses in English, the AI might not give you the desired results because it doesn't know which one you mean. Therefore, pay attention to the context.

What is the difference between this chat and a normal translator? Variety. A standard translator gives only one translation, and it might not provide the exact word or sentence structure you want to use. This can lead to you having to adapt to the information it gives and not being able to speak as you wish. Or, you might be able to express that sentence in multiple ways, and recalling multiple methods is more efficient for the activity we're doing. The 7 answers that appear on the screen will show you words/chunks/sentences/grammar etc. that are already in your passive reserve (that sound familiar to you) and will enable you to express yourself. The goal here is to recall existing knowledge rather than learning new things. (You may learn new information that helps you express yourself, but if you do this constantly, we will stray from our main goal.)

• Do not take notes or screenshots. Do not get stuck. Recall/learn and move on to your next sentence. The moments when you try to form similar sentences will come naturally because you will be constantly trying to speak, and you will do the repetition there. Trust me, forcing yourself to express yourself this way during that time will teach you more than looking at those notes or screenshots. I also don't recommend re-reading the chat history. If you want speaking practice, you should only force yourself to speak. Also, you will likely accumulate screenshots after a while and never return to them. If you have the information you need to express what you want, move on to the next sentence!

Fossilization

As you can see, GPT will also protect us from Fossilization.

• What is Fossilization? The state where errors made while learning a language become fixed and difficult to correct. For example, if a person constantly uses an incorrect grammar structure, that mistake becomes "automatic" over time, and correcting the error becomes very difficult. (GPT definition)

Others

I believe that if you force yourself to do this for about 3 hours every day, you will see progress even within 1 month.

I think this method reveals whether it is effective within a few days or at most 1 week. Therefore, it is worth checking if it works for you.

There are two things that might discourage you in this learning process: lack of discipline and the unwillingness that comes from pushing your brain this hard. As an ADHD person, I struggled a bit :'). You can work for a more acceptable time, like 1–2 hours a day. You might even be horrified to realize you can't speak at all, but this is the learning process... you have to focus on your progress and embrace it. Everything will be okay.

Conclusion

By using this method, you will move beyond merely being understood while speaking and develop a more natural-sounding conversational English, with correct grammar and appropriate word/chunk choices, spoken more quickly.

Absolutely talk to native speakers whenever you get the chance. But know that unless you are paying, no one will constantly correct your sentences as long as you are being understood, lol. Therefore, I find this method useful for a decent language acquisition, at least for a while.

By the way, if all of this text has confused you, don't forget the option to ask an AI to summarize it for you.

Hope you guys give it a try. Please feel free to criticize.

My speaking is average, I understand it but I don't speak, give me suggestions for this, how should I learn or practice it.

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Hey everyone! I’m Deep. I’m trying to improve my English and I would love a partner to practice with.

I enjoy books, music, Marvel movies, Stranger Things, Jurassic Park, digital marketing, and personal finance but I can talk about anything!

Your level doesn’t matter. Beginner or advanced, we can learn together and help each other speak more naturally.

I’m also open to voice chats (VC) sometimes because my dream is to speak English fluently like a native speaker.

If you’re interested, just DM me or comment below 🙂

My name is Anya I’m 19 yo live in Moscow

Study at university and I think it’s enough to say

I built an AI language exchange partner app. You may feel tired of waiting for matches. Finding a partner who actually shows up is exhausting. So I built, you pick a character and just chat. Grammar corrections happen inline so it doesn’t break the flow. Still in beta. Would love 5-10 people to try it and tell me what’s broken

I teach English now, but years ago, I was the person avoiding voice calls, overthinking every sentence, and feeling embarrassed whenever I made mistakes.

One thing I really wish someone had told me earlier is that fluency doesn’t begin when your English becomes perfect. It begins when you stop treating every mistake like proof that you’re bad at the language.

A lot of learners believe they need better grammar first, more vocabulary first, or confidence first. But honestly, confidence usually comes after you’ve spoken badly for a while and realised the world didn’t end.

I improved the most when I stopped trying to sound impressive and started speaking as much as I could. I stopped chasing advanced words and perfect sentences in my head. I focused more on expressing simple thoughts, repeating useful phrases, and speaking even when it felt awkward. That shift changed everything. Even now, when I teach students, I notice the same fear in them. Many people are already better than they think. They just become too aware of themselves while speaking, so every small mistake feels bigger than it is.

If you feel stuck right now, maybe you don’t need more talent, intelligence, or some secret method.

Maybe you just need to let yourself be uncomfortable long enough to grow.

I have trouble pronouncing English words correctly. I've heard that singing along to songs can help. Does anyone know the best way to practice pronunciation?

Hello! I'm 15f, I'm a native English speaker. I've been learning Russian for 2-3 years now, and I want someone to practice with. I'm willing to teach you English in return, just dm me, and we can work something out!

I also would like to learn Urdu, Farsi (Persian), Hebrew, and Arabic. I have dabbled in all these languages but would love to learn more about them, so feel free to message me if you speak any of them, too

(Also, I'm just looking for someone to practice with maybe be friends with, nothing more!!)

I just started my IELTS test study plan and I need someone to practice my English with

I’m b2 level I need someone with higher level, preferably native speaker.

So, i gave interview yesterday and they said your communication is poor you need to work on your verbal communication skils. so i am looking for conversation partner to help me improve my communication skilss.

Hi! I’m a 31-year-old woman looking for another woman to practise speaking English with. Just a few messages, a voice message or a video call. Nothing too serious. I prefer to speak with a native English speaker. My current level is B2.

Hi everyone! I’m a 38-year-old female from Korea, currently living in Japan.

Im looking for a female friend for short texts, messaging to practice with.

My English level is A2. I really want to improve and get more comfortable with the language.

We can talk about these topics Skincare/Cosmetics, Books, and Stationery, K-pop.

I see lots of posts about folks trying to connect with others for language practice. Do they give out personal phone numbers to call them?

I've never tried Discord for language learning but I see that offered a lot. Does it allow individual voice chats?

I built a free, open source solution that I think would help, think Zoom or MS Teams etc., but no account needed but I'm struggling to think of ways to market it.

Just a quick note—my eBook Learn English Like a Child is free on Amazon this weekend.

If you're learning English, you're welcome to take a look, and I'd be glad to hear what you think.

Hi, I'm Turkish. I'm trying to learn English and I'm looking for a friend who can tell me about America or Canada and also help me learn English. Is anyone interested? I can also tell you about Turkish culture. I love you all and have a nice day.

Hi. If you are from India and want to practice speaking English. I have been working on AI-IVRS system to help people practice it. Right now it's in testing phase. If you are someone who would like to collaborate to help us test and provide feedback and suggestions with tour experience for sometime, then DM me I can chare the details.

Hello. I would like to be your next tutor. I have 16 years experience in teaching English as a second language. I can help you be confident with speaking. I use the communicative method, allowing you enough time speaking in a session. I have very competitive rates and open to negotiate. Pm me for details.

hey, I am a 21 year old from India and I would like to practice English, either text or voice is fine. I would say my English is mostly alright but more practice wouldn't hurt!

Hey there 👋🏼

I'm 26 M living in the Netherlands. I came here for studies and now I'm doing an internship. would love to connect to people who are willing to improve the English fluency.