Oral Practice Chatbot for Language Learning: Step-by-Step Guide for Teachers

Speaking practice is where many language learners struggle most. In class, there is never enough time, and at home students often feel stuck without a partner to talk to.

That is why teachers in our very recent webinar turned to a new idea: using a chatbot for language learning. Together with hundreds of eager educators who joined the session, we circled around the question, “Could we build a tool that listens, responds, and encourages students to try again, without fear of mistakes?”

The answer is yes. And more than that, the chatbot can be shaped by the teacher. With the right setup, it can give feedback, prompt for deeper answers, and even prepare students for oral exams.

This blog walks through what we explored in that session, showing how a chatbot can open new doors for speaking practice.

Before diving deeper, you might want to check out our guide on AI Chatbots for Education: What They Can Do for Teachers and Students.

What Makes a Chatbot Useful for Oral Practice

A chatbot on its own is just a tool. It only becomes useful for language learning when a teacher gives it direction.

In the session, we broke it down into a few things that matter most:

• Clear instructions – Set the role of the chatbot. Is it a coach, an examiner, or simply a partner for practice?
• Relevant knowledge – Prepare rubrics, model answers, and word lists so the feedback stays close to your classroom goals.
• Student inputs that make sense – Students can type or speak their answers. They can also upload a file if that fits the task.
• Helpful outputs – The chatbot should not just reply. It should give follow-up questions, feedback, and even a score if that’s what you’ve set it up to do.

It will not always be perfect, and that is fine. With a clear setup and the right materials, the chatbot becomes a steady practice partner. It lets students try, get feedback, and build confidence in speaking outside class time.

Example: Stimulus-Based Conversation

One of the clearest ways to see the value of a chatbot for language learning is through exam prep. In the session, we used Singapore’s English oral exams as a model.

A key part of the exam is the stimulus-based conversation. Students are shown a picture, poster, or short scenario. They must describe what they see, explain their ideas, and share opinions. Teachers then assess content, relevance, detail, vocabulary, fluency, and confidence.

Here’s how we built a chatbot around this task:

1. Upload a picture of a school canteen as the stimulus.
2. Add the oral scoring rubric and sample model answers into the knowledge library.
3. Set the chatbot’s role as an oral coach for primary students.
4. Prompt it to begin by greeting the student and showing the picture.
5. Guide it to ask for a description, encourage elaboration, and prompt for opinions and personal links.
6. Have it give constructive feedback and a score at the end.

The result is a practice partner that follows the same flow as the exam. Students can describe what they see, be nudged to go deeper, and receive clear feedback. Instead of waiting for class time, they can repeat this practice on their own, as often as they need.

Step-by-Step: Building Your Oral Practice Chatbot in Edcafe AI

In the session, we walked teachers through every stage of the Edcafe AI interface. The process looks long at first, but when broken down step by step, it becomes very doable.

1. Open Edcafe AI’s Chatbot

Log in at from Edcafe AI’s web app. From your homepage, click Create New and choose Chatbot under Teaching and Learning Materials. This opens the chatbot editor where all the setup happens.

2. Give the Chatbot Its Role

Right as you enter, you’ll see a field that asks you to define what you want the chatbot to do. This is where you paste or write your prompt. Think of it as the bot’s job description. For example:

You are an experienced English oral coach for Primary 4 students. Start by greeting the student, show them a picture of a school canteen, and ask them to describe it. Encourage elaboration and personal opinions. At the end, provide constructive feedback and a score using the oral exam rubric.

Once added, Edcafe AI automatically expands this into structured instructions and guidelines, which you can edit.

3. Add a Greeting and a Stimulus

After defining your initial prompt, you’ll then see it improved for you.

Down to the Greeting Message section, feel free to customize depending on how you want your chatbot to start conversations with your students.

Pro tip: If you want them to respond to a picture, insert it here. You can do this by typing a backslash (/) and choosing Image, or by clicking the image icon at the top. Upload your file, and it will appear in the chat as soon as students begin.

4. Decide How Students Will Reply

Open the Capabilities tab. This is where you control the input types:

• Text answers
• Voice recordings
• File uploads

For oral practice, voice input is key. Some teachers still leave text on as a backup. Toggle off anything you don’t want students using.

5. Build Your Knowledge Library

Click the Knowledge tab and upload the files that will guide your chatbot’s responses. These can include:

• Oral scoring rubrics
• Sample model answers
• Vocabulary lists
• Interaction guides or lesson materials

Once uploaded, set the chatbot to use only these files when generating responses. This ensures answers stay focused, curriculum-aligned, and avoids off-topic or hallucinated content.

6. Adjust Language and Voice

Go to the Language tab to:

• Select the language students will interact in (e.g., English, Chinese, Japanese)
• Choose a synthetic voice for audio playback

This audio feature is especially valuable for younger learners or language practice, as it supports listening comprehension alongside reading.

7. Save and Name Your Chatbot

Click Save, then give your chatbot a clear, descriptive name, such as English Oral Coach – Primary 4, rather than a generic label like “Chatbot 1.”

If you’ve created folders for organization, save it in the appropriate one to keep your workspace tidy.

Assigning and Reviewing Your Chatbot

Once your chatbot is saved, the next step is getting it into students’ hands and then checking how they use it. This is where the tool shifts from something you created to something that actually supports learning.

Sharing with students

Click Assign on your chatbot page. You can share in the way that fits your classroom best:

• Copy the link and send it in a message.
• Display a QR code for quick access in class.
• Push it straight to Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams.
• Embed it in your LMS so students never leave their usual platform.

Students don’t need an Edcafe AI account. They simply type their name to start, which removes a big barrier for younger learners.

Reviewing practice sessions

Every interaction is saved in your dashboard. When you click View Chats, you can:

• Read transcripts of what students typed.
• Listen to audio recordings of their answers.
• Check any files they uploaded.

This gives you a clear record of practice. You no longer have to wonder whether students actually spoke or just skimmed.

Tracking engagement and safety

Edcafe AI adds another layer that makes review faster and safer:

• Engagement levels – Each chatbot shows if student use is low, medium, or high. You can quickly see who is practicing and who needs a nudge.
• AI summaries – Instead of reading every word, you get a short summary of what the student discussed. This makes it easy to spot gaps or patterns across the class.
• Safety alerts – If a student raises a concerning topic, the system flags it so you can step in right away.

Together, these features give you a bird’s-eye view and the details you need, all without adding extra workload.

Other Chatbot for Language Learning Ideas

Once you know how to set up an oral practice chatbot, the possibilities open up quickly. In the webinar, teachers also brainstormed many ways a chatbot could support different kinds of language learning.

Some of the most creative ideas included:

• A single-topic oral practice bot that keeps students focused on one theme.
• A vocabulary coach that introduces new words and shows them in sample answers.
• Short practice bots with three structured questions or even just one quick task.
• A picture composition guide where students describe and expand on an image.
• Dialogue with famous figures like Shakespeare or Confucius, giving students a chance to role-play conversations.
• Debate and discussion prep bots that push students to share opinions and counterpoints.
• Activity or field trip bots that guide students through stations, asking them to upload a photo and then providing context or feedback.

These ideas show how teachers can move from simple practice tasks to more engaging and imaginative uses, all within the same chatbot tool.

Webinar Replay: Oral Practice Chatbot for Language Learners

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