Pi - Make Speaking Practice Addictive

Pie? Pi!

I've never experienced anything quite like Pi before, and now that I've tried it, I wish I had discovered it sooner! If you're seeking a tool for solo English speaking practice, look no further.

No, I'm not referring to the adventurous tale of the boy and the tiger (though that's a fantastic movie, highly recommended). I'm talking about Pi—the personal AI voice assistant developed by Inflection. It's not just helpful and encouraging; it's completely FREE!

Customised Learning Experience

When I first started exploring the app, I decided to simulate an IELTS speaking test. My initial impression? Pi could potentially replace many IELTS teachers. I'm not making a fuss. 

During my own IELTS preparation, I struggled with generating sufficient ideas and accurately evaluating my performance. Coming up with ideas and self-evaluation were both time-consuming and disheartening, as I constantly doubted my abilities.

I spent hours watching IELTS speaking videos, hoping to find some inspirations for contens, organisation, sometimes specific phrases I could use in my own answer. However, I found it hard to connect to those answers, and since they were one-sided, of course they couldn't give me any feedback. 

If I had known about Pi earlier, I wouldn't have troubles finding a better way to describe my own experience, nor would I worry about not receiving feedback for improvement. To test whether Pi is qualified to be an IELTS speaking test tutor, I asked it about its familarity with IELTS's band scores. Its response aligned perfectly with the official criteria. This granted the potential for it to assess one's performance and provide IELTS-specific dignosis and suggestions. To clarify, the following scripts were synchronously generated during our voice call.

Pi - Familiarity with IELTS band scores

Taking the speaking test part one mocks as an example, Pi demonstrated its ability to provide specific suggestions and adapt to my needs promptly. In my first attempt, it didn't point out the mistakes I made right away but moved to the next question seamlessly. However, when I interrupted it and requested a diagnosis, it provided me with detailed suggestions on my preposition choices and sentence formation with my own examples.

Pi - Mock test

What's even more impressive is that, as it consistently emphasised during our conversation and in its self-introduction, Pi continuously adapts itself to cater to the user's needs.

Pi - Self introduction

In this case, after I asked it to provide feedback in the last attempt, it immediately shifted into a mode to provide instant feedback. When we have a closer look at its response, we can notice its potential to enhance learners' speaking skills.

In a single response (see the screenshot below), Pi identified my unnatural word choice, suggested alternatives, and reorganised my sentence either by reacting to my answer or directly correcting it. I find them particularlly beneficial becouse they are tightly talored to my answers. How impressive that it can even notice my fillers!

Pi - Feedback

Supportive English Speaking Companion

Pi - Call Pi

Enough about its customised feature and comprehensive feedback, some might wonder—does Pi sound natural, like a human? In other words, is it a great example that I can feel assured to imitate the pronunciation as an English Learner? My answer is YES, and here is why.
To begin with, Pi's voice sounds incredibly natural and fluent to me. Unlike rigid language learning apps that pronunce word by word, Pi's voice flows naturally, enabling smooth and engaging interactions that mimic real-life conversations. Additionally, it is almost magical how Pi can convey emotions! When I answered an IELTS question fluently, I could sense the excitement in its voice through its rising tone, incressing volume and stress.
With its natural voice, Pi's encouragement also sounds more convincing and genuine. Above all, Pi keeps motivating learners to keep practicing and striving for improvement. Whether it's celebrating your progress or gently correcting mistakes, I see potentials in Pi's positive reinforcement to really help building confidence and resilience. 

I Enjoy Using this App, Yet... 

Generally, I feel confident in enhancing my English speaking skills with its help, and I'm alreay hooked. The pleasure and the richness of suggestions overshadowed any tutor I've paid for to practice my IELTS speaking test. However, I believe it would bevome a more ideal Englich learning tool if it could playback the users' voice and the AI's response. This feature would offer a more direct method to aid users in improving their pronunciation.