AI Language Apps: A Game-Changer for VCE Oral Exam Prep?

A Teacher's Review of AI Apps For French VCE Speaking Practice

AI tools seem to be everywhere at the moment, from helping us write emails to planning our weekly shop. With all the buzz, it’s hard not to wonder how far this technology might go and what it could mean for our jobs. As my maternity leave slowly comes to an end (with plenty of late-night thinking squeezed between feeds and nappies), I found myself asking the same question about my own role as a language assistant. And if someone is about to take my job, I at least want to know who the contestants are and what my competition looks like.

A teenage student is practicing her French through an app.

So, for the past two weeks, I’ve pretended to be a Year 12 French VCE student nervously preparing for the upcoming oral exam. I tested out a range of AI language apps to see:

• How well can they prepare students for speaking tasks?

• Do they do a better job than me?

Before diving in, three quick notes:

1. I’ve created a printable version of this article with an easy-to-read list of the best apps. You can grab it for free under the “Free Resources” tab of my website.

2. These apps are improving faster than my newborn grows out of clothes so take my experiences as a snapshot in time, not the final word.

3. I tested both the free and paid versions of TalkPal, Speak, Praktika, and LangoTalk.

How I Judged the Apps

Like any good researcher, I tested each app against the same criteria:

• Human Experience

  • Does the conversation flow naturally?

  • Are the questions relevant?

  • Does the AI sound human or robotic?

• Feedback

  • How much feedback is given?

  • Is it useful (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation)?

  • Is it overwhelming or manageable?

• Free vs Paid Options

  • What do I get for free?

  • Are the paid features worth it?

• User Experience

  • Is the app easy to navigate?

  • Does it motivate students to keep practicing?

My Top Picks

After trying them all, TalkPal, Praktika, and Speak stood out as the most polished, engaging, and useful for French speaking (in that order of preference).

These felt:

• Relatively natural (not too robotic).

• Good at keeping conversation logical and relevant.

• Balanced with feedback: enough to help, not so much it interrupts the flow.

• Flexible: talk with or without transcription, get suggestions, and revisit corrections.

• They all use gamification tools such as streaks, points, medals, and unlocks to keep you motivated.

• That said, all of them occasionally misunderstood my French (especially subtle differences like "es" vs "et", "manger" vs "mangeais").

TalkPal

Free Trial: Access to 10 minutes/day of free chat with corrections and suggestions.

Paid features: Unlocks “call mode,” role-plays, debates, scripted dialogues, and even photo mode (describe an image). You can even chat to historical characters such as Alexander the Great, Confucius, Aphrodite…

Strengths:

• Smooth conversation flow with relevant questions.

• Clear feedback: corrected messages with explanations.

• Flexible practice modes (sentence drills, dialogues, debates).

Limitations: Free use is capped (10 minutes daily).

Praktika

Free Trial: Access to free talk conversations and very few role-play scenarios.

Paid features: Lets you choose between:

• Free chat

• Topic-based chats (wide range, e.g. street art, tourism, technologies…)

• A curated lesson path that gradually increases in difficulty.

Strengths:

• Personalized to your goals.

• Keeps track of past lessons and feedback.

• Phone call option with end-of-lesson summaries of errors and corrections.

Limitations: Full feedback tools are locked behind paid plans.

Speak

Free Trial: No free talk option, just a few role-play scenarios.

Paid:

• Role-plays and scenarios (ordering coffee, shopping at Nike, etc.).

• More advanced free talk with good feedback.

Strengths: Engaging video-based lessons and step-by-step skill building.

LangoTalk

Free Trial: Very limited (mostly vocabulary flashcards). You don’t get much chance to try conversation or lesson paths without paying.

Paid features: Personalized lessons based on your mistakes, AI voice calls, and open-ended conversations with characters (e.g. relationship blogger, pen pal, event organizer).

Strengths: Good and engaging grammar and vocabulary exercises, with relevant hints and suggestions.

Limitations:

• Voices sound more robotic than in the other apps.

• Speech transcription struggles with accuracy.

• Feedback interrupts after every sentence, which I found distracting.

Langua

Free version: gives access to more than the other apps (grammar section, vocabulary, have a casual chat or a debate).

Limitations: Robotic voice, speech recognition is average, feedback is quite poor.

General Takeaways

Across all apps:

• Pronunciation feedback is weak or nonexistent.

• Speech recognition struggles with subtle French differences.

• Feedback quality varies, but grammar and vocabulary help is generally solid.

My Verdict: Can AI Replace Speaking Practice?

In short: no, AI isn’t replacing human speaking practice quite yet.

But… I’ve been pleasantly surprised. These apps do give students valuable opportunities to practice speaking French out loud (something that is a usually challenging task in language classes). Especially for shy or introverted students, the non-judgmental environment could be helpful.

Where AI falls short:

None of the apps I tested gave meaningful feedback on pronunciation, which is often where students need the most guidance. For high-stakes assessments like the end-of-year oral exam, teachers and language assistants bring something AI simply can’t: insights into exam expectations, nuanced feedback, and content tips tailored to the task. And beyond the technical side, nothing replaces the encouragement, motivation, and human connection we provide, often the very things that give students the confidence to speak up.

So, while I don’t think I’ll be replaced (yet!), I can definitely see AI apps as powerful supplements for practice between lessons.

If you want a shareable, student-friendly list of this article, grab the comparative table I have created under the "Free Resources" tab of the website.