Introducing Conversation Pages in Speakable

Conversation Pages let students practice real conversations with AI inside Speakable activities.

Instead of responding to isolated prompts, students can now interact naturally with AI while working toward clear communication goals. Teachers can guide the conversation by setting the topic, difficulty level, vocabulary, and goals while students practice speaking or writing in a more realistic and engaging way.

Whether students are:

• Ordering food at a restaurant
• Introducing themselves
• Practicing for a job interview
• Discussing a story from class
• Asking for directions
• Explaining their opinions

Conversation Pages help turn language practice into actual communication.

Why We Built Conversation Pages

One of the hardest parts of language learning is giving students enough opportunities to communicate naturally.

Traditional speaking activities often require:

• Significant teacher preparation
• Partner coordination
• Manual feedback
• Live classroom management

Conversation Pages help solve that by giving every student a conversation partner that can:

• Respond naturally
• Adapt to student answers
• Stay focused on learning goals
• Provide structured practice

Teachers stay in control of the experience while students get more opportunities to practice.

What Students Experience

Students interact with the AI in a chat-style conversation where they can either:

• Speak responses aloud
• Type responses in writing mode

As students progress through the activity, they can:

• See conversation goals
• Track what they’ve completed
• Receive natural responses from the AI
• Practice real communication without needing a perfect answer every time

The goal isn’t memorization. The goal is communication.

Creating Your First Conversation Page

To create a Conversation Page:

1. Open the activity builder
2. Click New Page
3. Select Conversation

From there, you’ll be able to customize:

• Conversation level
• Topic
• Goals
• Speaking or writing mode
• AI guidance
• Student support
• Automatic grading and feedback

The setup process is designed to be flexible enough for advanced teachers while still being easy to get started with quickly.

Choosing the Right Conversation Topic

The topic is the foundation of the conversation.

The best topics are:

• Specific
• Real-world
• Easy for students to imagine themselves in

Strong Topic Examples

• Ordering food at a restaurant
• Asking for directions in a city
• Introducing yourself to a new friend
• Talking about weekend plans
• Visiting the doctor
• Preparing for a job interview

Weak Topic Examples

• Food
• Conversation practice
• School
• Speaking activity

The more specific the situation is, the more natural the conversation becomes.

Setting the Difficulty Level

Conversation Pages support proficiency-based levels to help the AI adjust:

• Vocabulary complexity
• Sentence length
• Follow-up questions
• Overall conversation difficulty

For beginner students:

• Use predictable situations
• Keep goals simple
• Focus on basic communication

For more advanced students:

• Encourage opinions and elaboration
• Add follow-up questions
• Include more open-ended prompts

A good conversation activity should feel challenging, but still achievable.

Writing Conversation Goals

Goals are one of the most important parts of a Conversation Page.

They help:

• Guide the AI
• Keep students focused
• Define what success looks like

Students can also see these goals during the activity.

Strong Goal Examples

• Ask for a menu or order food
• Order at least two food items
• Ask one follow-up question
• Describe a food item using 1–2 words
• Explain your opinion about a movie
• Use the past tense at least once

Weak Goal Examples

• Practice speaking
• Have a conversation
• Learn vocabulary
• Talk more

Good goals are:

• Specific
• Observable
• Simple
• Communication-focused

Keep Conversations Focused

One common mistake is adding too many goals or constraints.

Overly complicated conversations can feel robotic and overwhelming for students.

As a general guideline:

• Beginner students: 2–4 goals
• Intermediate students: 3–5 goals
• Advanced students: 4–6 goals

The goal is meaningful communication, not creating a perfect script.

Using Additional Context

The Additional Context section helps guide the AI during the conversation.

You can include:

• Target vocabulary
• Student roles
• Classroom expectations
• Source material
• Constraints for the AI

Example Additional Context

Vocabulary: appetizer, entrée, dessert, bill, lemonade

The student is ordering lunch at a restaurant.

Keep responses short and appropriate for intermediate English learners.


You do not need to script the entire interaction.

Usually, a small amount of focused context works best.

Starting Messages

You can optionally create a custom opening message for the AI.

If left blank, Speakable will automatically generate a natural conversation starter.

Example Starting Messages

• “Welcome to our restaurant. Are you ready to order?”
• “Hi! What did you do this weekend?”
• “Tell me a little about yourself.”
• “Why are you visiting the doctor today?”

Starting messages are especially useful when:

• Students need additional structure
• You want all students to begin with the same setup
• The scenario requires a specific opening

Speaking Mode vs. Writing Mode

Conversation Pages support both:

• Speaking mode
• Writing mode

Speaking Mode

Best for:

• Fluency practice
• Pronunciation
• Listening comprehension
• Real-time communication

Writing Mode

Best for:

• Grammar-focused activities
• Sentence construction
• Homework assignments
• Lower-noise classroom environments

Many teachers use speaking mode for practice activities and writing mode for more structured assessments.

Student Support

The Student Support option allows students to ask for help during the conversation without disrupting the activity flow.

This can help:

• Reduce frustration
• Encourage participation
• Support hesitant learners
• Increase independence during practice

This feature is especially helpful for beginner and intermediate learners.

Automatic Feedback and Grading

Conversation Pages can include:

• Instant feedback
• Automatic rubric grading

When creating conversation activities, it’s usually best to focus grading on:

• Communication success
• Goal completion
• Appropriate responses
• Clarity of meaning

Not every grammar mistake needs to interrupt communication.

The purpose of Conversation Pages is to help students build confidence and communicate more naturally over time.

Example Conversation Setup

Topic

Ordering food at a restaurant

Level

Level 3 – Developing

Goals

• Ask for a menu or order food
• Order at least two food items
• Describe a food item using 1–2 words
• Answer questions about your order

Additional Context

Vocabulary: appetizer, spicy, grilled chicken, dessert, lemonade

Keep responses short and appropriate for intermediate English learners.


Starting Message

Hello! Welcome to our restaurant. Are you ready to order, or would you like to see the menu first?


Tips for Better Conversation Activities

The best Conversation Pages:

• Simulate real communication
• Give students a clear purpose
• Match the student proficiency level
• Encourage interaction instead of memorization
• Keep instructions simple and focused

Start with small, practical scenarios first. As students become more comfortable, you can gradually create more open-ended and advanced conversations.

Final Thoughts

Conversation Pages are designed to help students spend more time actually communicating.

Instead of practicing isolated responses, students can now work toward real conversational goals while interacting naturally with AI.

Whether you’re teaching world languages, ESL, or language-focused content courses, Conversation Pages can help create more engaging speaking and writing practice while still giving teachers structure and control over the learning experience.

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