Students cannot learn a language with less than 3 minutes of oral practice per week
The American International School of Budapest is a private international school in Hungary offering an American-style curriculum. It mostly serves expatriate and international families.
At the core of its offer: language learning and, more specifically, English learning:
- Internationally mobile families (diplomats, military personnel, business travellers, etc.) move between countries. Strong English ensures students can re-enter other international or English-medium schools without language barriers.
- Besides, English is the default language of higher education and many professional paths. Strong spoken English directly impacts university admissions, classroom performance, and, of course, future employability in global markets.
- Finally, English is the shared operating language for friendships, group work, and extracurricular activities.
However, students have limited opportunities to actively speak English in class, with an estimated average of under 3 minutes per week.
This is not enough to build fluency, pronunciation, or confidence. These are essential for international academic and professional contexts.
Most approaches are limited by classroom time or generic exercises that do not adapt to individual students.
As a result, they fail to create consistent, real-time speaking practice or provide personalised feedback. It is also worth noting that this issue applies to any language taught, not only English.
The American International School of Budapest, therefore, began working with Chilean startup Speakology AI.
The AI that turns language learning into real-life conversations
Speakology AI is a Chilean AI-powered language learning platform focused on improving spoken language fluency through real-time conversation practice. Its language bundle offers close to 30 languages, including in particular English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, and Portuguese.
Students can speak directly to an AI that understands their voice, responds in real time, and instantly corrects pronunciation and fluency.
One key feature is that it simulates realistic dialogue scenarios adapted to each student’s level and needs, so practice is personalised.
For example, a student can simulate a conversation with an AI that acts as a university admissions officer. The student answers questions about their background and motivation in English (just like in a real interview!).
During the exchange, the system:
- Listens in real time,
- Flags pronunciation issues,
- Suggests better phrasing when sentences are unclear or too simple.
- Slows down, simplifies questions, or repeats key points if the student struggles.
After the session, the student receives a short report showing mistakes, improvements, and speaking time achieved.
Teachers also get a dashboard showing how much students speak and how their skills improve over time.
Therefore, both students and teachers at the American School of Budapest can work together on a personalised approach that takes into account common mistakes (e.g., tense mixing, pronunciation) and needs (e.g., group projects, social life). Besides, the Speakology technology used for English learning can be used for any language taught at the school.
The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator structures the pilot run by the school and the startup
Service n°1: PoC Design & Prototyping
The PoC Design & Prototyping service is a structured approach to test whether the AI language-learning solution actually works in classrooms at the American School of Budapest before scaling it.
It sets clear goals, timelines, and success metrics so both the American School of Budapest and Speakology AI know exactly what “success” looks like from the start.
The pilot will measure if students significantly increase their weekly speaking time. It will also test whether at least 80% of teachers integrate the tool into their regular teaching.
At the same time, it allows the startup to validate its technology in a real school environment and prove its impact on learning outcomes.
Service n°2: Access to public funding
The Access to public funding service supports Speakology AI in identifying and securing relevant public funding to scale its pilot with the school.
It provides guidance on suitable EU and Latin American grants, loans, and funding schemes, and assesses eligibility based on the project scope.
The service also helps structure the funding approach to align with application requirements and improve the chances of approval. It focuses on turning pilot results into a financially viable plan for wider rollout in education systems.
The American School of Budapest and Speakology define what success looks like
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🏫 American School of Budapest (Corporate) |
🚀 Speakology AI (Startup) |
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