A speaking course built for real fluency.
In many bilingual school classrooms, teachers find it difficult to keep students speaking English in pairs or groups. When the teacher moves away to help other students, real English speaking time often becomes very low. Students may switch back to their first language, and speaking progress slows down. It can also be difficult to make sure students complete speaking homework independently.
This 40-week course is designed to solve this problem. It helps Grade 10 students move from shy and silent speakers towards confident IGCSE ESL Speaking Endorsement Grade 1–2 performance. The course combines strong classroom teaching with online speaking practice, so students can practise grammar, pronunciation, and fluency outside normal lesson time.
The course follows the Cambridge IGCSE ESL syllabus and matches the main topics in a leading Cambridge-endorsed IGCSE ESL textbook. Instead of teaching each topic once and then moving on, we use a spiral structure. This means the same topics return later in the course at a higher level, with stronger vocabulary, grammar, and speaking skills.
Interactive online homework supports pronunciation and fluency training, so classroom time can focus on real communication. Schools can use the course in two ways: classroom lessons with online homework, or supervised computer lab practice followed by a classroom lesson. This second option helps make sure important speaking practice is completed in school, with teacher support.
Fluency activities should involve no unknown language items, focus on the message, and encourage learners to perform at a higher than normal speed.
Topics are not taught once. They come back, each time harder.
The course follows the spiral curriculum idea from Jerome Bruner, the education psychologist who helped shape modern course design. This means students do not study a topic once and then forget it. Instead, the same 20 syllabus units appear in both semesters.
The second time students meet a topic, the work becomes more advanced. Simple description becomes discussion and debate. Basic language becomes stronger thinking, clearer opinions, and better speaking.
This is why the 40-week course feels clear and manageable, not overloaded. When students return to a topic, they already know the basic vocabulary. This means they can spend more time using the language well, giving better answers, and speaking with more confidence.
Semester 1 · The Foundation Phase
Method. Cover all 20 Cambridge IGCSE ESL syllabus units. Focus on describing things and telling personal stories.
Rationale. Band 5 students don't have enough vocabulary to speak with confidence. Moving through every exam topic quickly builds the words they need to share facts, ideas and opinions.
Semester 2 · The Mastery Phase
Method. Return to the same 20 units, but raise the bar — discussion, debate and more complex grammar.
Rationale. With no new topic to learn, students can focus on better sentences — conditionals, passive voice, idioms and a wider range of phrases.
The future lies in a hybrid model: AI as an ever-present practice partner tailored exactly to your pace, and the human teacher as a mentor for nuance, culture and complex guidance.
Every lesson moves the student up the pyramid — from remembering to creating.
In many Western schools, Bloom's Taxonomy is a well-known way to plan learning. It helps teachers make sure students do more than remember facts. Students also learn to use ideas, explain opinions, compare information, make judgements, and create their own answers.
This course is planned using Anderson and Krathwohl's 2001 update of Bloom's Taxonomy. Basic practice, such as vocabulary review and pronunciation drills, is supported by AI whenever possible. This means more of the 80-minute class can be used for higher-level speaking tasks, such as giving reasons, comparing opinions, solving problems, and creating stronger spoken answers.
| Cognitive Process | Knowledge | Course Application |
|---|---|---|
| Remembering | Factual | Recall target words, idioms and pronunciation models from the Cambridge IGCSE ESL coursebook during pre-class AI shadowing. |
| Applying | Procedural | Use the A·D·E framework (Answer · Develop · Extend) — built from Cambridge examiner descriptors for IGCSE Speaking — to structure and extend answers in class. |
| Analyzing | Conceptual | Break down rewritten teacher models to see how linking words connect ideas. |
| Evaluating | Metacognitive | Judge peer answers during correction. Listen back to native-speaker models in Edge to spot pronunciation and fluency gaps. |
| Creating | Procedural | Combine vocabulary, grammar and original thought into natural spoken English during the 4-3-2 speaking circuits. |
The AI will take what you've said, analyse it, and produce immediate feedback. You don't just learn the language — you learn exactly where your specific gaps are in real time.
Three teaching engines drive every 80-minute lesson.
Fluency Through Repetition
Students build fluency through repeated speaking practice. One useful method is the 4/3/2 technique from Paul Nation. Students give the same answer three times: first in around four minutes, then in three minutes, then in two minutes.
Because the time becomes shorter each round, students learn to speak more quickly and naturally. They stop translating every word in their heads and begin to sound more fluent and confident.
The Sandwich Model
The course uses a simple "sandwich" model: preparation before class, speaking practice in class, and feedback after class.
Before class: Students spend about 20 minutes listening to and shadowing natural UK or US voice models. This gives them clear pronunciation and useful language that is just above their current level.
In class: The 80-minute lesson is used mainly for real speaking practice, pair work, group work, teacher coaching, and live correction.
After class: Students spend about 20 minutes recording answers into the AI system and receiving feedback. This helps students practise speaking independently, not just listening or reading.
Turning Written English Into Spoken English
The course also helps students turn formal coursebook reading texts into natural spoken English. Written English and spoken English are not the same. By changing formal reading passages into clear speaking models, students learn how to give stronger, more natural answers in the exam.
Delivery flexibility. The standard format is one 80-minute classroom lesson per week. If the school has a computer lab, the teacher can split it into 40 minutes in the classroom (speaking circuits) plus 40 minutes in the computer lab (AI shadowing input + AI feedback output) — same content, same outcome, less homework needed at home.
Two ways to run it — both fit inside the school timetable.
Standard format is one 80-minute classroom lesson per week, with two short online homework sessions students do at home. If the school has a computer lab, the teacher can shorten the in-class portion and move the listening and recording work onto school computers — so all practice happens under supervision.
Listen and repeat (online homework)
Students listen to native-speaker examples for the next lesson's topic and repeat them out loud — building listening and pronunciation before class. Based on Krashen's research on comprehensible input (giving learners language just slightly above their current level).
Full 80-min speaking lesson
Teacher-led 12-step flow: input · fluency drills · assessment · transfer to new topics — paced like the real exam.
Record and get AI feedback (online homework)
Students record their own answers to the lesson's speaking tasks, and, if students choose to subscribe to the paid Aliyun AI voice services, the AI gives instant feedback on pronunciation and fluency. Aligns with Swain's research on output — learners improve by actually speaking, not just listening.
Listen, repeat, record (supervised)
Students listen and repeat native-speaker examples for the next topic, then record answers from the last lesson for AI feedback — all done in school under teacher supervision.
Speaking circuit
Shortened in-class flow focused on speaking practice — students arrive primed and ready to talk.
This is the IGCSE Speaking Endorsement test, rehearsed every week of the year, under exam-equivalent timing.
Designed Around Each Student's Best Learning Level
Lessons are designed around the Zone of Proximal Development, an important idea from Lev Vygotsky. In simple terms, this means students learn best when the work is not too easy and not too difficult. It should sit between what they can do alone and what they can do with the right support.
Students who need more help receive sentence prompts and the A·D·E speaking structure: Answer, Develop, Extend. This helps them build longer answers without feeling lost or frustrated.
Stronger students receive extra speaking challenges. For example, they may need to answer using a three-clause sentence, one idiom, or a stronger opinion phrase. This helps them speak with more detail, accuracy, and control.
The course follows the Cambridge IGCSE ESL syllabus and is aligned with a leading Cambridge-endorsed IGCSE ESL coursebook. This gives teachers full topic coverage while still allowing flexible classroom delivery.
The free course uses the natural UK and US voices built into the Microsoft Edge browser. This means students can hear clear pronunciation models whenever they need them. It supports listening, pronunciation, and fluency without adding extra work for the teacher.
Schools can also add the optional paid companion app. This gives students AI conversation practice and recorded feedback using Aliyun AI voice services. It helps teachers see students' speaking progress and give better support.
This is how the course saves teacher time. AI supports input, repetition, pronunciation practice, and extra feedback outside class. The human teacher has more time to focus on confidence, culture, natural communication, and live correction.
Human connection is the goal.
AI is the sparring partner that makes the volume of practice possible. The teacher remains the mentor — but with their hands freed from low-value drilling.
What a child can do today with assistance, she will be able to do by herself tomorrow.
Everything you'd want to know before a pilot.
Strong Teaching. Clear Structure. Modern AI Support.
This course brings together strong Western teaching methods, clear classroom routines, and modern AI speaking support.
The course follows the Cambridge IGCSE ESL syllabus in two learning cycles. The same 20 units return in the second half of the course, but at a higher level. This helps students build confidence step by step, without feeling overloaded.
The programme also uses Anderson and Krathwohl's revised Bloom's Taxonomy. This means students do not only remember vocabulary. They learn to explain ideas, give reasons, compare opinions, make judgements, and create their own strong spoken answers.
The result is a complete IGCSE ESL speaking programme: structured, practical, evidence-informed, mobile-friendly, and built around the most important skill — the student's voice.
40 weeks · 2 learning cycles · 20 units · Cambridge IGCSE ESL syllabus coverage · natural UK and US voices in Microsoft Edge · 20-minute daily homework cap
Confident, spontaneous spoken English — built on the Cambridge syllabus and the strongest teaching science available today.
Technology will not replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational.
Cambridge IGCSE® is a registered trademark of Cambridge University Press & Assessment. IELTS® is a registered trademark of the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English. References to "Cambridge-endorsed IGCSE ESL coursebook" describe alignment with the published Cambridge syllabus only; all third-party textbooks, brand names and author names remain the property of their respective owners and are not affiliated with this course. This course prepares students for these examinations but is independently developed and is not endorsed by, affiliated with, or licensed by any examination board or publisher.