Practice speaking Spanish before a move abroad with the Langua AI tutor
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- by Spenser Mestel (The Guardian)
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Outcome
Spenser Mestel had studied Spanish on and off for two decades and was moving to Spain, so the goal was to get past a plateau. On Langua ($25 a month, about what Mestel pays for one virtual tutoring session), Mestel drew on work as a fitness coach and role-played a personal trainer meeting a new client, an AI character called Christian. Christian understood Mestel through the stumbles, and pausing to ask grammar questions brought 'some of the clearest explanations I've ever been given'. The limits: for accent, Mestel's biggest priority, it could only offer exercises, and Mestel kept meeting a human tutor, Maria.
AI tool
Prompt Recreated prompt
The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.
Let's role-play in Spanish. I'm a personal trainer and you're a new client with no lifting experience. Correct my grammar as we go, and answer my grammar questions when I interrupt.
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Optional stronger version
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Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish. Goal: Help me practice speaking a language through realistic role-plays, with corrections that help me improve. Questions to ask me first: - Which language and dialect, and what's my level? - What real situations do I need to handle soon (work, shopping, doctor, neighbors)? - How do I want corrections: during the conversation, or in a summary at the end? Inputs (fill in or confirm): - Language and dialect: [LANGUAGE] - Level: [LEVEL] - Situations: [SITUATIONS] - Correction style: [DURING / END] Rules: - Stay in the target language unless I ask a question in my own language. - Speak at my level and slow down if I struggle. - End each reply with a follow-up question so the conversation keeps going. - Correct my mistakes as I asked, giving the corrected sentence and a one-line reason. - Keep a list of new words and phrases I used or needed. Checkpoint: After about 10 exchanges, pause and give me a short summary of my main mistakes before continuing. If you get stuck: If I get stuck or switch languages, give me two simple ways to say what I meant and let me try again. Verify before you finish: Check that each correction is accurate for the dialect I chose. Output: A short end-of-session summary: main mistakes with corrections, new vocabulary, and one thing to practice next time. Done when: I've practiced a real situation and know my top three things to work on.
Source
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