Last updated October 16, 2026.
For speaking practice, SchoolAI lets a whole class talk at once while you read the transcripts afterward, and Vocina or SayVeritas turn that talk into a spoken check. Diffit rewrites one authentic text at several reading levels, The Language Vault covers German and Spanish exam revision, and Knowt handles vocabulary. None of them judges fluency for you.
Which AI tool fits which language-teaching job?
| Tool | The job it does | Main limitation | Price / free tier (checked October 2026) | Privacy check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SchoolAI | Monitored conversation practice with a character you build | Free plan allows five Space sessions a year; accuracy of its target-language output is not documented | Free plan, five sessions a year (SchoolAI) | No 9ine assessment listed in the directory; ask the vendor for a data agreement |
| Vocina | Spoken conversation agents with transcripts and rubric feedback | Target-language support unverified | Freemium in the directory; limits unverified | Anonymous learner ID possible; audio processed by OpenAI and/or Google (Vocina) |
| SayVeritas | Short recorded oral checks scored against your rubric | Supported languages not listed on its page | Pulse free for teachers; paid packs from $15 for 250 credits (SayVeritas) | States student audio is deleted after transcription; data agreement offered to districts |
| The Language Vault | German and Spanish exam revision with AI speaking, writing and translation coaches | Two languages only; built for UK exam boards | Free tier with monthly caps; £5.99 and £9.99 a month (The Language Vault) | Directory lists a 13+ minimum age; no 9ine assessment listed |
| Diffit | One text rewritten at several reading levels | Individual and school prices not public on its pricing page | Free "Basic" plan with limits (Diffit) | Hosting location unknown in the directory |
| Knowt | Flashcards, spaced repetition and AI voice tutor | Pricing page did not load; paid limits unverified | Directory says free for individual teachers; unverified | Has a 9ine assessment; vendor says it offers free data agreements to schools |
Four questions that choose the tool
- Do you need students talking, or need to hear what they said? Talking: SchoolAI. Evidence of what they said: Vocina or SayVeritas.
- Is there an exam board involved? If you teach German or Spanish for GCSE, A-level or IB, start with The Language Vault.
- Is the problem the text, not the task? If students can't access the article or song you want, use Diffit.
- Is it vocabulary retention? Knowt's spaced repetition covers that job, and it needs no conversation setup.
Our view is that most departments need two of these, not six: one for speaking and one for the weakest other skill.
SchoolAI: which tool gives a whole class speaking practice at once?
SchoolAI is the best fit for rehearsal conversation because you build a character (a café waiter, a shopkeeper) and see each student's conversation. SchoolAI's directory entry lists real-time monitoring of student conversations, teacher-set guardrails and multi-language support; the directory rates it 4.92 from 13 reviews.
Pricing: SchoolAI's July 2026 post says the free plan has five Space sessions a year, and student chat visibility has no session limit (SchoolAI). Pro and Scale are sold to schools and districts only. Older write-ups that say the free plan includes custom tutors are out of date.
Watch out for: SchoolAI publishes no accuracy figures for target-language output, so read a sample of transcripts before relying on it. Treat it as rehearsal, not assessment. Choose Vocina or SayVeritas instead if you need a recorded, scored spoken response.
Safety: The directory lists no minimum age and no 9ine assessment. Before students use it, ask your school or district whether a data agreement is in place and what the vendor does with chat content.
Vocina: which tool runs a spoken check with a transcript?
Vocina is the best fit for a viva-style conversation because its agents ask follow-up questions and hand you transcripts, audio and rubric-aligned feedback, per its directory listing.
Pricing: the directory lists it as freemium; the free limits are unverified.
Watch out for: The directory files it under cross-curricular use. Whether its agents hold a conversation in French, Spanish or German is unverified, so trial it in your target language first. Choose SchoolAI instead for low-stakes practice.
Safety: Vocina says it can run on an anonymous learner ID instead of a name or email, runs on Google Cloud in Sydney, and processes audio using OpenAI and/or Google services (Vocina). Its page does not say whether learner data is used for AI training, and states no age limit; the directory lists 13+. Ask both before use.
SayVeritas: which tool gives short oral checks with clear pricing?
SayVeritas is the best fit when you want a four-to-ten-minute recorded oral response scored against your own rubric, with you approving the score. Its page says teachers must review AI scores before they are final (SayVeritas).
Pricing: Pulse, a one-question class check, is free for teachers. Starter Pack is "from $15" for 250 credits; Classroom Pack is $29 for 600 credits. New accounts get 50 introductory credits.
Watch out for: The page does not list supported languages. Check Spanish, French or Mandarin before buying credits. Choose Vocina instead if you want an open conversation.
Safety: The vendor says student audio is deleted after transcription, data is hosted in the US, and a data agreement is available for districts. Its page calls it "FERPA-aware by design," which is not the same as a compliance finding; your district still has to review it.
The Language Vault: which tool covers German and Spanish exam revision?
The Language Vault is the best fit for GCSE, A-level and IB German or Spanish because it combines an exam-board question bank with AI speaking, writing and translation coaches. Its page lists AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, CIE and IB (The Language Vault).
Pricing: free at £0 with monthly caps (15 question-bank questions, 5 vocabulary tests and two coach sessions a week for each coach). Plus is £5.99 a month and Pro £9.99 a month. School pricing is by quote.
Watch out for: It covers two languages and UK exam specifications, so it won't help a French or Mandarin class. Choose Knowt instead for other languages.
Safety: The directory lists a 13+ minimum age and no 9ine assessment. Check whether your school allows students to hold individual accounts on a third-party revision site.
Diffit: which tool levels an authentic text for a mixed class?
Diffit is the best fit for turning one real article or song lyric into versions at different reading levels. Its directory listing describes adaptation of text, PDF, URL or video content, and says it works in 70+ languages; Diffit's own critical-thinking page makes no such claim and lists no figure, so treat the 70+ figure as the directory's.
Pricing: the Basic plan is free with limits; paid school and individual prices are not shown on its pricing page (Diffit), so we list them as no public pricing.
Watch out for: A rewritten target-language text can drift from authentic usage; read it before it reaches students. Choose a general assistant if you need to write original texts from scratch.
Safety: The directory lists Diffit's hosting location and age minimum as unknown. Review its privacy page with your district before students use it.
Knowt: which tool handles vocabulary practice?
Knowt is the best fit for vocabulary because it builds flashcards and spaced-repetition review from your own files and lists a voice tutor for students. Its directory entry also lists monitored AI chats, live games and Quizlet and Kahoot import. For Knowt set beside the other flashcard tools, see our AI flashcard generators comparison.
Pricing: the directory says it is free for individual teachers; its pricing page did not load, so paid limits are unverified.
Watch out for: It is a general study platform, not built around language skills; the voice tutor's quality in your target language is unverified. Choose The Language Vault for exam-board-specific German or Spanish.
Safety: The directory records a 9ine assessment, and Knowt says it offers free data privacy agreements to schools. Ask your district to confirm what is signed.
A worked example: Grade 9 Spanish, food and ordering
This is a plan, not a report of a lesson. Goal: students order a meal and ask two follow-up questions in Spanish.
- Day 1, reading (15 minutes). Give students a menu and a short restaurant review, put through Diffit at two reading levels. Read each version yourself first.
- Day 2, rehearsal (20 minutes). Build a SchoolAI Space with a waiter character set to Spanish and a vocabulary ceiling. Use one of the five free sessions for the whole class; students talk or type in pairs.
- Day 3, review (10 minutes). Read the transcripts, note the three most common errors, and teach them in a mini-lesson.
- Day 5, check. Students record a two-minute ordering conversation in SayVeritas or Vocina; you score it against your rubric.
What AI still can't do for a language class
TESOL's October 2025 position statement on AI calls for "ensuring that human interaction remains central in the learning process" (TESOL). It is written for English language teaching, but the point carries over. ACTFL's AI resources page links to research on how second-language writers use machine translation (Vinall, Wen and Hellmich, 2023) and whether instructors can detect it in Spanish writing (Maimone and Jolley, 2023) (ACTFL). Our view is that every tool above should draft, rehearse or collect evidence, and you should judge fluency and decide when a student is ready to be pushed.
For learners acquiring English, see AI tools for English language learners, and for assessment that asks students to explain their thinking, see AI-resistant assessment tools.
