Forget hunting for Chinese classes or tandem partners – could an AI-powered language tutor be the game-changer for mastering Chinese? I put Talkpal, an AI language tutor app, to the test. Here’s my review.
Features and exercises
So what is Talkpal? Firstly this AI-powered language learning app is relatively new and uses GPT technology to provide immersive and interactive language tutoring. It supports over 57 languages (a lot!), offering personalized lessons through conversations, real-time feedback and tailored learning experiences.
Talkpal comes in two versions: with the free version you can only use the chat function, limited to 10 minutes per day. To check out all the features you have to get a premium subscription (see costs & plans) which includes all the different options for practicing Chinese which include:
Chat – chatting with the AI tutor about any topic
Sentence mode – practice basic sentences sorted by topic and pronunciation
Call mode – audio-only conversation (like a phone call with AI)
Roleplays – practice through useful real-life situations
Characters – chat with famous characters like Marco Polo, Mao Zedong and Robin Hood
Debates – argue for or against and debate with AI
Photo mode – describe images and get real-time feedback
My experience with Talkpal
If the first impression is everything, Talkpal doesn’t disappoint: Talkpal offers a visually and intuitive interface and everything works fast and smoothly like it should. The AI-artwork is tasteful and consistent. The AI-voices are clear and sound quite natural. The variety of topics and exercises to discover is impressive, yet not overwhelming.
Chatting (with Emma) works well. Unlike ChatGPT which when not instructed to do otherwise will give you very long and exhaustive answers, Emma’s replies are short and positive and she’s always curious enough to ask the next questions which keeps the conversation going. What music do you like? What is your favorite artist? Which is your favorite song? What do like about this song in particular? When do you usually listen to music?
Sentence mode is useful for practicing pronunciation and basic vocabulary. It’s essentially listening and repeating sentences sorted by topic. Here’s less AI involved and it’s more suitable for lower intermediate learners.
Conversation mode is much better than I expected, especially compared to my buggy experiences talking to ChatGPT. It seems that Talkpal is better capable to stick to keywords in a conversation even though it doesn’t catch the full sentence, resulting in a smoother experience talking with AI which is promising, yet might also lead to a false sense of security. Talkpal will also give feedback on every bit of your speech that it manages to put into text, even when it’s not very useful to you.
Among the most challenging exercises are Debates and Characters, since this requires topic-specific vocabulary to practice in a meaningful way – imagine speaking to Sigmund Freud or Karl Marx in Chinese for example or discussing the impact of social media.
Roleplays – a classroom classic – allow you to tackle specific situations in Chinese like ordering at a restaurant, dating or going to the hospital (and many more). This can be a really useful preparing for your next trip to China and is much more engaging than a textbook lesson or video, because you’re actively practicing and also able to steer the conversation in different directions. When role-playing booking a hotel room you can express your dissatisfaction about the price and demand all kind of special services for example.
Another typical learning activity – describing images, in this case AI-generated – also works really well with Talkpal (although the images can take some time to load), because AI provides instant feedback and useful suggestions to enhance your descriptions.
Likes
Visually attractive and intuitive interface
AI-voices are pretty clear and authentic
Variation in exercises and practicing modes
AI-suggestions for answers when you don’t know what to write or how to phrase something properly
Regular (AI-generated) practice summaries by mail help reviewing and correcting mistakes
Dislikes
You can save your conversations, but no way to track covered vocabulary in the app itself
AI cannot differentiate between formal and informal (spoken) language very well and will correct many things that are perfectly acceptable in spoken language
Role-plays tend to use formal / written language, even when that doesn’t make much sense or isn’t very realistic (for a Chinese taxi driver for instance)
AI’s tendency to point out the tiniest mistakes that aren’t relevant to your target level
Suitable for beginners?
One question some learners might have: how useful is Talkpal for beginners? Because my experience with AI so far is that it doesn’t adapt very well to beginner level and by default uses rather condensed vocabulary and sentence structures like no Chinese teacher ever would to avoid communication breakdowns.
I think three practicing modes can work for learners who haven’t reached intermediate level (HSK 4 / 5): Sentence mode, Roleplays and Photo mode. That is to some extent. Interestingly, when I switched from intermediate to beginner’s mode I didn’t notice much difference in terms of text length and complexity of sentence and vocabulary, when chatting with Emma.
So in one sentence: no, Talkpal is much less interesting for people just starting their language learning journey and might even be more frustrating than productive.
Why not simply engage with ChatGPT?
Some readers might also wonder why not simply use ChatGPT or Gemini (for free) to practice Chinese? After all, ChatGPT can do all the things mentioned above and Talkpal is running on some ChatGPT-model anyway, so what’s the difference?
Yes, theoretically you could use ChatGPT or other free alternatives instead, if you’re techy and patient enough to prompt your own AI-language tutor. The big advantage using Talkpal is that everything has been set up for you already. So it doesn’t matter if you want to practice how to open a bank account or exchange thoughts with Mao Zedong, you’re always just two or three taps away from starting a conversation. In other words, practicing with Talkpal is much faster and more convenient, because the app is already tailored to the needs of language learners (and the Chinese AI-voices are of better quality).
Why Talkpal’s AI-chats started boring me before long
So far I’ve been mainly positive and for good reasons: Talkpal utilizes the benefits of GenAI and adapts it to the needs of language learners around the globe. Still I want to point out something that bothered me, even though it’s somewhat unreasonable to point this out, since it’s inherent to AI and probably can’t be fixed, no matter how advanced generative AI becomes.
But I’ll bring it forward anyway: Unlike human conversations, chat dialogues with AI don’t have a natural flow and potentially never stop, which can be exhausting and even boring in a way. Take Talkpal’s Chat mode for instance: the AI-tutor named Emma keeps firing new questions at you and before too long you grow tired answering them, yet AI shows no mercy. It’s a bit like tennis playing against a tennis ball machine with an endless supply of balls. You have to run away at some point.
It’s interesting that on the one hand, you’re having a conversation with this “all-knowing entity”, yet at the same time – on a deeper level – you feel that interacting with machines lacks real meaning. Emma is only a simulation and can’t fulfill the tasks of a traditional language tutor. That’s why despite the real benefits of daily doing all these interactive AI-exercises Talkpal failed to really engage me for longer than 20 minutes per session.
So answering my initial question: Should we forget about finding Chinese classes and tandem partners to practice our Chinese skills? By no means we should. Practicing with AI-tools like Talkpal can be helpful, yet they can’t replace experienced language teachers and real communication with fellow human beings.
What do other users have to say about Talkpal?
Talkpal has over 6000 reviews on Google Play Store and holds a rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars. Users mostly praise its innovative approach to language practice, particularly appreciating features like role-playing and real-time feedback. Some do note areas for improvement, such as the accuracy of feedback (or AI’s eagerness to point out tiny mistakes like misplaced comma’s) and occasional technical issues.
Costs & plans
What does Talkpal cost and which options are available? Talkpal offers a 14-day free trial which is quite generous, since you can discover all features for free. The regular price for 12 months of premium use is currently € 7.49 / month (€ 89.99 in total), double the price if you only subscribe for one month. Special sales are also worth checking out, but I’d suggest to go for the free trial first.
Conclusion
Is Talkpal the first step toward a more personalized, structured, and user-friendly learning journey powered by AI?
Talkpal lets you explore your own interests, chat about any topic, and practice a variety of real-life communication scenarios. While the instant feedback isn’t perfect in every case, it’s often helpful. Plus, the app sends daily summary emails that highlight what you’ve learned and offer tips for improvement.
However, the app lacks the tailored guidance that a real tutor would provide – like helping you identify clear goals and showing you how to achieve the next level of proficiency based on your individual needs. The claim of being an “AI language tutor” is accurate for the “AI” part, as it offers plenty of AI-powered language practice. But it falls short on the “tutor” aspect, as it doesn’t offer the mentorship or direction of a traditional teacher.
That said, if you’re open to experimenting with new learning tools, the 14-day free trial is definitely worth a try to see how Talkpal can fit into your language-learning journey.
What do you think about AI-powered language learning apps like Talkpal? Are they truly the future of language learning or just a passing trend? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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