Google is testing a new feature called “Speaking Practice” in its search engine to help non-native English speakers learn English through English conversations.
The company said the feature will initially be available to those who want to learn English in multiple countries, including Argentina, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Venezuela, if they have signed up for the Search Labs program, which allows users to take advantage of the features offered by the company. Working on the early stages of development.
According to Google, the goal of this feature is to help users improve their English language skills by encouraging them to participate in interactive conversations powered by artificial intelligence, thus expanding the user's language vocabulary and integrating it into everyday scenarios.
The new speaking practice feature builds on another feature Google announced last October, and is designed to help English learners improve their skills by practicing sentence conversations and receiving grammar feedback. The speaking practice function adds another dimension to interactive conversations.
For example, the new feature works by asking users questions that need to be answered with specific words.
According to the screenshots posted, the AI can tell a user that they want to get fit and then ask: “What should I do?” The user is then asked to respond with an answer consisting of sentences containing specific words, such as: “exercise,” “cardio,” and “fatigue.”
The goal of this feature is to help English learners carry on conversations easily while learning to use different words in the appropriate context and improving their conversation skills, which is one of the essential skills for learning a new language.