Speakable
Product by Speakable Technologies, Inc
Facts checked: Not yet checked
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating). This label applies to learning-science judgments throughout this overview.
Our take (not a Learning Standard rating)
Speakable provides a highly efficient mechanism for active language production and immediate pronunciation feedback, which are critical for second language acquisition. However, as an educator-dependent platform rather than a standalone curriculum, its effectiveness relies entirely on the quality of the teacher's prompt design and integration.
Pros
- Delivers immediate automated feedback on verbal production to help students correct pronunciation errors in real-time.
- Facilitates high-frequency retrieval practice by allowing educators to assign speaking drills at scale.
- Removes the grading bottleneck for teachers so students can engage in more frequent verbal repetition.
Cons
- Lacks a structured pedagogical curriculum and relies completely on teacher-generated prompt content.
- Provides limited corrective feedback on complex syntax or grammatical errors during open-ended verbal responses.
- Automated voice recognition systems occasionally penalize valid regional accents or non-standard dialects.
What Do We Know About Speakable?
Speakable is an effective classroom tool for increasing verbal language practice, but it is not a standalone educational app that will teach your child a language from scratch. Speakable is designed for teachers to assign speaking activities and automatically grade the audio recordings. Your child will only use this platform if their language teacher assigns it. From a learning science perspective, the app excels at forcing active recall. Instead of passively reading or listening to a target language, your child must physically produce the words, which strengthens memory pathways. The immediate feedback loop provided by the automatic grading helps correct pronunciation before bad habits calcify. However, parents should know that the educational quality depends entirely on the classroom teacher. Because Speakable does not provide its own sequenced curriculum, its value comes from how well the educator integrates these speaking exercises into their broader lesson plans. If your child is struggling with a specific grammar concept, this app will not explain the rule; it will only tell them if they pronounced the assigned phrase correctly.
How Does Speakable Work?
Speakable functions as an automated verbal assessment mechanism rather than a comprehensive language curriculum. The platform relies on a prompt-and-response loop designed to maximize student speaking time. A teacher creates an assignment by uploading a text, image, or video prompt in one of the 100 supported languages. Your child logs into the platform, reviews the prompt, and records themselves speaking the required response. The application uses voice recognition technology to process the audio, immediately comparing the student's output against standard pronunciation models. It then instantly scores the recording, highlighting specific words that were mispronounced. This immediate feedback aligns with the science of skill acquisition, allowing the student to attempt the recording again to fix their errors before moving on. By automating the grading process, the platform allows educators to assign daily speaking exercises that would normally be impossible to evaluate manually due to time constraints.
Strengths and tradeoffs of Speakable
The biggest strength of Speakable is its ability to scale verbal retrieval practice, while its biggest weakness is the lack of standalone instructional content. Active Verbal Production: The platform forces students to physically produce language rather than passively consume it. Learning science demonstrates that retrieval practice, pulling information from memory, results in stronger retention than simple review. Immediate Corrective Feedback: Speakable provides instantaneous evaluation of pronunciation. Immediate feedback prevents students from internalizing incorrect speech patterns, a common issue when language learners practice independently without guidance. High Frequency Practice: By removing the manual grading burden, teachers can assign daily speaking drills, leveraging spaced repetition to build fluency. Lack of Instruction: Speakable does not teach vocabulary or grammar. It is strictly an assessment and practice tool, meaning it cannot introduce new concepts to a novice learner. Contextual Limitations: The automated grading excels at rote pronunciation checks but struggles to evaluate the nuance, grammar, and syntax of open-ended conversational speech, limiting its utility for advanced language learners.
Who Might Benefit From Speakable?
Speakable is best for language educators who need to increase their students' active speaking time without creating an unmanageable grading workload. The platform serves middle school, high school, and higher education language classrooms where teachers want to assign frequent verbal homework. It is an ideal supplementary tool for traditional classroom settings focused on foreign language acquisition, ESL, or bilingual education. It is not suitable for independent learners or young children seeking a self-guided language learning experience, as the platform requires an instructor to actively create and manage the practice assignments.
Data Transparency
Meets Data Transparency Standard
Speakable meets our data transparency standard at Level 2 of 3 (Parent control). Level 3 needs the policy to document an API for retrieving their own data and a named export format.
28 of 35 checks passed
Level 1 · Basic protections
Does not sell data or target ads at students, limits sharing, and lets parents see and delete their child's data.
Level 2 · Parent control (meets the standard)
Families can get their data out, know who processes it, and know how long it is kept.
Level 3 · Direct data access
Families or schools can pull their own data through an API, in a stated format.
Not documented: an API for retrieving their own data, a named export format
View all 35 checks
Parent Access8/8
Does the policy mention parents specifically?
“Parents and eligible students may request access to, correction of, or deletion of Student Data through the student’s school or district.”
Can parents view their child's data?
“Parents and eligible students may request access to, correction of, or deletion of Student Data through the student’s school or district.”
Can parents modify their child's data?
“Parents and eligible students may request access to, correction of, or deletion of Student Data through the student’s school or district.”
Can parents delete their child's account?
“Parents and eligible students may request access to, correction of, or deletion of Student Data through the student’s school or district.”
Is there a dedicated Children's Privacy section?
“## 7\. Children Under 13 (COPPA)”
Does it reference COPPA compliance?
“This Addendum outlines the parties' obligations to protect Student Data, in compliance with all applicable privacy laws, including FERPA, PPRA, COPPA, and relevant state laws.”
Does it reference FERPA compliance?
“When Speakable is used by schools or districts, we act as a School Official with a legitimate educational interest under FERPA.”
Is parental consent required for child accounts?
“We rely on schools, districts, and teachers to obtain appropriate parental consent when students use the Services in an educational context.”
Data Portability2/5
Can users access their personal data?
“Parents and eligible students may request access to, correction of, or deletion of Student Data through the student’s school or district.”
Can users download/export their data?
“**Separate Account:** Provider will allow transfer of student-generated content to student accounts upon request.”
Is there a self-service data access tool?
The policy mentions an Account Settings page for updating or removing information, but it does not describe a self-service tool for accessing data.
Is a specific data format mentioned for export?
The policy does not name an export format.
Is there an API for data access?
The policy does not describe an API for accessing data.
Data Minimization2/6
Is data collection itemized?
“When you create an account as a student or teacher, you enter your name, username, and email address.”
Can the app be used without a real name?
The policy says students enter their name when they create an account.
Can the app be used without an email?
The policy says students enter an email address when they create an account.
Does it state collection is limited to what is necessary?
“We aim to collect only the information necessary to provide a strong learning and teaching experience.”
Is IP address anonymized or truncated?
The policy says it collects IP addresses and does not mention anonymizing or truncating them.
Is location tracking explicitly excluded?
The policy says automatically collected data may include location data.
Third-Party Protection7/7
Does it explicitly state no selling of data?
“Speakable does not sell Student Data, use Student Data for targeted advertising, or build commercial profiles of students unrelated to educational purposes.”
Are third-party providers named?
“Payment information is transmitted using HTTPS encryption and processed through Stripe.”
Are providers contractually restricted?
“Service providers are required to maintain confidentiality and process data only to provide services to Speakable. They are not permitted to sell Student Data or use it for marketing purposes.”
No-targeted-advertising commitment?
“Speakable does not sell Student Data, use Student Data for targeted advertising, or build commercial profiles of students unrelated to educational purposes.”
Is AI/ML data sharing addressed?
“Speakable does not use Student Data to train publicly available artificial intelligence models and does not permit third-party AI providers to use Student Data for independent model training or unrelated commercial purposes.”
Child-specific sharing restriction?
“Speakable does not redisclose Student Data except as permitted by law or authorized by the educational institution”
Cookies/tracking limited or opt-out?
“You may disable cookies in your browser settings, but some Website features may not function properly if you do.”
Deletion & Retention5/5
Can users delete their account?
“Teachers, students, and parents where applicable may request deletion by emailing [andrew@speakableapp.com](https://www.speakable.io/privacy#).”
Self-service deletion mechanism?
“Users may update or remove Personal Information via the Account Settings page.”
Specific data retention timeline?
“Speakable generally deletes Personal Information four years after a user’s last login.”
Auto-deletion of inactive accounts?
“Speakable generally deletes Personal Information four years after a user’s last login.”
Post-deletion handling described?
“Deleted information is removed from active databases. Archived copies may be retained as required by law or legitimate business purposes.”
Advertising4/4
Advertising model explicitly disclosed?
“We do not sell or rent Personal Information to any third party for advertising or marketing. We do not allow advertising on our Services.”
Free from third-party advertisements?
“We do not sell or rent Personal Information to any third party for advertising or marketing. We do not allow advertising on our Services.”
Children excluded from ad targeting?
“Speakable does not sell Student Data, use Student Data for targeted advertising, or build commercial profiles of students unrelated to educational purposes.”
Ad-free option available?
“We do not sell or rent Personal Information to any third party for advertising or marketing. We do not allow advertising on our Services.”
Meets Data Transparency Standard
The reviewed policy met our data transparency standard. This result describes the policy disclosures we assessed. Actual practices and legal compliance were not verified.
About this evaluation: Based on automated analysis of Speakable Privacy Policy and Student Data Privacy Addendum against 35 policy-disclosure questions, including questions adapted from the Common Sense Privacy Program's published evaluation questions. TLS is not affiliated with Common Sense Media, and this is not a Common Sense rating. Quoted text is copied from the policy; unquoted notes are our summary. Results describe what the policy documents, not the company's actual practices. Privacy policies can change: this review reflects the version we analyzed and does not determine legal compliance.
Sources and review method
TLS combines product information and editorial analysis to explain how Speakable works, its tradeoffs, and the questions to ask before choosing it. Product features, an instructional rationale and evidence of learning outcomes are different kinds of information.
Formal Learning Standard assessment: not yet completed. Data Transparency findings are reported separately and do not establish learning effectiveness. Read our methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions About Speakable
Is Speakable free?
Speakable offers a free Basic Plan designed for individual teachers to test the platform with limited features. For full functionality, including higher limits on assignments and student enrollment, the platform requires paid subscriptions ranging from the $12 per month Starter tier to the $99 per month Professional tier.
Is Speakable good for independent language learners?
No, Speakable is not designed for self-guided learners. The platform does not contain a built-in curriculum, lessons, or vocabulary lists. It is strictly an assignment and grading tool built for educators to use with their enrolled students.
What does Speakable teach?
Speakable does not directly teach new content. Instead, it assesses and reinforces verbal language skills in over 100 languages. It evaluates a student's pronunciation and fluency based on specific prompts created and assigned by their classroom teacher.
Speakable vs. Duolingo: Which is better?
These apps serve entirely different purposes. Duolingo is a standalone, self-paced curriculum for independent learners that introduces vocabulary and grammar. Speakable is a classroom infrastructure tool for teachers to automatically grade their own custom speaking assignments. Duolingo teaches the basics, while Speakable scales classroom practice.
Has The Learning Standard evaluated Speakable?
TLS has not yet completed a Learning Standard evaluation of how well Speakable teaches. Its privacy policy has been reviewed for Data Transparency and reaches Level 2, Parent control.
Is Speakable COPPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references COPPA. A policy reference alone does not establish COPPA compliance. Policy review note: The addendum states compliance with COPPA.
Is Speakable FERPA compliant?
The reviewed privacy policy references FERPA. A policy reference alone does not establish FERPA compliance. Policy review note: The policy states that Speakable acts as a School Official under FERPA.
Does Speakable have a children's privacy policy?
The reviewed policy includes a dedicated children's privacy section. Policy review note: The policy has a section headed for children under 13 and COPPA.
Does Speakable sell student data?
The reviewed policy states that the app does not sell data. This is a policy statement; actual data practices were not verified. Policy review note: The policy explicitly says Speakable does not sell student data.
Can you delete your data from Speakable?
The reviewed privacy policy describes account deletion. We have not tested the deletion process. Policy review note: Users can ask for deletion by email.
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- Free (Basic Plan); $12/month (Starter); $56/month (Growth); $99/month (Professional)
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