Preparing a Session with an AI Chinese Conversation Tutor

Writing your session brief before you speak

A useful session starts with a written brief you can say aloud. Keep it to three lines: goal, situation, and difficulty. For example: 'Goal: practise inviting a friend and declining politely. Situation: a classmate asks about weekend plans. Difficulty: beginner, short sentences, slow speed.' If you want to recycle lesson language, name the lesson: 'Use phrases from Chinese: make plans.' Then say the brief to your tutor in English or in simple Chinese. This tells the tutor what you want to role-play and how you would like it to respond. Do not expect the tutor to remember your brief from a previous session; repeat it each time. Also decide what you will do when you get stuck: ask for a repeat, ask for a simpler word, or switch to English briefly. Write that fallback into your brief so you do not freeze.

Handling the harder turn in a role-play

The hardest moment is usually when the tutor adds a complication you did not plan for, such as changing the time or declining your invitation. Prepare one repair phrase and one follow-up question. For example, if you suggested a time using the source phrase 星期六下午三点，好吗？ and the tutor says 对不起，我有事, do not stop. Say 我们改天吧, then ask a follow-up question. This keeps the conversation going and gives you a new turn to practise. If you do not understand, say 请再说一遍 or 请说慢一点. If you need a word, describe it in simple Chinese or English and ask the tutor to give you the word. The goal is not to avoid mistakes; it is to stay in the conversation and notice which expressions you could not produce. After the session, write down two or three of those gaps and look them up before your next brief.

Listen once, then say the phrase yourself. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.

Checking available voices…

Read one side aloud, then answer in your own words. The goal is to make the exchange yours.

Common questions