LANGUAGE FOR TRAVEL
Go beyond the guidebook conversation
A few spoken exchanges can change how you experience a place. Practise making a request, understanding the answer, and following your curiosity.
In this guide
- Choose conversations from your actual itinerary
- Listen for the detail that changes your plan
- Give yourself a way back into the conversation
- Try a short French conversation before you go
Choose conversations from your actual itinerary
Think about how you like to travel. A train journey, a market visit, and a week of hiking create different speaking needs. Pick a handful of situations you expect to encounter instead of trying to cover every possible travel phrase.
For each situation, define a result: find the right platform, order something you would actually eat, or ask when a place closes. Start by trying the exchange aloud. Ask for help with the part that stops you, then try again from the beginning.
Listen for the detail that changes your plan
Being able to ask a question is only half of the interaction. Practise hearing numbers, alternatives, directions, and short follow-up questions. Ask the tutor to give you one answer at a natural but manageable speed, and check what you understood.
Make the rehearsal slightly unpredictable: the item is unavailable, the departure time changes, or someone offers a different route. Practise confirming the important detail. For allergies or other critical needs, use a reliable written translation and direct confirmation as well as your spoken practice.
Give yourself a way back into the conversation
A useful travel toolkit includes polite ways to ask for repetition, say that you are learning, and request that someone point or write something down. These moves help you continue when your vocabulary runs out.
You can also prepare one question that reflects a real interest: a local dish, a neighborhood walk, or a place someone recommends. Keep it short enough that you can ask a follow-up. The goal is a small exchange with another person, not a flawless accent.
Try a short French conversation before you go
The demos on this page use French as spoken in France with English support. Try a café exchange or ask for help getting somewhere. You can ask a question about what you hear during the conversation.
For a different destination, choose the relevant language pair from the language directory. In the app, tell your tutor what kind of trip you are taking and practise the exchanges most likely to appear in your day.
YOUR PERSONAL AI LANGUAGE TUTOR
Learn to speak by having a conversation.
The words you recognise on a screen need to become words you can use with another person. Glottie gives you one-to-one speaking practice: listen, find your own words, ask a question, and respond in the moment. Spend your learning time practising the skill you came for.
- Listen
- Reply
- Refine
WHY SPEAKING PRACTICE MATTERS
Build the skill you want to use.
Feedback that helps learning last
A meta-analysis of 15 classroom studies found lasting benefits from oral corrective feedback in second-language learning.
Read the studyPractice that develops spoken fluency
In a small study of Japanese university learners of English, regular video conversations improved fluency and comprehensibility.
Read the studyThe research, in context
Conversation brings listening, recall, and expression together. Feedback helps you notice a gap and try again. Research supports these ingredients of language learning; that is why spoken practice sits at the centre of Glottie.
These studies examined language learning, not Glottie. They do not establish a fixed learning-speed advantage for this app. Progress depends on your starting point, practice, and goals.
YOUR PERSONAL AI LANGUAGE TUTOR
A tutor who knows what you’re working toward.
A great private tutor connects each lesson to your life, notices where you struggle, and knows when you’re ready for more. Glottie brings that approach to your iPhone, combining natural AI conversation with a learning path, memory, and review that continue across lessons.
Your reason to learn shapes the lesson
Tell Glottie you want to speak with your partner’s family, raise a bilingual child, or feel at home abroad. Practise breakfast with your daughter, meeting relatives, or talking with a neighbour. Your goals and interests give the conversation a purpose.
The challenge changes with you
Ask for a slower explanation, try the phrase again, or move into a more demanding conversation. Glottie uses your practice and progress to adjust support, revisit difficulties, and build on what you can already do.
Your next lesson remembers the last
Useful preferences, learning goals, and progress carry forward. Review brings earlier material back into practice, while your course gives the conversation direction. You can spend more time on a difficult topic without starting over every day.
Language for the work you actually do
Preparing for a client meeting or an international trip? Tell the tutor about your role and the situations you face. Rehearse introductions, explain a project, and practise relevant vocabulary in context. The goal is useful communication in your world.
NATURAL, TWO-WAY CONVERSATION
Speak freely. Hear a thoughtful reply.
Glottie uses OpenAI’s Realtime API for direct speech-to-speech conversation. You speak aloud and the AI replies in a natural voice, with room to ask questions, practise a response, or ask for help. Glottie adds the teaching structure: your goals, your progress, and a plan for what to practise next.
On demand, day or night, with internet access and available minutes
Voice technology by OpenAI Glottie is an independent app. Your tutor’s voice is AI-generated.
PERSONAL PRACTICE, WITH MORE FLEXIBILITY
A language tutor in your pocket. On your schedule.
Five minutes before work. A conversation after the children are asleep. Glottie makes room for speaking practice when you have time, without booking an appointment. Personal AI tutoring can also cost substantially less than premium private lessons.
Glottie · illustrative hourly cost
Approx.$30USD / hourExample New York private tutor
Approx.$100USD / hourIllustrative comparison · USD per hour
About a third of the hourly cost.
Available around the clock
Minutes per session
One-to-one practice
For this comparison, Glottie is approximately $30 per hour, based on the US Essential plan ($19.99 for 40 monthly minutes) or Steady plan ($49.99 for 100). The Focused plan is $99.99 for 240 minutes. These are monthly plans; the example assumes you use every included minute.
The $100/hour example is the published online rate of New York French tutor Petra Zanki; her in-person rate is $135/hour. This is a specific provider example, not an average or a quote for every language. Tutor rates and package terms vary.
Check current prices: App Store · Petra Zanki · New York
Compare the details
| What matters | Glottie AI tutor | Human private tutor |
|---|---|---|
| When you practise | On demand, day or night, with internet access and available minutes | By appointment, depending on the tutor’s schedule |
| How long you practise | A short five-minute practice or a longer session, up to 60 minutes per session | Session lengths and minimum bookings vary by provider |
| Where you meet | On your iPhone, wherever you can comfortably speak | Online or in person; travel may add time or cost |
| Personal attention | One-to-one AI conversation informed by your goals and progress | One-to-one teaching with human judgment, experience, and rapport |
| What you work on | Adaptive practice, review, and roleplay around your goals | A tutor can customise the lesson and bring specialist expertise |
US prices checked September 6, 2026. Local App Store prices may differ. Monthly minutes expire at renewal; unused minutes increase the effective hourly cost. Internet access, account eligibility, and service availability apply.
READY TO SPEAK
A useful conversation is a good place to start.
Continue in Glottie with the matching language pair. Choose the situations that matter to you and build regular speaking practice around your goals.
YOUR QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Getting more from your personal language tutor.
How does conversation help me learn French?
Speaking asks you to understand another person, recall words, and express your own meaning. Glottie gives you practice doing those things together, with explanations and chances to try again. Research on interaction and oral feedback supports this approach. Reading and vocabulary study can complement it, but spoken practice directly exercises the skill you want to use in conversation.
How quickly can I improve my spoken French?
Your starting point, practice, and goals all affect how quickly you improve. Glottie helps you use your time purposefully: speak regularly, work at an appropriate challenge, review what needs attention, and connect lessons to your life. We do not claim that it makes you fluent twice as fast as another app or a human tutor; that would require a direct study of Glottie learners.
Is this a real person or an AI tutor?
You are speaking with an AI tutor using OpenAI’s Realtime speech-to-speech technology. It can hold a natural voice conversation and respond to your questions. Glottie supplies the learning path and memory around that conversation. It is not a human, and it can make mistakes; it does not replace every kind of support or expertise a human teacher can offer.
Which languages does the demo on this page use?
The demo uses French, with English for explanations, as an example. Its target variety is French as spoken in France. Choose an available language pair in the app to make your own lessons relevant to the conversations you want to have.
Will the tutor remember my goals and progress?
Glottie carries useful learner-supplied preferences and goals between lessons, alongside your practice and progress. That helps the tutor choose relevant examples, revisit difficult material, and plan the next challenge. Tell it what matters to you, and correct it if a preference or goal has changed.
Can lessons focus on my family, job, or a specific industry?
Yes. Tell Glottie about the conversations you want to have: speaking with your partner’s family, caring for your child, settling abroad, or discussing a project with colleagues. You can ask to practise vocabulary, phrases, and roleplay related to your work. Revisit a useful topic over several lessons, then try the same language in a new situation.
Can I use Glottie as a complete beginner?
Yes. Choose A0 if you are starting from scratch, then select a plan to begin. You can use English for help, ask the tutor to slow down, and practice small exchanges before longer conversations. Your selected level is a starting preference, not a test result.
Can I practise for five minutes, and is it available at night?
You can start on demand, day or night, with an internet connection and available minutes. Stop after a short practice or continue for up to 60 minutes in one session. Paid sessions require at least five minutes of credit to start. Plans have minute allowances; practice is not unlimited and service availability can vary.
How does the price compare with a private language tutor?
Glottie’s US plans are $19.99 for 40 monthly minutes, $49.99 for 100, and $99.99 for 240. Using all the Essential or Steady minutes works out to approximately $30 per hour. The illustrated private-tutor example is Petra Zanki’s published $100/hour online rate in New York: Glottie costs about a third as much in this comparison. Other tutors may charge less, and unused monthly minutes increase Glottie’s effective hourly cost. Current local pricing appears in the App Store.
Can I try a conversation before downloading the app?
When the website demo is available, choose a situation on this page and start a short AI conversation. Your browser asks for microphone permission, and your audio goes to OpenAI to provide the conversation. The demo is limited and may be unavailable when its daily allowance is used. Download Glottie for the full learning experience and ongoing progress.
