10 Golden Rules

These rules apply to every session — lessons, assessments, and practice drills. They address the most common causes of poor results, inaccurate scores, and technical problems.

Rule 1 — Use a quiet room

Microphones pick up fans, TV, music, and background conversation. Any sound that reaches your microphone can cause the AI to misinterpret your speech, cut you off mid-sentence, or produce duplicate transcript lines.

Close windows during high-traffic hours. Rooms with soft furnishings (carpet, curtains, sofas) absorb echo and produce noticeably cleaner audio than bare-walled spaces.

Rule 2 — Speak in complete sentences

The AI tutor is trained on natural conversational speech. One-word or one-phrase answers give it very little signal to analyse. Even a simple answer like "I think it's a good idea because it saves time" is far more useful than "Yes".

Complete sentences also produce better feedback metrics — word share, average words per turn, and response coverage all improve when answers are full sentences.

Rule 3 — Keep going after a mistake

Real fluency is not about speaking without errors — it is about recovering from them smoothly. If you stumble, correct yourself mid-sentence and continue: "I went to, sorry, I visited the market last weekend."

Restarting breaks the conversational rhythm, skews your timing metrics, and tells the AI less about your natural speaking patterns. The ability to self-correct in real time is itself a fluency marker.

Rule 4 — Press on through brief audio issues

Voice AI processes speech in short chunks. A 1–3 second lag is normal on a standard home connection. Finish your sentence, wait 2–3 seconds, and the session will usually catch up.

Only press Disconnect if audio is still broken after 10 seconds of complete silence. See the Troubleshooting guide for what to do if disconnections are frequent.

Rule 5 — Allow microphone access before you Connect

The browser will request microphone permission the first time you start a session. Grant it before you press Connect.

If you accidentally deny it:

1. Click the padlock icon in your browser's address bar.
2. Find the Microphone setting and change it to Allow.
3. Refresh the page.

On mobile: Settings → Privacy → Microphone → [Your Browser] → Allow.

Rule 6 — Do not talk over the AI tutor

Voice AI uses silence detection to determine when you have finished speaking. If you start talking while the tutor is still speaking, the AI may cut off, and both your speech and the tutor's may be merged in the transcript.

Wait until the tutor finishes and there is a clear pause before you answer. If the tutor never seems to pause, try switching to Push-to-Talk mode (PTT button in the toolbar) — the AI only listens while you hold the button.

Rule 7 — One focused session per day

A single 10–15 minute session with full attention beats an hour of passive or distracted practice. After the session, review your feedback before starting the next one.

The review is not optional. Acting on one piece of feedback per session is what turns practice time into measurable improvement.

Rule 8 — Treat IELTS assessments like the real exam

Sit up. Speak as you would in front of a certified examiner. Avoid looking at your phone or other tabs.

The quality of the simulation directly affects how useful the band estimate is. A relaxed, distracted mock gives you a score that does not reflect what you would produce under real exam conditions.

Rule 9 — Repeat corrected phrases immediately

When the AI suggests a better way to express something, say the improved version out loud before moving on. Three repetitions immediately after the correction is the minimum.

Passive reading of corrections produces almost no retention. Speaking the corrected phrase in context — in the same session where the correction occurred — is what makes it stick.

Rule 10 — Contact support if problems persist

Occasional glitches are normal in voice AI. A single disconnection, a slightly off band score, or one session where the transcript looks unusual is not cause for concern.

If you experience repeated disconnections, audio that never starts, or scores that seem consistently and significantly inaccurate across multiple sessions, use the Help link in the footer to contact support.

Next: FAQ — answers to the most common questions about SpeakNow.