How to Practice Speaking English When You're Alone 

Problem & Solution

As a former English language teacher, I frequently heard from students that they struggled to practice speaking English outside of class, especially when they didn’t have a conversation partner. This lack of speaking practice often slowed their progress and led to frustration.

To help address this common challenge, I created a short, animated microlearning video that shares three practical, research-informed strategies for practicing spoken English independently. These are the techniques I’ve seen work best for my students, and I wanted to make them accessible to a broader audience of English learners around the world.

My Process

Since I was already familiar with the learner problem and effective solutions from my experience as an English language teacher, I skipped additional analysis and moved straight into designing and developing. I knew from the start that I wanted to create a short, animated video in Vyond, as the format is good for creating quick, engaging, and visually appealing microlearning content.

I first created a simple but intentional style guide to establish the visual direction for the video. This included a soft, professional color palette, playful-yet-legible font pairings, and clear specifications for text sizes and colors. The goal was to keep the video engaging while maintaining visual consistency and readability throughout.

I also developed a text-based storyboard that mapped out each scene’s narration, visuals, and on-screen text to ensure that the content flowed logically and supported the learning objectives.

I used mostly built-in assets in Vyond, customizing colors to align with the style guide. I also brought in a few supplementary graphics from Freepik, which I edited in Adobe Illustrator to ensure they matched the animation’s visual style. I developed the animation frame by frame, paying close attention to transitions and visual flow to ensure a smooth and polished experience.

Once the visuals were complete, I generated the voiceover using Eleven Labs. I experimented with prompt settings to achieve a tone and pace that matched the friendly, supportive feel I was aiming for. To elevate the experience further, I sourced background music from Pixabay and edited it in Adobe Audition so that it ducked in and out naturally with the voiceover.

Finally, I imported the finished video into Articulate Storyline to add closed captions and ensure accessibility for all learners.