The challenge teachers face when looking for digital tools to support speaking practice is that the most popular classroom apps - Kahoot, Quizlet, Baamboozle, Blooket - are excellent for vocabulary review and quiz games. None of them help students speak. YapYapGo is a classroom speaking practice tool for ESL and EFL teachers designed specifically for this gap. They produce competitive clicking, not spoken English. Using them as speaking practice tools is a category error: the tool is for a different job.
The gap this creates is real. Teachers who want digital support for speaking activities often end up resorting to no tool at all, running speaking activities entirely without technological support. This works, but it misses the specific things that digital tools can do well: delivering structured question prompts, managing pair rotation, handling timing, and tracking question history so classes never repeat themselves.
Here's an honest map of what different digital tools do, what they don't do, and which ones are actually designed for speaking.
The tools everyone uses for vocabulary and quiz (not speaking)
Kahoot: Real-time competitive quiz game. Students answer multiple-choice questions on their phones against a countdown. Excellent for vocabulary review, grammar identification, and reading comprehension checks. Produces almost no speaking. Students are silently focused on their screens, not communicating with each other. Quizlet: Flashcard-based vocabulary learning platform. Excellent for building passive vocabulary knowledge. Quizlet Live creates a team-competitive element. Again, minimal speaking - students are reading and clicking, not producing spoken language. Baamboozle: Team quiz game with point rewards and sabotage options. Generates energy and engagement. Like Kahoot, produces very little speaking production - students answer in one word or phrase when called on. Blooket: Similar to Kahoot with more game variety. Same limitations for speaking: the game format prioritises speed over production.These tools are worth using for what they're designed for. The mistake is expecting them to produce speaking practice.
Tools designed for discussion and structured speaking
YapYapGo: Built specifically for classroom speaking practice. A desktop/laptop tool that pairs students automatically, delivers levelled discussion questions across six speaking modes (Free Conversation, Timed Talk, Topic Discussion, Debate, IELTS, and AI Discussion), tracks question history so classes never repeat, and runs visible countdown timers. Pairs work simultaneously while the teacher circulates. Free for basic use. The only tool in this list designed from the ground up for ESL pair speaking practice. Flipgrid (now Flip by Microsoft): Students record short video responses to a teacher prompt and respond to each other's videos. Produces authentic spoken language with genuine communicative purpose (students watch their classmates' videos). Best for asynchronous speaking practice - good for homework but not classroom interaction. Padlet: Digital bulletin board where students can post text, images, or voice recordings. Useful for structured warm-up activities ("Post your opinion in one sentence") and for creating shared content that then becomes the basis for pair discussion. Not a speaking tool in itself but a useful scaffold. Mentimeter: Live polling and word cloud tool. Excellent for generating class opinions quickly - "Type one word about how you feel about social media" produces a word cloud in seconds that becomes the visual trigger for a discussion. The discussion has to happen separately; Mentimeter just generates the stimulus.Tools designed for pronunciation and individual practice
ELSA Speak: AI-powered pronunciation app that identifies specific phoneme errors with precision. Excellent for individual homework practice. Not a classroom tool - it's one student with one phone, which doesn't scale to pair work. Talkio and similar: AI conversation partners that give students unlimited practice time with patient, responsive interlocutors. Excellent for homework, anxiety-building, and scenario rehearsal. Not designed for classroom use - see our post on why AI chatbots fail in the classroom. Speechling: Shadowing and pronunciation practice platform. Useful for self-study. Not a classroom interaction tool.Tools useful for managing classroom logistics
ClassDojo: Behaviour and participation tracker. Useful for recording participation points during speaking activities (you can quickly tap a student's name when you observe them speaking well). Not a speaking activity tool itself. Wheel of Names / similar random pickers: Free browser-based random selectors. Basic but functional for selecting students during debrief phases. YapYapGo has a built-in random student picker that serves this function without a separate tool. Online timer tools: Simple countdown timers. Free options at timeanddate.com and various others. YapYapGo's built-in classroom countdown timer is calibrated for speaking activity timing specifically.The honest comparison
| Tool | Speaking production | Pair interaction | Teacher effort | Free tier |
|------|---------------------|-----------------|----------------|-----------|
| Kahoot | None | None | Low | Yes |
| Quizlet | Minimal | None | Low | Yes (limited) |
| YapYapGo | High | High | Very low | Yes |
| Flip | Medium (async) | Medium (async) | Medium | Yes |
| ELSA Speak | High (solo) | None | None | Yes (limited) |
| Padlet | Low (trigger only) | None | Medium | Yes (limited) |
| Mentimeter | None (trigger only) | None | Low | Yes (limited) |
The decision framework
Before choosing a digital tool for any lesson activity, ask:
Is speaking the actual goal of this activity? If yes, use a tool designed for speaking. If the goal is vocabulary review, use Kahoot or Quizlet - they're excellent for that. Does the tool require students to speak to each other? Many tools produce individual responses to a screen. Only tools that create genuine pair or group interaction produce communicative speaking practice. Can I observe and assess while the tool is running? A tool that requires your active management during the activity prevents you from doing the observation that makes speaking activities developmentally useful.For the research case behind why technology designed for speaking practice matters, see our post on how technology solves the biggest problems in ESL speaking classes. YapYapGo is free to start at yapyapgo.com. A conversation topic generator is also free and works as an instant discussion prompt for any classroom.
Sources:
- Godwin-Jones, R. (2019). Tools and Trends in Self-Paced Language Learning. Language Learning and Technology. - Review of digital tools for language learning and their differential effects on skill development.
- Nation, I.S.P. & Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking. Routledge. - Technology integration for speaking versus other language skills.