Sensay Review: The AI-Powered Solution To Learning English

Duolingo and Babbel better watch out – a unique AI platform is revolutionizing the way people learn English. In this article, I'll discuss how Sensay is redefining language learning as we speak.

John Angelo Yap

Updated April 30, 2024

students learning how to speak english, generated with Midjourney

students learning how to speak english, generated with Midjourney

Reading Time: 6 minutes

English isn’t the language with the most native speakers, but it’s the language with the most speakers because of non-native speakers. What this means is that there are already a significant amount of English learners today, and — as we’re nearing a more globally-inclusive society — we can expect more in the future.

As society evolves, so does learning. There is now a strong need for a technological solution to language learning, which we’re already seeing in the popularity of Duolingo and Babbel. 

However, what is missing in these applications is the intimacy provided by critical teacher and school elements. With the sudden emergence of ChatGPT, we’re already starting to see the implementation of AI in various industries, even in learning English.

Enter Sensay: an AI-powered solution to teaching and learning English. Today, we’ll be talking about what Sensay is, what its benefits are, who it is for, and what exactly makes it stand out against other language learning platforms.

What is Sensay?

Sensay is a language learning platform that uses artificial intelligence to streamline and maximize English speech practice for students. It’s created by a diverse team of passionate educators and developers with a deep understanding of the pitfalls of teaching a second language in a non-immersive environment.

The focus of this web application is to create an interactive solution to learning English, with an emphasis on speaking. Think of it as the intersection between Kahoot! and Grammarly.

Who Is Sensay For?

Sensay serves both learners and teachers of the English language. In fact, it’s already partnered with Emma Lazarus High School, one of the top public schools in the United States, particularly catering to a high immigrant population. Sensay is even being utilized as an English pronunciation training tool for a Fortune 500 energy provider. For these learners and thousands more, Sensay provides an exceptional environment for learning by enhancing English exposure, even for students who might have limited access to speakers within their communities.

With Sensay, students of all ages and teachers have a dedicated interface that streamlines their activities. This design not only enhances the learning experience but also facilitates the teaching process, ensuring more efficient education for both learners and educators.

How Sensay Works

Learning English shouldn’t be difficult, and Sensay makes it so much easier. Apps can also be a hassle to use with students both in or outside a classroom environment. Sensay is a website, so there is no need to download anything.

We’ve also heard that it’s daunting for some educators to start teaching because of so many steps — their eyes glaze over and never actually get to the “aha” moment of seeing a student talking, having fun, and their excitement in getting feedback. 

“No more,” says Sensay. These are the steps you should follow in using their website.

For Educators

Step 1: Create A Class
Step 2: Invite Students
Step 3: Create Lessons
Step 4: Create Exercises
Step 5: Share with Students

However, some might find that vague. Fortunately, Sensay has a complete tutorial on how to set up their platform as a teacher on their YouTube channel:

For Learners

Step 1: Register An Account
Step 2: View Lessons and Assignments
Step 3: Submit Your Recordings and View Results Instantly
Step 4: Review lessons and re-record anytime

It’s that easy with Sensay. If you’re having a hard time following those steps, simply use this video from their YouTube as a guide on how to use their platform as a student:

Sensay’s Key Features

Inclusive and Accessible English Speaking Practice

One of the biggest pain points that Sensay addresses is that learning English can be difficult considering that learners may have limited access to materials that would expose them to the English language.

Sensay is always interactive, regardless if it’s used inside or outside the classroom. It has some gamification elements, such as scores and graphics, which boosts learner engagement.

As a teacher, you have complete control over your students’ learning roadmap. You can create lessons and exercises which are appropriate to their current level of English speaking.

On the other hand, you also have access to their “Practice Packs.” These are ready-made lessons and exercises that you can instantly utilize in any of your classes. Some of these are seasonal (Christmas Packs, Chinese New Year Packs) and others are for your students’ learning level (Kindergarten, Similar Words).

You can also easily track your students’ progress to identify pain points for each of them. This gives you an overview of your students’ growth and equips you with an analytics section which includes a breakdown of their learning in English words, syllables, and phonemes. You can even leave a comment on a specific task which the learner can view any time.

To learn more about this, you can check out their video on how to check student progress on their platform.

AI-Powered Learning

Learning doesn’t stop at the four walls of a classroom for Sensay. Equipped with AI, students can also receive instant feedback on their speaking assignments with Sensay. This is especially useful as a form of exposure learning, which allows students to study speaking English confidently even in their homes.

What’s Next On Sensay’s Roadmap?

Sensay doesn’t stop at “good enough.” Instead, they’re always looking to evolve to enhance the English learning experience. Some of the features they’re looking to deploy over the next few months are leaderboards, interactive games, and better speaking exercise content. 

They also plan to leverage generative AI to create new exercises, ensuring continuous and consistent learning for students.

Pros & Cons of Sensay

PROS

CONS

  • A user-friendly platform for both learners and instructors

  • Customization. Teachers can make various selections based on their students’ ages, skill levels, and needs, such as the report type, scoring type, exercise type, and more.

  • Sensay has some gamification elements which ensures that students are engaged.

  • It’s AI-powered without losing its human aspect.

  • A robust admin role functionality for better learning management.

  • Learning analytics to get a better overview of the learners’ progress.

  • Extensive and instant pronunciation feedback for learners.

  • Free trial.

  • The analytics dashboard isn’t optimized for viewing on mobile, and could leave some teachers overwhelmed.

  • No set pricing.

In A Nutshell

Learning a language is more essential now than it’s ever been. However, with so many applications focusing only on learning how to read and translate — Sensay stands out for its inclusive and instant learning specifically aimed at listening, speaking and pronunciation.

Sensay does more than teach young (and young at heart) students how to speak English, it also instills in them the confidence of speaking a language different than their own. It also manages to turn learning into a habit with AI-powered teaching, as this allows learners to complete exercises and receive feedback anytime, anywhere. 

This is what makes Sensay special. This is what makes Sensay worth it.

For more information on how to use this exceptional application, you can always visit their website and get in touch with their team, or watch tutorials on their YouTube channel.

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Written by John Angelo Yap

Hi, I'm Angelo. I'm currently an undergraduate student studying Software Engineering. Now, you might be wondering, what is a computer science student doing writing for Gold Penguin? I took up studying computer science because it was practical and because I was good at it. But, if I had the chance, I'd be writing for a career. Building worlds and adjectivizing nouns for no other reason other than they sound good. And that's why I'm here.

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