I built an AI speaking partner because language apps kept teaching me to pass tests, not talk

I built an AI speaking partner because language apps kept teaching me to pass tests, not talk So here's the thing. I've been "learning" English for 15 years. Fifteen. Years. I can read technical documentation without a dictionary. I can write emails that sound professional enough. I even scored pretty well on standardized tests back in the day. But put me in an actual conversation with a native speaker? My brain turns to soup. I freeze. I stumble over basic words I've known since middle school. I rehearse sentences in my head that never actually come out right. That's the moment I realized something was fundamentally broken about how most of us learn languages. The problem nobody talks about Real talk: most language learning apps are really good at teaching you to be good at... language learning apps. They gamify vocabulary. They quiz you on grammar rules. They track your streak and give you badges. And you feel like you're making progress because the numbers go up. But here's what act