B1 Carna School London
Reading Quiz
A long-read comprehension check — one passage, then questions on main idea, detail and inference, closing with vocabulary in context.
ALTERNATIVES TO SPEAK
Alternatives to the Speak app for English learners
Speak is built for speaking, and speaking is one skill of eight. Here is what to check.
Speak drills conversation out loud Three reasons people leave, each tied to a row in the dated comparison The Speak column checked May 2026, and dated on this page Schools and teams run on Carna today; individuals join the early-access list
| Question | Speak | Carna |
|---|---|---|
| Use Speak when speaking is your only goal and you are already conversational. | ||
| Use Carna when you need a full curriculum: reading, writing, listening, grammar, vocabulary and speaking, each with its own score, from A1 to C2. | ||
| All eight skills | No | Yes |
| Full A1 to C2 curriculum | No | Yes |
See all 7 rows Checked May 2026; free plan and price on 27 September 2026
— WHY PEOPLE LEAVE
Three reasons, and what to check.
These are the reasons learners look elsewhere. Under each is the question from the comparison that tests it, answered for Speak and for Carna as checked in May 2026.
-
Speaking only
Speak is built around speaking, and writing is not evaluated there, so learners who want complete English often add other apps.
What to check All eight skills
- Speak
- No
- Carna
- Yes
-
No structured curriculum
Speak's conversation loops are engaging, and its column in the comparison has no A1 to C2 curriculum to measure overall progress against.
What to check Full A1 to C2 curriculum
- Speak
- No
- Carna
- Yes
-
Exam prep missing
IELTS and TOEFL test all four skills; Speak prepares one of them.
What to check IELTS / TOEFL exam prep
- Speak
- No
- Carna
- Partly
- An IELTS band on a practice grading, not a course
— SIDE BY SIDE
What to check before you switch.
The same questions we ask of every app, answered for Speak and for Carna. Where Carna falls short, its column says so.
| Feature | Speak | Carna |
|---|---|---|
| What you learn | ||
| All eight skills | No | Yes |
| Full A1 to C2 curriculum | No | Yes |
| Real conversation practice | Yes | Yes . Live speaking practice with Mia, the AI tutor |
| Pronunciation feedback | Yes | Yes . Scored from your own voice, one of eight skills |
| Essay & writing evaluation | No | Yes . Writing scored by AI on four criteria |
| IELTS / TOEFL exam prep | No | Partly . An IELTS band on a practice grading, not a course |
| How you get it | ||
| Free tier, no credit card | No . A 7-day trial | No . The app will open with a free plan |
Running in schools today
The path the speaking sits on.
A speaking app gives you the loop; Carna gives you the curriculum around it. In Carna for Schools, which runs today, every module a student is assigned wears its CEFR level and the list runs soonest due first, so a learner always knows which rung of the A1 to C2 ladder they are working on.
A student's Learn screen in Carna for Schools: the assigned modules, each with its CEFR level and the skills it works on, sorted by due date. Carna School London is a sample school; the names, courses, levels and scores are demo data.
— THE FIELD
Where the other options sit.
Alternatives to Speak come in four kinds, and each kind has a strength. Carna is one option among them: a structured English tutor with an A1 to C2 path, in early access for individuals and running in schools and teams today.
Which alternative to Speak fits you?
- If you want the rest of the curriculum around the speaking, Babbel, Rosetta Stone and Lingoda each teach a full A1 to C2 curriculum, as Carna does.
- If exams are the goal, Praktika, italki and Lingoda offer exam lessons, where Speak's column has none.
- If you want to keep AI conversation but change apps, Praktika, Loora and TalkPal answer yes to it too.
- If you want writing scored as well as speaking, the Carna app, which is in early access, scores it by AI on four criteria, beside seven other skills.
- Free
- 7-day trial
- Paid, from
- $17.99 a month (US App Store)
Checked on 27 September 2026 on speak.com.
-
AI speaking apps
Speak is here
Apps built around speaking out loud to an AI: drills, scenarios and accent work.
-
Language-learning apps
Course and vocabulary apps for many languages, with English as one of them.
-
Live tutor marketplaces
Human tutors and classes booked by the hour or on a timetable.
-
General tools and round-ups
A general assistant used for English, and the round-up of the popular apps.
FAQ
Common questions.
Straight answers about Speak and Carna, including what the individual tutor cannot do yet.
Is Carna's speaking feature as good as Speak's?
Speak is built around speaking loops and has a polished interface for them. Carna has conversation too: in the Carna app, which is in early access, you talk a situation through live with Mia, its AI tutor. It scores speaking as one of eight skills and puts the writing, reading and listening around it. Their strength is the loop; ours is the whole curriculum.
Can I start with Carna today?
Not as an individual: the Carna app is in early access, and the early-access list is the way in. Schools and teams run on Carna today and can book a demo.
What is the main reason to choose Carna over Speak?
If your goal is speaking only, Speak is a focused tool. If you want writing, reading and listening scored too, on a structured path from A1 to C2, that is what Carna is built for.
EARLY ACCESS
Ready for the switch?
Weighing alternatives to Speak? Carna's personal tutor is not open to individual learners yet: leave your name on the early-access list and we write once, when it opens. Schools and teams run on Carna today and can book a demo.