Hey Tichi

16/10/2026

A private rehearsal can be the first step toward a human conversation.
Research: "Understanding How International Students in the U.S. Are Using Conversational AI to Support Cross-Cultural Adaptation"
Type: Mixed-methods arXiv preprint (2026)
Interviewees described using AI to avoid feeling they were bothering others with repeated questions.
The authors discuss AI as a buffer before real social encounters.
For Tichi, this suggests practising what to say before meeting a classmate, adviser, or neighbour.
The intended destination is participation in everyday life.
We still need to test whether rehearsal makes those encounters easier for our users.
Where would a few minutes of practice help someone take the next social step?

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11/10/2026

Knowing a word and finding it mid-conversation are different skills.
Research: “An AI-powered conversational system for college students learning English as a second language”
Type: Comparative experimental study (2025), 56 Chinese college learners; short intervention, fixed/free-use conditions.
The study reported advantages on some vocabulary and speaking measures for bot users.
Its dialogue setting gave learners opportunities to use language in context.
For Tichi, the implication is to explore vocabulary through situations learners actually face.
Introducing yourself, explaining a problem, or asking a follow-up question gives a word a purpose.
Whether that practice transfers to everyday conversation needs its own evaluation.
What word do your learners recognize instantly but struggle to use aloud?

10/10/2026

A language lesson can be finished without a real conversation ever beginning.

Research: "An AI-powered conversational system for college students learning English as a second language"

Type: Comparative experimental study (2025), 56 Chinese college learners; short intervention, fixed/free-use conditions.

The researchers compared a conversational bot with a listen-and-repeat interface.

Their short study reported stronger engagement under voluntary use.

For Tichi, this raises a design question: can practice feel worth starting without a classroom requirement?

We are building an embodied AI companion for language practice.

The opportunity is to invite learners into an exchange where their answers shape what happens next. SK Prime Technologies

Would you measure a learning product by completed exercises or conversations learners choose to start?

Source: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-025-13640-3

08/10/2026

What if the biggest barrier to speaking English isn’t grammar or vocabulary, but confidence?

I recently read a 2026 study in the European Journal of Education about AI-powered robots in language learning, and one finding really caught my attention.

Researchers studied 224 university students over 10 weeks and found that learners practicing with an AI robot reported higher self-efficacy (the belief that they can successfully communicate).

The results were interesting:

Traditional learning: 31.68
AI robot learning: 33.27

Even more interesting, self-efficacy explained around 13.3% of the robot intervention’s total effect on speaking performance.

For me, this connects directly to what we’re building with Tichi.

Learning a language isn’t just about knowing the right words. It’s also about feeling confident enough to actually use them.

That’s why we want Tichi to be more than a robot that corrects mistakes. We want it to be a speaking companion that encourages people to practice, make mistakes, try again, and gradually build confidence.

Because knowing English and feeling confident enough to speak it are two different things.

Research: Zhang, B. (2026), European Journal of Education
https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70830

26/09/2026

Moving to a new country as a student is more than just changing universities.

For many international students, one of the biggest challenges after migration is communication. You may know English, understand grammar, and have a good vocabulary — but speaking confidently in real-life situations can still be difficult.

From talking to classmates and professors to making new friends, networking, finding a job, and becoming part of a new society, language plays an important role in almost every part of student life.

That’s where Tichi comes in. 🤖

Tichi is being developed as an AI-powered language companion that gives students a physical, interactive partner to practice speaking with — anytime, without the pressure or fear of making mistakes.

Our goal is not to replace teachers. It’s to give students more opportunities to speak, practice, build confidence, and feel more connected after moving to a new country.

Because sometimes, adapting to a new country starts with something as simple as feeling confident enough to speak. 💬🌍

Tichi is coming.

For many international students, one of the biggest challenges afte...

24/09/2026

Why build a physical AI robot when learners can already talk to AI on a screen?

A 2026 study by Biyun Zhang offers an interesting perspective.

Instead of simply using an AI chatbot, students interacted with NAO — an AI-powered robot acting as a speaking peer.

The robot spoke, used body movements, and interacted directly with learners during speaking exercises.

That’s what makes embodied AI interesting.

It’s not only about how intelligent AI can become, but also:

How natural can interacting with AI become?

That’s exactly what we’re exploring with Tichi.

Imagine simply saying:

“Hey Tichi…”

and starting a conversation with an AI companion physically present in the room.

The study doesn’t prove that embodiment alone caused better learning outcomes, but it strengthens the case for exploring embodied AI as an educational interface — especially for skills like speaking, where interaction matters.

Because at some point, to learn to speak…

you have to speak.

Research: Zhang, B. (2026), European Journal of Education

22/09/2026

Can an AI-powered robot actually help people speak a foreign language better?

A new 2026 study published in the European Journal of Education gives us some interesting evidence.

Researchers studied 224 university EFL learners over a 10-week period.

They were divided into two groups:

• 123 learners practiced speaking with an AI-powered NAO robot
• 101 learners followed conventional speaking instruction

The robot was not simply giving students information.

It acted as an interactive speaking partner.

Students spoke directly with it, answered questions, practiced pronunciation, repeated sentences and received immediate feedback.

When a student made a mistake, the robot could correct the pronunciation, model the correct response and encourage the learner to try again.

The control group worked on similar speaking activities, but through traditional methods such as teacher-led exercises, textbook conversations, drills and pair work. Euro J of Education - 2026 - Zhang - The Impact of AI%E2%80%90Powered Robots on Speaking Skills Exploring the Mediator Role of.pdf

And the results are worth looking at.

The average speaking score of the robot group moved from:

18.19 → 18.98

while the control group’s raw average moved from:

17.78 → 17.67

More importantly, after researchers statistically controlled for the students’ initial speaking levels, robot-assisted instruction still had a significant positive effect on speaking performance. Euro J of Education - 2026 - Zhang - The Impact of AI%E2%80%90Powered Robots on Speaking Skills Exploring the Mediator Role of.pdf

This is especially interesting to us at Tichi.

Tichi is based on a similar idea:

Language learners often know vocabulary and grammar.

What they are missing is something much simpler:

someone — or something — they can actually speak with.

An embodied AI can potentially become a speaking partner that is available whenever the learner wants to practice.

No appointment.

No fear of making a mistake in front of the class.

No need to wait for the teacher to have time.

Just:

Speak → get feedback → try again → improve.

This study doesn’t prove that every AI robot will automatically improve language learning.

But it provides strong evidence for something we deeply believe in at Tichi:

AI becomes much more interesting for language learning when it moves from simply answering questions to actively creating opportunities for conversation.

That is the difference between an AI tool and an AI speaking companion.

Research: Zhang, B. (2026), European Journal of Education.

16/08/2026

This time, we spoke with a university student in Germany about the challenges he faced after moving abroad — especially the language barrier and adapting to a new environment. We also explored how Tichi can play an important role in making language learning easier, more natural, and more interactive.

Watch the full video on YouTube 👇🏻👇🏻

https://youtu.be/eLwJSzD1lqs?is=ybRcVil13kDofFO4



https://youtu.be/eLwJSzD1lqs?is=fflBtWeEQudavJcR

This time, we spoke with a university student in Germany about the ...

10/08/2026

I had an interview with a student from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. We talked about the challenges students face when learning and speaking a new language, and how Tichi can help them practice, communicate, and improve their language skills.
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

https://youtu.be/D8c-v7dsOGc?is=maqZSG7EMaUVHwoe

I had an interview with a student from the University of Amsterdam ...

02/08/2026

After spending 13 years in the UK, our guest made the unexpected decision to move back to Iran. In this interview, he shares his personal immigration journey, the challenges he faced, and the lessons he learned along the way.

Today, he is an English teacher who specializes in helping students build both language skills and the confidence they need for studying abroad, finding jobs, and adapting to life in a new country.

We also discuss why confidence is often more important than perfect grammar, and how TICHI, our AI language companion, can help learners prepare before and after immigration through realistic, judgment-free conversations.

💬 If you’re planning to study, work, or migrate abroad, this conversation is for you.

Watch the full interview on our Youtube channel
Link:

https://youtu.be/s-eWir7Zv38?is=y6vXOIhzewcNKLLr