On 24 April (Friday), NEXT Park × High 5 Cafe successfully hosted its latest session at NEXT Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
Themed “How AI Is Transforming IELTS Speaking Education”, the event invited Mr. Vincent Lin, Founder of AcademyHAI, to share practical insights on the integration of artificial intelligence and language education, exploring how AI technologies are reshaping traditional IELTS speaking training methods.
The session was delivered through a hybrid format combining an in-person seminar and multi-platform livestreaming, attracting a total of 308 online viewers. The strong engagement further demonstrated the effectiveness and reach of the High 5 Cafe online-offline integrated model.
The event was moderated by Andy Liu, Deputy Secretary-General of NEXT Federation, Executive Secretary-General of the New Zealand China Commerce & Innovation Hubs, and host of the High 5 Cafe series.
From “More Practice” to Better Feedback: Addressing the Core Challenge of IELTS Speaking Improvement
At the beginning of the session, Mr. Lin highlighted a common challenge faced by many IELTS candidates: despite investing significant time in speaking practice, many students struggle to achieve meaningful score improvements.
He explained that the issue is often not a lack of effort, but rather a structural weakness in the feedback mechanism.
Traditional speaking training relies heavily on individual teacher experience, making it difficult to provide frequent, consistent, and scalable feedback. Particularly for students aiming to progress beyond Band 6, improvement depends less on repetitive practice and more on precise feedback, language optimisation, and a structured learning pathway.
AI Scoring Systems: From “Mock Examiner” to a Reliable Learning Reference
Addressing one of the most discussed topics — AI-based IELTS scoring — Mr. Lin introduced an intelligent IELTS speaking platform developed by his team.
The platform is designed to:
- Simulate the complete IELTS Speaking test process (Parts 1–3);
- Provide automated scoring and detailed performance analysis;
- Generate personalised i+1 language improvement recommendations;
- Support recording review and comparative learning.
Based on internal testing results, the AI scoring system has achieved a stable scoring difference within ±0.5 bands compared with human examiner assessments. In areas such as grammar recognition and detailed language corrections, AI has demonstrated strong sensitivity and analytical capability.
Unlike traditional mock tests that focus only on final scores, the AI-powered system emphasises continuous feedback and personalised learning pathways, helping students move from Band 5.5 towards Band 7+ through systematic improvement rather than isolated practice sessions.
From Tool to System: Building a Complete Learning Loop
The key value of the AI application lies not only in the technology itself, but also in the underlying educational system design.
By integrating teaching methodologies, learning data, and AI capabilities, the platform creates a complete education ecosystem:
For students:
Flexible practice anytime, instant feedback, and a clear improvement pathway.
For teachers:
Data-driven student profiles, reduced repetitive correction work, and more time for high-value teaching.
For education providers:
Teaching management systems and improved operational efficiency.
For researchers:
Traceable language learning data to support assessment research and educational innovation.
This approach addresses one of the biggest challenges in traditional speaking education — the difficulty of scaling high-quality teaching — and enables more consistent and replicable learning outcomes.
AI Does Not Replace Teachers — It Amplifies Their Capabilities
When discussing whether AI would replace teachers, Mr. Lin shared a clear perspective:
“AI will not replace teachers, but it will replace inefficient teaching methods and outdated learning models.”
With AI assistance, teachers can move beyond repetitive tasks such as marking assignments and correcting basic language errors, becoming more focused on learning strategy design, personalised guidance, and higher-level skill development.
Technology provides efficiency, consistency, and data support, while teachers continue to play the essential role of making strategic educational decisions and inspiring learners.
Building the Future of Education Through AI Innovation
This High 5 Cafe session not only showcased the practical application of AI in IELTS speaking education, but also raised a broader question:
Does educational growth come from “more practice”, or from “better systems”?
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into education, language learning is shifting from experience-driven approaches to data-driven methodologies, and from individual teaching capability towards scalable educational systems.
Through the “Space + Incubation + Investment” model, NEXT Park × High 5 Cafe will continue to create an open and professional platform for knowledge exchange, resource connection, and cross-sector collaboration.
By bringing together innovators, entrepreneurs, educators, and industry leaders, the platform aims to promote cooperation across technology, education, assets, and capital, while exploring new possibilities together.
For more information, please visit: www.nextpark.nz
