Spoken practice and honest feedback for your English B

We all know this one from the booth. Under pressure, you reach for the safer phrase, the simpler word, the one you know won't go wrong. You said what you could, not what you would have liked. CreamTea helps you close that gap.

Feedback
Whatever you do in CreamTea, you get feedback. After each session you see what landed and what to work on next. The useful bits end up in your Takeaways: expressions worth trying, things to work on, and what was going on between the lines (cultural references, irony, etc.). Most sessions also show how you sounded, down to individual sounds, against British or American English. CreamTea remembers what keeps tripping you up and what you’re working on - and brings it back in later conversations.

There are no lessons, no levels, no drills.
Everything is spoken, in real time, and there are four modes.

No Sugar (served without softening)
Probably the one interpreters will find most useful, and it's the one I use most myself. You give a speech or read something aloud, for up to five minutes, and CreamTea stays quiet. Instead, it writes a sharper version of what you said, right next to your own words. Then you get a straight debrief on your delivery and pronunciation, and can have another go. It's turning out to be our Marmite: one tester loves it, another sees the point but hates it, a few have mixed feelings. I mostly hate it for the same reasons I love it. Make of that what you will.

House Blend (hand-picked by me)
Real pieces of English at its best, the kind speakers might quote and allude to, with notes on why I chose them. You talk one through with CreamTea, looking at what's going on underneath the words, and walk away with something to make your own. There are examples on the website.

Coach (like a comfortable cuppa)
An ordinary conversation about anything at all. CreamTea is AI, so the kettle's always on. It remembers what keeps tripping you up and brings it back in later conversations.

Before the Room (rehearse before the real thing)
A rehearsal for something coming up, for example negotiating your rate with a new client. CreamTea plays the other side and you set the temperature of the room (Friendly, Firm or Piping hot). Afterwards you get suggestions and a prep sheet. This is the one you can try for free now: about three minutes, out loud.

Privacy
Your recordings are deleted as soon as your feedback is ready. We built CreamTea the way we'd want it built for us: it keeps only what it needs to help you, and deletes what it no longer needs.

Who we are
Tom and I run Skilliga as volunteers, and CreamTea is our new project. I'm a conference interpreter (AIIC) working with an English B, and I use CreamTea myself. It was born in interpreting!

Joining
CreamTea is still in its early days, so we're letting people in a few at a time. You can try Before the Room now, with three free rehearsals for new accounts: Try it out. Joining the waitlist is free, and we'll write when there's a place for you. Or just drop me a line at m.kokoszycka@aiic.net. That's my interpreter address, so I'll know you've come from Skilliga. Special treatment for interpreters, and honest feedback very welcome in return!

Monika