How Telo works
Telo turns a single classroom objective into individual speaking practice for every English Learner, in three simple steps.
Teachers choose the objective
In a few seconds, the teacher sets the goal for the session and hands the rest to Telo.
For example: conversation, vocabulary, grammar, role play, lesson review, or assessment preparation.
Students talk with Telo
Students complete short 5-minute speaking sessions, ideally 3 times per week. Each conversation adapts to the student’s level, previous answers, and detected interests such as favorite sports, foods, hobbies, animals, or classroom topics.
The more students speak with Telo, the more personalized the conversations become.
Students can use: the Web Platform on devices you already own, or the Embodied AI Robot.
Teachers receive AI insights
After every conversation, the Teacher Dashboard updates automatically.
Teachers see: participation, speaking confidence, vocabulary growth, progress over time, and which students need intervention.
A simple weekly routine that adds up
Just 5 minutes of speaking practice, 3 times per week, can give each English Learner up to 1 additional hour of personalized speaking time every month.
Personalized AI speaking practice
Telo’s conversational AI is built for one job: getting English Learners to speak more, and speak better. It listens, responds, and adjusts to each learner in real time.
Adapts to each learner
Telo meets every student where they are and personalizes practice based on language level, previous conversations, learning goals, and detected interests.
Adjusts difficulty automatically
As a student gains confidence, Telo raises the challenge. When a student struggles, it slows down and adds support, without the teacher lifting a finger.
Asks follow-up questions
Instead of accepting one-word answers, Telo asks “why,” “tell me more,” and “what happened next,” pushing students to keep the conversation going.
Encourages longer responses
Telo gives every student the time and prompts to produce full sentences, the kind of extended speaking that state assessments measure.
Corrects naturally
Feedback is woven into the conversation, modeling correct language in context rather than interrupting with red marks that discourage students.
Builds confidence and speaking time
A patient partner that never judges means quiet students take more risks. The result is more practice, more confidence, and more time on task for everyone.
Built for short, frequent practice
Telo is designed for 5-minute sessions, 3 times per week. That simple routine gives students repeated opportunities to speak without disrupting the classroom schedule.
Learns what motivates each student
During conversations, Telo detects student preferences such as favorite sports, foods, hobbies, animals, or topics. Future conversations use these interests to make speaking practice more natural, engaging, and personally relevant.
Practice modes for every classroom moment
Teachers choose the mode that fits the lesson, the student, or the goal. Telo adapts the conversation to each one.
Conversation
Natural, low-pressure speaking practice that builds fluency and reduces anxiety.
When: warm-ups, daily speaking time, building confidence.
Why: students need volume of talk, not just accuracy.
Example: “Tell me about your weekend” while the teacher works with a small group.
Lesson Practice
Review the day’s vocabulary, grammar, reading, or unit theme through guided speaking.
When: right after instruction, to reinforce content.
Why: speaking about new content moves it into long-term memory.
Example: “Practice the chapter 4 vocabulary with me.”
Role Play
Real-world scenarios that drive meaningful, contextual interaction.
When: teaching functional and academic language.
Why: students transfer language to situations they will actually face.
Example: ordering at a restaurant, a job interview, a doctor visit.
Skill Training
Targeted practice for one specific speaking skill at a time.
When: a student or group has a clear gap to close.
Why: focused reps build a skill faster than general practice.
Example: complete sentences, transitions, or academic vocabulary.
Ask & Learn
Students ask questions naturally about anything they are learning.
When: independent work and homework support.
Why: it builds the habit of asking for help in English.
Example: “What does this word mean?” or “Explain this math problem.”
A Teacher Dashboard that turns every conversation into data
Every Telo conversation becomes actionable insight. Teachers stop guessing who is practicing and start seeing exactly who is progressing and who needs support, all mapped to your state’s English Learner standards.
Participation
See who practiced, how often, and for how long. Spot the students who slipped through the cracks before a unit ends, not after.
Vocabulary growth
Track the new vocabulary each student uses and masters over time, so you can see the words that are sticking and the ones that need reteaching.
Speaking progress
Follow each learner’s confidence and fluency across sessions, with a clear view of how far they have come over the year.
Areas for support
Telo flags the students who need intervention and the skills they are stuck on, so your time goes where it matters most.
Aligned with your state’s standards
Insights are mapped to the English Learner framework your district already uses. Telo adapts to your standards, not the other way around.
Texas ELPS
California ELD
NY NYSESLAT
Mississippi ELPT
How teachers use Telo in the classroom
Telo fits the routines teachers already run. Here are common workflows from EL classrooms.
EL intervention
Assign daily targeted speaking sessions to students below proficiency, then check the dashboard to confirm they are closing the gap.
Newcomer support
Give brand-new arrivals a patient partner for survival English and first words, at a pace no whole-class lesson can match.
Station rotation
Make Telo one station in your rotation so every group gets speaking time while you run guided instruction at another.
After-reading discussion
Students retell and discuss a text with Telo right after reading, turning silent reading into oral language production.
Vocabulary review
Students rehearse this week’s words in conversation, and the dashboard shows you which terms they can actually use.
Homework support
On the Web Platform, students keep practicing at home and ask Telo to explain assignments in plain English.
Speaking centers
Set up a dedicated speaking center where students rotate through role plays and conversations on their own.
Independent practice
Students who finish early get meaningful extra speaking practice instead of busywork, with no extra prep for you.
Interest-based conversations
If a student loves soccer, animals, cooking, or music, Telo can bring those interests into future conversations, making English practice feel more personal and less like a worksheet.
Choose the experience that fits your classroom
Telo runs the same conversational AI, the same modes, and the same Teacher Dashboard on two deployment options. Pick one, or mix both across your schools.
| Web Platform | Embodied AI Robot | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Devices you already own (Chromebooks, tablets, laptops) | A dedicated Telo robot, no screen required |
| Best for | Fast, large-scale rollout across many students | High-engagement stations and screen-free practice |
| Setup | Log in through the browser, nothing to install | Plug in and go, minimal setup |
| Student experience | On-screen, voice-first conversations | A physical, voice-first companion |
| Teacher Dashboard | Included | Included |
| AI features | Same conversational AI and all five modes | Same conversational AI and all five modes |
Built for teachers and district scale
Telo drops into the curriculum and routines you already have. No content migration, no loss of teacher control, and a roll-out path that works from one classroom to an entire district.
Works with your curriculum
Students start each session from a prompt tied to your lesson, so Telo reinforces what you already teach instead of competing with it.
No content migration
There is nothing to upload and no integration project to staff. Teachers can start using Telo the same day.
Teachers stay in control
Teachers set the goals, topics and rules for every session. Telo amplifies their instruction, it never replaces it.
Personalized conversations
Every student gets a session adapted to their level and goals, the kind of individualized practice that is impossible to deliver by hand at scale.
District deployment
Roll out school by school or district-wide. Districts can purchase through cooperatives like TIPS on our purchase order page.
Easy onboarding
Teachers are productive in minutes, not weeks. Students log in with the tools your district already uses.
Security and privacy your district can trust
Student privacy is a non-negotiable. Telo is FERPA compliant, never trains its models on student data, and integrates with the identity tools your district already runs.
FERPA compliant
Telo is built to meet FERPA requirements. Student records stay protected and access is restricted to authorized educators in your district.
No training on student data
Conversations, recordings and student information are never used to train our AI models. Your students’ data stays your students’ data. Student preferences are used only to personalize their learning experience and are never used to train external AI models.
Secure infrastructure
Student data is stored and transmitted securely, with access controls that keep records limited to the people who need them.
SSO and rostering
Native integrations with Clever and ClassLink. Provision classes and let students log in with one click.
Compatible with
Ready to see Telo in action?
Schedule a 30-minute live demo and see how Telo gives your English Learners more time to speak, with the robot, the web platform, the practice modes and the Teacher Dashboard.