AI image: A woman and a man look worriedly at a laptop on a table in an office – missed deadlines.

Photo: James, trainer of the live rounds

Jamesleads the live rounds

AI image

Simmonds · live on simmonds.onlineA2 – C2New: Deadlines and delays

English conversation practice: a new topic every day

A new topic to talk about every day. To warm up, Theo asks, you answer.

Allow the microphone – Theo asks about the newest topic.

AI conversation partner, synthetic voice · your voice is processed live by Google Gemini, we store no audio and no transcript · max. 5 minAbout the AIHeadphones: interrupting allowedWith headphones you can interrupt Theo. Without them, the microphone only listens once Theo has finished.

Newsletter

Once a week: all conversations of the week, plus podcast episodes and live-round dates. Unsubscribe any time.

All conversations

A new conversation every day, newest first.

B112 Nov 2026

Deadlines and delays – Practise speaking English: a conversation about missed deadlines (level B1)

Learn how to communicate delays professionally, with a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A group of colleagues looks at a laptop together in an office – working in international teams.

C111 Nov 2026

International teams – Practise speaking English: a conversation about working in international teams (level C1)

Navigating cultural differences. Talk about global collaboration, with a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A woman and a man look at charts on a tablet on a sofa – describing numbers and trends.

B29 Nov 2026

Numbers & trends – Practise speaking English: a conversation about describing numbers and trends (level B2)

Sales went up? Learn how to describe numbers and trends clearly in English.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman sit smiling in front of a laptop at a wooden table – video calls.

B18 Nov 2026

Video calls – Practise speaking English: a conversation about video calls (level B1)

On mute or frozen? Talk about the daily challenges of online meetings.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman sit smiling on a sofa with cups in a living room – your home.

A27 Nov 2026

Your home – Practise speaking English: a conversation about your home (level A2)

What is your home like? Talk about your home, with a short text to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A group of people stands on a train platform with hot drinks beside a train – public transport.

A25 Nov 2026

Public transport – Practise speaking English: a conversation about public transport (level A2)

Bus, train or bike? Talk about your daily commute.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman walk a small dog on a leash along a gravel path in a park – pets.

A24 Nov 2026

Pets – Practise speaking English: a conversation about pets (level A2)

Dog or cat? Talk about pets, with a short text to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman sit at an outdoor table and laugh together on a street – friends and friendship.

B12 Nov 2026

Friendship – Practise speaking English: a conversation about friends and friendship (level B1)

What makes a good friendship? Talk about old and new friends.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A smiling man and woman sit at a table near a window and hold menus – eating out and ordering food.

A21 Nov 2026

At the restaurant – Practise speaking English: a conversation about eating out and ordering food (level A2)

A table for two, please! Practise how to order food confidently in English.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman jog smiling along a park path – sports and fitness.

B131 Oct 2026

Sports & fitness – Practise speaking English: a conversation about sports and fitness (level B1)

Do you prefer playing sport or watching it? Talk about your sporting interests.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A woman and a man look at a map on a table – living and working abroad.

B229 Oct 2026

Living abroad – Practise speaking English: a conversation about living and working abroad (level B2)

Pack your bags and go? Discover what it is like to move abroad, with a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A smiling woman works on a laptop at a desk in a bright office – dream jobs and no-gos.

A228 Oct 2026

Dream jobs – Practise speaking English: a conversation about dream jobs and no-gos (level A2)

What did you want to be as a child? Let's talk about dream jobs.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A smiling woman in a green blazer talks on the phone at an office desk – phone messages.

A226 Oct 2026

Phone messages – Practise speaking English: a conversation about phone messages (level A2)

The person you need is not there. How do you leave a message?

Practise with Theo →

AI image: Five people sit and talk around a wooden table in a bright office – a quick status update.

A225 Oct 2026

Status update – Practise speaking English: a conversation about a quick status update (level A2)

What have you achieved this week? Practise reporting back briefly.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A woman and a man talk and smile while holding coffee cups by a window – clothes and fashion.

B124 Oct 2026

Clothes and fashion – Practise speaking English: a conversation about clothes and fashion (level B1)

Suit or jogging bottoms? Talk about clothes, with a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman in warm clothing stand indoors and look out of a rainy window – the weather and the seasons.

A222 Oct 2026

Weather & seasons – Practise speaking English: a conversation about the weather and the seasons (level A2)

Rain, sun or snow? Talk about the weather, with a text to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A smiling woman sits on a green sofa by the window with an open book – books and reading.

B121 Oct 2026

Books and reading – Practise speaking English: a conversation about books and reading (level B1)

Switching off with a good book. Talk about your reading habits, with a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A smiling woman with a headset talks on a mobile phone at a desk in an office – customer service calls.

B119 Oct 2026

Customer service – Practise speaking English: a conversation about customer service calls (level B1)

Being on hold or getting quick help? Talk about customer service, with a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: An older man and woman walk with paper bags on a cobbled street outside a shop – shopping.

A218 Oct 2026

Shopping – Practise speaking English: a conversation about shopping (level A2)

Pleasure or chore? Talk about shopping, with a text to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A smiling woman wearing headphones sits on a green armchair in a room – music.

B117 Oct 2026

Music – Practise speaking English: a conversation about music (level B1)

Which song brings back memories for you? Talk about music, with a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A smiling woman sits with a mug at a wooden table in a kitchen – daily routines.

A215 Oct 2026

Daily routines – Practise speaking English: a conversation about daily routines (level A2)

Get up, work, relax: talk about your daily routine.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: Laughing couple cutting carrots on a chopping board in a kitchen – favourite food and cooking.

A214 Oct 2026

Favourite food – Practise speaking English: a conversation about favourite food and cooking (level A2)

What do you like to cook? Talk about delicious meals and recipes.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman are looking at a photo album at a table in a kitchen – family.

A212 Oct 2026

Family – Practise speaking English: a conversation about family (level A2)

Who looks like who? Talk about your family, with a short text to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman play chess at a wooden table indoors – hobbies.

A211 Oct 2026

Hobbies – Practise speaking English: a conversation about hobbies (level A2)

What do you do in your free time? Talk about your hobbies.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: Two people look at a map at an outdoor cafe – your last holiday.

A210 Oct 2026

Your last holiday – Practise speaking English: a conversation about your last holiday (level A2)

Beach, mountains or city? Talk about your travels, with a text to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman watch TV on a green sofa in a living room – films and series.

B18 Oct 2026

Films and series – Practise speaking English: a conversation about films and series (level B1)

Binge-watching or a cosy cinema night? Talk about your favourite films.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A woman and a man read a document at a table in a bright room – negotiating.

B27 Oct 2026

Negotiating – Practise speaking English: a conversation about negotiating (level B2)

When the price isn't right: how to negotiate successfully. With a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A woman and a man on a mobile phone work at a laptop in an office – handling customer complaints.

B25 Oct 2026

Customer complaints – Practise speaking English: a conversation about handling customer complaints (level B2)

An angry client calls. How do you react professionally?

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man points at a screen in front of three colleagues in an office – giving presentations.

B24 Oct 2026

Presentations – Practise speaking English: a conversation about giving presentations (level B2)

Deliver great presentations and engage your audience, with a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A woman and a man smile at a laptop at a desk in a bright room – agreeing and disagreeing politely.

B13 Oct 2026

Polite disagreement – Practise speaking English: a conversation about agreeing and disagreeing politely (level B1)

Learn how to share your opinion without stepping on toes, with a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman look at a laptop on a table – making appointments.

A21 Oct 2026

Making appointments – Practise speaking English: a conversation about making appointments (level A2)

Does Tuesday work? Learn how to plan and change meetings.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: Four people stand around a wooden table in a bright room and look at a notebook – speaking up in meetings.

B130 Sept 2026

Speaking in meetings – Practise speaking English: a conversation about speaking up in meetings (level B1)

Do you find it hard to join in during meetings in English? Practise useful phrases.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: a man with glasses sits at his laptop and takes notes – emails at work.

B228 Sept 2026

AI at work – Practise speaking English: a conversation about whether AI should write your emails (level B2)

Theo says letting AI write your emails makes your English worse. Do you agree?

Practise with Theo →

AI image: a woman with a suitcase and a phone waits for the train on the platform – a business trip.

A228 Sept 2026

Business trip – Practise speaking English: a conversation about your last business trip (level A2)

Where was your last business trip? Tell the story in the past tense.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: a colleague hands a new colleague a coffee in the office kitchen – the first day at work.

A228 Sept 2026

First day at work – Practise speaking English: a conversation about your first day at work (level A2)

A short text about Lena's first day, then you talk about yours.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: a woman sits on a bench by a lake with a coffee – a day off thanks to the four-day week.

B128 Sept 2026

Four-day week – Practise speaking English: a conversation about the four-day week (level B1)

Dream or nightmare? Talk about working hours, with a mini-podcast to start.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman are smiling and shaking hands in an office – introducing yourself at work.

A228 Sept 2026

Introducing yourself – Practise speaking English: a conversation about introducing yourself at work (level A2)

Your first day in a new job. How do you introduce yourself in English?

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A woman works on a laptop at a desk by the window – the working day.

A228 Sept 2026

Working day – Practise speaking English: a conversation about the working day (level A2)

What does a normal working day look like? Talk about your job.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A man and a woman sit at a table in an office – job interviews.

B128 Sept 2026

Job interviews – Practise speaking English: a conversation about job interviews (level B1)

First impressions count. Prepare for your next job interview.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: A smiling woman talks on a smartphone at a desk by a window – phone calls at work.

B128 Sept 2026

Phone calls at work – Practise speaking English: a conversation about phone calls at work (level B1)

Nervous on the phone? Prepare for English calls, starting with a mini-podcast.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: a woman laughs at her laptop – small talk just before an online meeting.

B128 Sept 2026

Small talk – Practise speaking English: a conversation about small talk before a meeting (level B1)

The five minutes before a meeting: what to talk about, and what to avoid.

Practise with Theo →

AI image: a man with headphones works from home and talks on a video call on his laptop.

B228 Sept 2026

Working from home – Practise speaking English: a conversation about working from home (level B2)

Theo takes a side. You argue back, politely but convincingly.

Practise with Theo →

How to practise with the topics

1
Pick a topic
A new conversation from work and everyday life every day, sorted by level from A2 to C2.
2
Warm up with Theo
Theo, our AI conversation partner, asks questions and you answer out loud. Then check yourself in the quiz.
3
Speak live
If you want to practise with people: the small-group conversation classes run on simmonds.online.

Who are the topics for?

For working people who read and write English but get stuck when they speak. The topics come from work and everyday life.

Questions

What are the English conversation topics?

Short conversations about topics from work and everyday life, a new one every day, with Theo to warm up and a quiz to check yourself. Live small-group classes are on simmonds.online.

How big are the groups?

The live classes on simmonds.online run in small groups, everyone at the same level.

What level do I need?

Rounds run from A2 to C2. The level check at the start takes two minutes.

Who is Theo?

Theo is an AI conversation partner for warming up, not a teacher. The voice is synthetic. In the live rounds, a trainer talks with you.

Is my conversation stored?

We store neither audio nor a transcript. During the conversation, your voice is sent to Google (Gemini) for processing. The conversation ends after no more than five minutes.

How often is there a new conversation?

A new conversation with vocabulary, a dialogue and questions appears every day.

Is there individual conversation training too?

Yes – conversation training with a trainer on your own or for your team is under Conversation training – More about our conversation training for companies and individuals.