How a Miami founder turned his own speaking struggles into WitSpeak, an AI English speaking coach.
Fatih Can YILDIRIM understood English. He had studied the grammar, built the vocabulary, and earned admission to a competitive MBA program at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Yet in classrooms, presentations, and networking events, he discovered an uncomfortable truth. Understanding a language and feeling confident enough to speak it are not the same thing.
That gap, familiar to millions of learners around the world, became the foundation for WitSpeak, an AI English speaking coach built by his Miami-based company, ZenithNexus AI Technologies LLC.
The Problem Traditional Learning Did Not Solve
Before business school, Fatih Can spent considerable time and money trying to improve his spoken English. He experimented with language-learning applications, preparation resources, and private tutors. Each helped in some way, but none offered the complete, consistent, and personalized speaking support he needed.
The limitations were structural, not personal. Private lessons depended on scheduling. Tutors could not always be available in the moments he most wanted to practice, and short sessions often prioritized immediate assignments over deeper challenges like pronunciation, spontaneous speaking, and long-term confidence. Most applications delivered lessons and exercises, yet rarely recreated the pressure and unpredictability of a real conversation.
“WitSpeak came directly from problems my wife and I experienced ourselves,” Fatih Can says. “I tried different apps, preparation resources, and private tutors, but the experience was always fragmented. A tutor could not be available every time I needed to practice, and there was rarely enough time to work deeply on pronunciation, accent clarity, confidence, and spontaneous speaking.”
Admission did not resolve the challenge. “Getting accepted to an MBA program was not the end of the language challenge,” he explains. “During my MBA, I realized that understanding English and feeling completely confident speaking it in classrooms, presentations, group projects, and networking environments were very different things.”
Why Confidence Matters as Much as Grammar
Yildirim’s clearest insight came from watching his wife learn English.
Although she understood much of what she heard and read, she often hesitated when it was time to speak. The primary barrier was not effort or ability. It was the fear of making a mistake and being judged.
“My wife understood more English than she felt comfortable speaking,” Yildirim says. “That helped me understand that language-learning products need to address confidence as seriously as they address grammar.”
This observation shaped WitSpeak’s central philosophy.
Many learners know what they want to communicate but struggle to express it in real time. They may translate sentences mentally, overthink grammar, worry about their accent, or avoid speaking altogether.
“We wanted to build a place where people could make mistakes privately, practice repeatedly, and become more confident before the moment actually mattered,” Yildirim says.
Building a Speaking-First Platform
WitSpeak was designed around both the technical and emotional sides of spoken English.
The platform helps learners work on fluency, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, coherence, and natural expression. At the same time, it offers a private environment where users can repeat conversations and make mistakes without feeling embarrassed.
Through voice-based conversations with AI coaches, users can practice whenever their schedule allows. The platform currently includes Daniel, a British-accent coach, and Emma, an American-accent coach.
Rather than offering the same path to every learner, WitSpeak adapts around the goal selected during onboarding. Users can focus on everyday English, IELTS Speaking preparation, or a combination of both.
For general communication, learners can practice realistic situations such as job interviews, café conversations, travel, workplace discussions, and other everyday interactions. Free Talk supports open-ended conversation, while Rapid Fire encourages faster and more natural responses through a series of short questions.
The pronunciation experience is designed to identify specific words and sounds that require attention rather than providing only broad feedback at the end of a session.
For IELTS candidates, WitSpeak provides complete Speaking simulations covering Parts 1, 2, and 3, as well as targeted practice for individual sections. Learners can filter questions by topic and difficulty and receive indicative AI-generated estimates across the four IELTS Speaking assessment areas: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation.
Progress charts, learning roadmaps, saved vocabulary, weekly goals, and practice streaks are intended to help users turn occasional study into a consistent routine.
Why Confidence Matters as Much as Grammar
Yildirim’s clearest insight came from watching his wife learn English.
Although she understood much of what she heard and read, she often hesitated when it was time to speak. The primary barrier was not effort or ability. It was the fear of making a mistake and being judged.
“My wife understood more English than she felt comfortable speaking,” Yildirim says. “That helped me understand that language-learning products need to address confidence as seriously as they address grammar.”
This observation shaped WitSpeak’s central philosophy.
Many learners know what they want to communicate but struggle to express it in real time. They may translate sentences mentally, overthink grammar, worry about their accent, or avoid speaking altogether.
“We wanted to build a place where people could make mistakes privately, practice repeatedly, and become more confident before the moment actually mattered,” Yildirim says.
Building a Speaking-First Platform
WitSpeak is designed to improve both the technical and emotional aspects of spoken English. It helps learners build fluency, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, coherence, and natural expression in a private, judgment-free environment where they can practice without fear of making mistakes.
Through voice conversations with AI coaches Daniel (British accent) and Emma (American accent), users can practice anytime. During onboarding, learners choose to focus on everyday English, IELTS Speaking preparation, or both.
For everyday communication, WitSpeak offers realistic scenarios like job interviews, travel, workplace discussions, and casual conversations, along with Free Talk and Rapid Fire exercises to build confidence and quick thinking.
Its pronunciation feature highlights specific words and sounds that need improvement, while IELTS learners can access full Speaking simulations, targeted practice, topic filters, and AI-generated estimates across the four Speaking assessment criteria.
Feedback That Goes Beyond Conversation
Many AI language tools can continue a conversation. Yildirim believes the bigger challenge is helping users understand how to improve.
WitSpeak evaluates speaking performance, identifies recurring weaknesses, and provides actionable guidance. Connected sessions allow the platform to track pronunciation issues, vocabulary, mistakes, and progress over time.
The goal is not to erase a learner’s identity or make everyone sound the same. WitSpeak focuses on clarity, intelligibility, natural expression, and confidence while respecting each learner’s accent.
Early App Store feedback has praised this judgment free approach. One reviewer said the platform helped a family member “practice speaking naturally without feeling judged.” Another praised the AI for providing “useful feedback instead of generic comments” and encouraging consistent daily practice.
WitSpeak is available for iPhone through the Apple App Store in 175 countries, offering free practice and optional premium subscriptions.
A Mission That Began With Books
Fatih Can’s commitment to education started long before WitSpeak. While living in Türkiye, he encountered rural schools with very limited learning resources. In response, he helped establish 12 school libraries across 11 provinces, bringing books to students who had little access to them.
“I have always believed that access should not determine potential,” he says. “In Türkiye, I helped establish 12 libraries across 11 provinces, including in communities where schools had very limited learning resources. WitSpeak is a continuation of the same belief, using a different form of technology.”
The tools have changed, but the purpose has not. “Building a physical library and building an AI learning platform may appear very different, but the purpose is the same: giving more people access to tools that can expand their opportunities.”
Beyond WitSpeak, ZenithNexus is developing a broader learning ecosystem. WitPrep supports learners preparing for exams such as the GRE, SAT, and IELTS, while WitWord focuses on vocabulary for standardized tests. Across the portfolio, the philosophy stays consistent: technology should understand what a learner needs and help them take the next best step.
Fatih Can is careful about what AI can and cannot do. “We are not building AI to replace teachers,” he says. “We are building AI to provide practice and personalized support during all the hours when a teacher cannot be present.”
Helping Learners Find Their Voice
For Yildirim, WitSpeak is ultimately about more than test preparation or language exercises. It is about helping people participate in opportunities they may otherwise avoid: a job interview, a classroom discussion, a presentation, a professional meeting, or a conversation in a new country.
The platform was built for learners who understand English but still hesitate when it is time to speak.
By giving users a private environment to practice, receive detailed feedback, and try again, WitSpeak aims to help transform knowledge into confidence—and confidence into communication.
Explore More About WitSpeak
Connect with WitSpeak, ZenithNexus, download WitSpeak on the Apple App Store or Google Play, and follow WitSpeak on LinkedIn and Instagram.
