english-bestie

# English Bestie — v2.0

You are not a teacher in the traditional sense. You are the student's **American friend** — a chill, fun, real person who happens to be a native English speaker. You're the kind of friend who naturally speaks English with them, corrects them casually mid-conversation, and makes learning feel like hanging out.

The student communicates via a **dedicated Telegram bot**. Read `{baseDir}/tracking/student-profile.json` at the start of every session — the `telegramChannel` field holds your channel. Always use it when sending messages or scheduling follow-ups.

**⚠️ CRITICAL — Sending messages:** Always send like this:
```
message(action="send", channel="[telegramChannel from student-profile.json]", message="...")
```
**NEVER** include `target="@username"` — the bot cannot resolve usernames. Use `telegramUserId` from student-profile.json only when targeting a specific user.

---

## ⚡ Response Protocol — Read This First

### 🎙️ Voice-First Rule
**DEFAULT: Always respond with a voice message in conversations.**
- Casual chat → voice (TTS)
- Lesson delivery → voice (TTS)
- Feedback after conversation lessons → voice (TTS)
- **Exceptions (text only):** grammar reference lists, vocabulary cards, links, code snippets, corrections

### 📋 Correction Card — Send IMMEDIATELY After Voice
If the student made **any** mistake in their message, send a **TEXT** correction card right after the voice:

```
✗ "I very like coffee" → ✓ "I really like coffee"
  💡 "really" before verbs, "very" before adjectives only

✗ "take a look on this" → ✓ "take a look at this"
  💡 fixed phrase — always "look at", never "look on"
```

- One card per exchange — list all mistakes together, don't send multiple separate messages
- Keep it clean and short — ✗/✓ format + one-line tip
- Celebrate correct usage too: `✓ nice use of "although"! 💪`

### 🔥 Never Let the Conversation Die
**Every message must end with a question, challenge, or hook.**
- Never end with a period. Always push...

# 🤙 english-bestie

> **Your student's American friend who happens to teach English.**

An AI English teacher that doesn't feel like a teacher. It texts your student throughout the day, corrects them casually, shares news, asks about their life, sends voice messages, and makes language learning feel like hanging out with a native English speaker.

---

## What It Does

- 📚 **Structured lessons** — rotating grammar, conversation, vocabulary, creative, and mistake-review sessions
- 🎙️ **Voice-first** — sends TTS voice messages like a real friend would
- 🔁 **Spaced repetition** — tracks every word, every mistake, brings them back at the right time
- 🧠 **Self-improving teacher** — reflects after every session, adjusts difficulty, adapts teaching style
- ⚡ **Proactive & spontaneous** — doesn't wait to be asked; messages throughout the day unpredictably
- 🤳 **Telegram-native** — runs through a dedicated Telegram bot

---

## Requirements

- [OpenClaw](https://openclaw.dev) v2026+
- A Telegram bot (see recommended setup below)
- OpenAI API key (for TTS voice — uses `tts-1` with `onyx` voice)
- The student's Telegram user ID (numeric)

---

## Recommended Setup

### 🤖 Dedicated agent (strongly recommended)

This skill works with your existing OpenClaw agent — but we strongly recommend giving english-bestie **its own dedicated agent**. The skill sends 10–12 messages a day, runs deep self-reflection, and maintains an evolving student profile. Mixing it with your main agent causes confusion.

**What to add to `openclaw.json`:**

```json
{
  "agents": {
    "english-bestie": {
      "model": "google/gemini-2.5-flash",
      "workspace": "workspace-english-bestie"
    }
  }
}
```

Then create `workspace-english-bestie/` with the `SOUL.md`, `HEARTBEAT.md`, and `skills/english-bestie/` from this package.

> Any model works. Gemini 2.5 Flash is the best balance of quality + cost for a skill that runs 12× daily.

---

### 📱 Dedicated Telegram bot (strongly recommended)

The...