DrillKit is an AI-powered tool that turns your online lesson chat from Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, or Microsoft Teams into professional, print-ready ESL lessons in under 30 seconds. It automatically extracts vocabulary, generates exercises (gap-fill, error correction, vocab match, word formation, and more), and produces beautiful PDFs tailored to the student's CEFR level and native language.

Does DrillKit support Zoom chats?

Yes! Simply copy the chat text from your Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, or Microsoft Teams lesson and paste it directly into the input area. You can also paste vocabulary lists or handwritten notes. DrillKit's AI strips out timestamps, sender names, and other noise automatically.

Can I export lessons to PDF?

Absolutely. Every lesson is generated as a high-quality, print-ready PDF. Pro users can also export to Google Docs and customize branding with their school logo and accent colors.

Which languages are supported?

DrillKit supports translations in 11 languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, and Russian. The AI auto-detects the student's native language from the chat transcript.

What exercise types can DrillKit generate?

DrillKit generates 11 exercise types: Gap Fill, Vocab Match, Error Correction, Sentence Completion, Multiple Choice, Word Scramble, Sentence Reorder, Translation, Word Formation (Cambridge Part 3), Key Word Transformation (Cambridge Part 4), and Dialogue Builder.

How does the AI extract vocabulary from chat transcripts?

The AI scans your pasted chat transcript, strips out noise (timestamps, reactions, media placeholders), identifies teachable vocabulary, phrasal verbs, idioms, and student errors, then scores each item by relevance. You review and select the best items before generating exercises.

Is DrillKit free to use?

Yes! The free plan includes 20 generations per month with full access to all 13 exercise types, all lesson styles, and custom branding. The Pro plan ($5.99/month or $4.00/month billed yearly) unlocks unlimited generations and priority AI processing.

Can I customize the lesson with my school branding?

Pro users can add their school or institution name, choose custom accent colors, select from 5 lesson styles (Standard, Classic, Modern, Playful, Academic), and add footer text to every generated lesson.

Teaching Intensive ESL Summer Programs: A Practical Guide | DrillKit Blog

The Unique Challenge of Intensive Teaching

Intensive ESL programs — typically 4-6 hours of instruction per day over 2-8 weeks — compress what would normally be months of learning into a few weeks. The intensity creates dramatic acceleration when done well, and total student fatigue when done poorly.

The teacher's challenge is sustained variety: maintaining energy, engagement, and quality across a long teaching day, every day, with students who are burning through cognitive resources at a rapid rate.

The Fatigue Management Curriculum

Morning sessions: Use for high-cognitive-load activities — new grammar, complex reading, writing with revision. The brain's working memory is freshest in the morning.

Mid-morning: Movement-based activities, pair work, games. Keep the blood moving — sitting for four consecutive hours kills engagement.

Afternoon sessions (1-3 PM): This is the post-lunch valley. Use for listening (students receive rather than produce), visual activities, and consolidation of morning content.

Late afternoon: Speaking practice, revision games, creative projects. End on a positive, social note. Students should leave feeling accomplished, not depleted.

Intensive Program Rhythms

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Morning: Production

New language, writing, complex grammar — peak cognitive load capacity

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Afternoon: Reception

Listening, viewing, consolidation — lower demands on tired working memory

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Movement Breaks

Every 45-60 minutes — physical movement resets attention and prevents fatigue

Teacher Tip

“Plan your materials for the whole week on Sunday. In intensive programs, daily planning is exhausting and unsustainable. Knowing your week-long arc lets you manage pacing: 'We're doing heavy grammar Monday and Tuesday, so Wednesday I can do a film-based lesson and Thursday a project.' Week-level thinking prevents burnout.”

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I handle student homesickness in residential programs?

It's real and it affects language acquisition. Create a genuinely welcoming classroom climate — celebrate small wins, build peer relationships through collaborative tasks, and carve out time for students to share their cultures and backgrounds.

How many new vocabulary items can students absorb in an intensive day?

Cognitive load research suggests 15-20 new items is a reasonable daily ceiling. In intensive programs, consolidation is as important as new input — regular recycling prevents the 'in one ear, out the other' intensive learning problem.

Is DrillKit useful in intensive programs?

Enormously — generating a review worksheet from each day's vocabulary takes 30 seconds and provides spaced retrieval practice. Over a 2-week program, this creates a portfolio of 14+ worksheets that double as a comprehensive vocabulary revision pack.

Surviving and Thriving in Summer Intensive ESL Programs