H5P alternatives for language schools
H5P is a free, open-source way to build interactive activities (fill in the blanks, drag the words, dialog cards, interactive video) and embed them in Moodle, WordPress or another LMS. It suits schools that want to build activities themselves and already run an LMS. If you would rather have activities written for you, edio and MakeLesson do that with AI from your own material, and Language Boss does it from your coursebook pages and adds spoken answers with pronunciation scoring, class tools and progress reports to parents. Language Boss is made for English schools only.
What H5P does well
- It is free and open source under the MIT licence, with plugins for WordPress, Moodle, Drupal and other systems.
- It has many content types useful in language teaching, including Drag the Words, Fill in the Blanks, Mark the Words, Dictation, Dialog Cards, Flashcards, Interactive Video and Crossword.
- Content can be written in any language.
- The hosted service, H5P.com, connects to LMSs such as Canvas, Brightspace, Blackboard and Moodle over LTI.
Where language schools run into limits
- Activities are built by hand. H5P’s AI feature, Smart Import, is part of the paid H5P.com Premium and Enterprise Premium plans, and it takes a video, text or a link.
- Speaking is limited. H5P says Speak the Words works only in Chrome, and its developer has explained that it tries to understand what was said rather than detect pronunciation errors.
- Scores in a gradebook need an LMS connection over LTI.
- It is a content tool: it does not run timetables, attendance or messages to parents.
Alternatives
| How exercises are made | Speaking | Class tools | Cost model | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H5P | Built by hand; AI Smart Import on paid H5P.com plans | Speak the Words, Chrome only, no pronunciation scoring | Through your LMS | Free plugins; paid H5P.com |
| edio | AI builds lessons from a topic, a PDF or an image | Recorded answers reviewed by the teacher | Calendar, attendance, grades, live online classroom | Public pricing, free trial |
| Language Boss | AI writes them from chosen textbook pages; a teacher reviews every batch | Spoken answers, pronunciation scored sound by sound | Timetable, attendance, parent messages on LINE | Quoted per school |
| MakeLesson | AI lessons from a prompt, text, a photo, a scan or a PDF | Text-to-speech for listening | Shared by link; teacher sees scores | Free tier and paid plans |
For a wider list, including Kahoot!, Quizlet, Lanki and READU, see software that turns textbooks into practice, compared.
When to stay with H5P
Stay with H5P if your teachers like building their own activities, your courses already live in Moodle or another LMS, you teach more than one subject, or the budget is zero. Language Boss does not plug into an LMS and is quoted per school.
When Language Boss fits better
Language Boss fits English schools that teach from coursebooks and want the exercises written for them, from the pages the class covered, with a teacher reviewing each batch before it goes out. Students answer open questions aloud, pronunciation is scored sound by sound, and staff can send parents progress reports on LINE. How it works.