Initiative file / Education
Hello Brete: English learning with AI components
Evidence record v2
39 / 39
- Institution
- INA
- Editorial classification
- Initiatives under review
- Initiative type
- AI component
- Documented phase
- Operational
- Relationship to AI in the source
- AI declared, technique not published
- Execution evidence
- Confirmed
- First evidence
- Last verified
- Next review: Nov 5, 2026
Documented scope
What it is
INA English-learning service delivered through Open English, with support from MTSS and MICITT. The April 2026 institutional announcement establishes the service launch and declares voice recognition and AI assistance. It remains under review because the configuration and use of the AI components available to beneficiaries were not directly checked.
Objective stated by the institution
Expand access to English learning to strengthen employability through online education, teachers and technological tools.
Known timeline
Only milestones with an explicit date in the sources or editorial review are shown.
- First evidence
- Announcement
- Operational start
- Latest editorial verification
- Next scheduled review
Evidence reading
Each dimension is assessed separately. Undetermined marks an evidence gap; not applicable means the dimension does not correspond to the documented object.
What is confirmed
- Procedure 2025LY-000011-0002100001 was awarded to the Say Pura Vida! by Open Education & RACSA consortium, comprising Open Education LLC (93.18%) and Radiográfica Costarricense S. A. (6.82%).
- The award sets USD 82.99 per annual license and USD 77.99 above 71,023 licenses, including VAT, over a four-year term. These are on-demand unit prices, not total executed spending or a dedicated AI budget.
- The operational start refers to the educational service. Platform enrollment or active-account figures do not by themselves measure AI use or effectiveness.
What could not be determined
- The local configuration of Jenny, FluentIA or AI+Teacher Class, and beneficiaries' actual use, were not checked. Documentation identifies declared features but does not fully confirm the deployed technique.
- No learning outcomes attributable to the AI component, independent evaluations or response or conclusion to the Ombudsman's request were located.
- It was not established that Hello Brete is the system counted toward INA's 2026 or 2027 ENIA target.
Documented results
Results are published only when a source traceably attributes them to this initiative.
No public results attributable to this initiative were found in the current review.
Evidence matrix
Sources and traceability
Sources state which claims they support, their origin and the date on which they were consulted.
- [1]Hello Brete: service launch and declared features
- Publisher
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación, Tecnología y Telecomunicaciones
- Source type
- Official primary source
- Published
- Consulted
Supports: existence · stated objective · execution · AI technique · target
- [2]INA minutes 31-2025: English-platform procurement award, pages 29–30
- Publisher
- Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje
- Source type
- Official primary source
- Published
- Consulted
Supports: existence · execution · governance
- [3]Vendor description of FluentIA for the Costa Rican partnership
- Publisher
- Open English, proveedor de la plataforma
- Source type
- Other secondary source
- Published
- Consulted
Supports: AI technique · stated objective
- [4]Ombudsman's Office requests an INA report on Hello Brete enrollment data
- Publisher
- Defensoría de los Habitantes
- Source type
- Official primary source
- Published
- Consulted
Supports: governance
Open questions
- Which AI components are included in the procurement, and which are enabled and used in Hello Brete accounts?
- What safeguards and institutional response document protection of enrollment data and AI interactions?
- Does INA formally link Hello Brete or SNE/Brete to its ENIA indicator, and how does it avoid double-counting an implementation?
Documented relationships
Distinct from
AI-enabled strengthening of the National Employment System platformThey share the Brete strategy, but Hello Brete delivers English learning through Open English; SNE/Brete prepares modernization of the employment platform and has a stage I procurement with WCC Group B.V.
Context
It is distinct from the SNE/Brete employment-matching project and its procurement with WCC Group B.V. The vendor links Hello Brete to FluentIA, the Jenny tutor and AI+Teacher Class; this description alone does not establish the local configuration or learning outcomes attributable to AI. The Ombudsman's Office requested information about sensitive enrollment data; the request is not a ruling establishing a violation.
Related projects
Initiatives under reviewIn development
Verified:
AI-enabled strengthening of the National Employment System platform
An inter-institutional MICITT, MTSS and INA project to strengthen the National Employment System platform and prepare the integration of one or more artificial intelligence engines. Its stated objective includes improving the profiling and matching of people, employers and vacancies through occupations, skills and competencies.
- Initiative type
- AI component
- Announcement
Ecosystem and capabilitiesOperational
Verified:
AI technical specialization (MEP + Intel)
3-year curriculum on machine learning, ethics and legal aspects of AI. Started in 4 vocational schools (Santa Ana, Puriscal, Coronado, Calle Blancos).
- Initiative type
- Capacity-building program
- Operational start
Ecosystem and capabilitiesIn development
Verified:
AI integration in software engineering (CITIC)
Active CITIC-UCR project running from March 2025 to February 2028 to design and evaluate AI strategies for requirements, code generation and repair, quality and software testing.
- Initiative type
- Research
- First evidence