We report on how technological developments have enabled us to change our concepts and practices regarding voice and text coaching and how this in turn has raised the level of literary competence among non-native doctoral students seeking publication in English in scientific journals. We describe models for marking, peer reviewing and coaching spoken delivery and written text. Our models spring from our dedicated physical CALL environment and take into account learner expectations and further develop tangible learner strategies. As our models are applied in an open learning platform they are accessible, interactive and facilitate both differentiated progressive feedback and student profiling. The four skills are revisited through very traditional means in a methodological paradigm requiring some ‘new literacy’. Between 1997 and 2000 we were devoted to developing and testing our dedicated physical CALL classroom model; in the period 2000–2003 we have focused on both sustaining this and improving our procedures. Refining the coaching and interactive feedback procedures for both text and voice development within the virtual classroom model (established at the Institute for Living Languages at KULeuven in 1997) informs the focus of our research. During the latter period, the resulting models have been rigorously tested by about three hundred KULeuven students, half of whom are post graduates and half of whom are undergraduates. The specific need for refined coaching and feedback for doctoral students is first defined, then the concept, procedure and results of three models are outlined and illustrated. The models include a text marking and coaching model, a speech marking and coaching model and a model to contextualise and manage the interactive cycle of learner, peer and coach writing and speaking processes. Key to our findings is the fact that our models help us to help learners differentiate between passive and active retrieval, plus transfer issues versus knowledge gap issues. The discussion centres on further model development integration.