3 ms·

As a French native who learned English by reading books and later spent a couple of years in English speaking countries, I'd really like to have a tool to help

by vinc 3y ago

As a French native who learned English by reading books and later spent a couple of years in English speaking countries, I'd really like to have a tool to help me fix my pronunciation. So with that in mind I tried your tool and I was enthusiastic about seeing a score for each words, but then what? I tried a few sentences manually (the random button doesn't work) and for example it seems that I have an issue with the pronunciation of "to" where I always get around 50%, but there's no way to know what's wrong. As it is I'd stop using the tool after about a minute. I'd suggest adding something to hear the correct US/UK pronunciation of the words.

marklgr 3y ago
I've been using the Boldvoice app (no affiliation), it's not perfect but pretty good; my spoken English has definitely improved in a few months. I would recommend it.
dfawcus 3y ago
That doesn't sound like it will cope with various correct English pronunciations, as spoken by the English in England. Or even Scots, Welsh, or Irish speaking English. There are valid variations in pronunciations, even in England, "RP" is not the only valid way to pronounce words. As an example, take "envelope" and "schedule". Some pronounce these as "En-ve-lope", some as "On-ve-lope"; for the latter some as "Shed-ule", some as "Sked-ule". How does this facility propose to handle the vast differences in how English is pronounced in Great Britain, never mind anywhere else in the world?
- yywwbbn 3y ago
  You could just select the accent you want to learn. I assume the purpose of such a tool would be for 2nd language speakers to learn to imitate English spoken in a specific area and/or social/cultural class. And while yeah, there might be multiple “correct” way to pronounce the same word mixing Scottish, Midwestern, Irish, RP etc. English in your every sentence wouldn’t be ideal.
  - jeanmayer 3y ago
    Yep! You're totally correct. The reason why I made this tool, was to help me (a non-native English speaker) to understand how I sound in English. The next feature is to add some tips on how to increase your score, or how to pronounce clearer depending on your choice (UK, US, AUS)
- dfawcus 3y ago
  (I hail from England) So I tried it on: "I wrote a letter regarding Zebra's taking herbs, placed it in an envelope and posted it on schedule." The first time it gave me an overall score of 20, and imagined that I was Australian. The third time an overall score of 10, and imagined that I was from the US. Both times I used the same form of pronunciation. First: Overall: 20 Words: "I"1 "wrote"34 "a"1 "letter"34 "regarding"25 "Zebra's"7 "taking"40 "herbs"0 "placed"28 "it"50 "in"50 "an"42 "envelope"15 "and"34 "posted"7 "it"1 "on"0 "schedule"0 Accent: US1% UK1% AU91% Exam: IELTS: 3 TOEFL: 0-11 CEFR: A1A2B1B2C1C2 PTE General: 1 Third: Overall: 10 Words: "I"0 "wrote"16 "a"1 "letter"1 "regarding"34 "Zebra's"8 "taking"17 "herbs"1 "placed"9 "it"42 "in"22 "an"1 "envelope"0 "and"0 "posted"7 "it"21 "on"1 "schedule"0 Accent: US76% UK5% AU3% Exam: IELTS: 2 TOEFL: 0-11 CEFR: A1A2B1B2C1C2 PTE General: 1 I used "Zeb-ra" (not "Zee-bra"), "Her-bs" (nor "Er-bs"), "On-ve-lope", and "Shed-ule". I was speaking in my natural manner, without mixing throwing in any weirdness. (In my second attempt, I used "En-ve-lope", and got an even lower score.) Overall, I have to same I am not too impressed.

by vinc 3y ago

marklgr 3y ago

I've been using the Boldvoice app (no affiliation), it's not perfect but pretty good; my spoken English has definitely improved in a few months. I would recommend it.

dfawcus 3y ago

That doesn't sound like it will cope with various correct English pronunciations, as spoken by the English in England. Or even Scots, Welsh, or Irish speaking English. There are valid variations in pronunciations, even in England, "RP" is not the only valid way to pronounce words. As an example, take "envelope" and "schedule". Some pronounce these as "En-ve-lope", some as "On-ve-lope"; for the latter some as "Shed-ule", some as "Sked-ule". How does this facility propose to handle the vast differences in how English is pronounced in Great Britain, never mind anywhere else in the world?

yywwbbn 3y ago
You could just select the accent you want to learn. I assume the purpose of such a tool would be for 2nd language speakers to learn to imitate English spoken in a specific area and/or social/cultural class. And while yeah, there might be multiple “correct” way to pronounce the same word mixing Scottish, Midwestern, Irish, RP etc. English in your every sentence wouldn’t be ideal.
- jeanmayer 3y ago
  Yep! You're totally correct. The reason why I made this tool, was to help me (a non-native English speaker) to understand how I sound in English. The next feature is to add some tips on how to increase your score, or how to pronounce clearer depending on your choice (UK, US, AUS)
dfawcus 3y ago
(I hail from England) So I tried it on: "I wrote a letter regarding Zebra's taking herbs, placed it in an envelope and posted it on schedule." The first time it gave me an overall score of 20, and imagined that I was Australian. The third time an overall score of 10, and imagined that I was from the US. Both times I used the same form of pronunciation. First: Overall: 20 Words: "I"1 "wrote"34 "a"1 "letter"34 "regarding"25 "Zebra's"7 "taking"40 "herbs"0 "placed"28 "it"50 "in"50 "an"42 "envelope"15 "and"34 "posted"7 "it"1 "on"0 "schedule"0 Accent: US1% UK1% AU91% Exam: IELTS: 3 TOEFL: 0-11 CEFR: A1A2B1B2C1C2 PTE General: 1 Third: Overall: 10 Words: "I"0 "wrote"16 "a"1 "letter"1 "regarding"34 "Zebra's"8 "taking"17 "herbs"1 "placed"9 "it"42 "in"22 "an"1 "envelope"0 "and"0 "posted"7 "it"21 "on"1 "schedule"0 Accent: US76% UK5% AU3% Exam: IELTS: 2 TOEFL: 0-11 CEFR: A1A2B1B2C1C2 PTE General: 1 I used "Zeb-ra" (not "Zee-bra"), "Her-bs" (nor "Er-bs"), "On-ve-lope", and "Shed-ule". I was speaking in my natural manner, without mixing throwing in any weirdness. (In my second attempt, I used "En-ve-lope", and got an even lower score.) Overall, I have to same I am not too impressed.