Pronunciation Software to Improve English Pronunciation

There is a huge selection of pronunciation software available on the market today.  With pronunciation software you need to take a little time to research what is available on the market to help with the problem you are having. Some softwares target different pronunciation problems than others.

Here are a couple of quick points to keep in mind:

1. does the software target the problem you (or your students) have
2. is it nothing more than flashcards with a shiny interface (BAD)
3. does it provide visual feedback to the students in the form of voicewaves? (GOOD)
4. is the content reasonably realistic (GOOD) or totally fake a contrived (BAD)

Here are a few pronunciation software packages that are worth looking at.  Keep in mind that they don't all do the same things.

• BetterAccent:
  Pronunciation software designed to help students with American English pronunciation issues.
• Pronunciation Power
  Comes in two versions (PP1 and PP2), both of which are excellent.  They provide many opportunities and a variety of methods for students to practice over 40 different touble areas.
• Accent Technologies
  This software allows students to record their voice and then see visual representations of how their voice compares with a sample.  This lets them see where their voice is different from the standard pronunciation allowing them to target specific problems areas in their own pronunciation.
  American Speech Sounds
  A basic "repeat after me" software where the students listen to a sample and then speak it back into the computer via their microphone.  Not the most exciting software, but OK.
• Pronunciation Patterns:
  Helps students deal with both word level and sentence level pronunciation issues by working on phonics and the connections between sounds in speech.  Prices vary depending on the version, but a Demo is available on their site.
• Connected Speech:
  The main focus of Connected Speech is sentence level (suprasegmental) work.  Some of the content is a little 'forced' and made for ESL, but it is very popular in our lab.
• Pro-Nunciation Sound Lab and Mouth Exercises
  Provides students with a large collection of activities that work on individual sounds and phrase/sentence level intonation patterns.

 Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Eric

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the Teachers Call RSS Feed. When you subscribe you will get updates provided regularly to your RSS reader. It is a great way to stay up to date with the latest in CALL information and ideas. So go ahead and subscribe right now.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!