English Pronunciation Software

For students who are learning a new language pronunciation is a hurdle that seems to take a long time to jump over.  Long after grammar and reading skills have developed and vocabulary knowledge has been built, pronunciation lingers as a problem area.  Often, the problem is more in the speaker's mind then a real source of comprehension problems - however that in itself is a problem that needs to be dealt with.

For teachers who are working in classes with students from a variety of backgrounds working on pronunciation issues can be a challenge as pronunciation problems vary according to a student's first language.  Koreans have touble with f/v, p/b; French speakers with th/d; Japanese with r/l if we are only looking at individual sounds.  Move into rhythm and intonation and you've added in another whole level of complexity.  Despite having a tonal language (Mandarin for example), Chinese students of English are notorious for flat, monotonous speech in English.

So can English pronunciation software help teachers and students with their pronunciation problems?  The most basic answer is yes.  There are a selection of good pronunciation software packages that can help both teachers and students alike.  As a teacher, you can work on more global issues in class and then have your students work on problem areas that they are personally experiencing with pronunciation software.  Students can also do self-access or self-study with pronunciation software on their own time to further work on their spoken English.

Here are some English pronunciation software packages that I'd suggest checking out:

• eyespeak - Good for word and sentence level practice.  Also provides some good practice on phoneme level issues.  Provides good visual cues on a student's voice patterns
• Pronunciation Power I and II - Very easy to use software that provides a TON of practice opportunities over roughly 60 different phonemes.  Provides practive at both word and sentence level.  Corrective feedback and suggestions are not really a part of this software, but it is very well liked.
• Connected Speech - A good package of listening and speaking activities that are theme based.  The focus of this pronunciation software is to work on sentence level issues (prosodics: suprasegmentals, rythm, stress and intonation)

Using software to work on English pronunciation isn't the end-all and be-all.  A student must get real life exposure and practice speaking as much as possible.  Improving pronunciation is a lot like playing professional sports.  You can practice all you want, but until you get into the game, your skills don't really shine or let you down.  It is in the 'game' that you learn where you need to work on your pronunciation and what is already OK.  Getting students to do that…well that is an issue beyond any pronunciation software.

Cheers,

Eric

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