"ELSA, English Language Speech Assistant, is a fun and engaging app specially designed to help you improve your English pronunciation." [from elsaspeak.com] ELSA Speak is an app for your phone. It uses artificial intelligence technology to recognize speech patterns and help English language learners develop their speaking and pronunciation skills. According to the website, "27 hours of studying with ELSA is equivalent to an ESL speaking course at an American University." Here's what one reviewer says: "I never thought I would be able to get rid of my strong Chinese accent. Then I discovered this app. It helped me identify issues with my pronunciation that I was not aware of." Others say there is room for improvement. "I like the app overall, but there are some improvements that can be made, and bugs that can be fixed," says one user. "There is still quite a lot that could be done to this app," writes a reviewer of the product. Some of my students have used it for some time and really like it. To read more about ELSA Speak, you can go to their website: elsaspeak.com. Also, if you want to read some third-party reviews of the speaking practice app, go to any of the following: https://www.alllanguageresources.com/elsa-speak/ https://justuseapp.com/en/app/1083804886/elsa-speak-accent-coach/reviews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpwLk9U5sEU Below is a lengthy video review of ELSA Speak. I hope you find this post helpful. Please let me know in the comments below. Are you struggling to find ways to practice your English speaking skills? I know that many of my students have expressed that during the pandemic, it has been difficult to find those opportunities. I have provided some other posts on this topic, but here are some additional apps that you might find helpful: 1. Lingo Blabla 2. Duolingo 3. Speaky 4. Cambly 5. HiNative To read more about each one of these and to find a link to each app, click here! If you are serious about wanting to learn English, Quizlet is a must-have app. You can use Quizlet to study vocabulary on your computer, your tablet, or even your phone. Here's a review from EdSurge.com: "Quizlet offers free online study tools starting with flashcards and other games, aimed at helping students learn material. Students can create their own study sets or can make use of the approximately 16 million flash card sets created by other students. In addition to "flashcards" the site also offers games. How Does It Work? Quizlet helps students focus on the facts that they are learning by making lists (say, words and definitions), and then self-testing their knowledge of these facts by using online flashcards and games. Among the games included in Quizlet are
To read more of this review of Quizlet, click here. You can use Quizlet on your computer, your tablet or your smartphone. To sign up for Quizlet, go to this site: quizlet.com/www.quizlet.com. To learn more about this wonderful app, check out the video below. With schools closed down most everywhere due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the opportunity to continue learning English face-to-face in a classroom is not possible. However, that does not mean that your learning has to stop completely. There are many things that you can still do to practice your English skills. One of those ways is to use some of the many free apps that are available for download on your cellphone. Some of these include: Hello English, Duolingo, Lingbe, Memrise, busuu, Awabe, Learn English Daily, Beelinguapp, Hello Talk, and English Speaking Practice. To learn about each of these apps, click HERE. If any of you have ideas of some other apps that are helpful to learn and practice English, please use the contact tool on this page to let me know, and I will gladly share it with others. Today, most everyone owns a smartphone. Did you know that you can practice your English using your phone? That means no matter where you are, you can be learning and improving your English skills. Duolingo is a completely free app that you may find helpful. Here's what the Educational App Store says about Duolingo: "Duolingo is one of the best English language apps today and highly recommended for English beginners. The gamified learning system of the app helps you learn English quickly by spending twenty minutes a day. Duolingo structures your lessons that teaches you about seven new words based on a topic and skill points being awarded for completing the lessons. Duolingo lessons adapt to the users learning style. Exercises are tailored to help the users learn and review vocabulary effectively. Duolingo is an excellent English learning app that helps cover a lot of material for English learners of all levels." To read the rest of the review on Duolingo, click here. To go directly to the duolingo website, click on this link: www.duolingo.com For some time now, I have been promising that I would provide some suggestions on some English language learning apps for your smartphone. Today, I will begin to that. Now, I do not promise that I will have tried each of these apps, but I will provide you links to reviews and other information that should help you learn more about each one and help you decide whether or not it might be helpful to you. The first app that I am bringing to your attention is called FluentU. This web-based app is available for both Android and iPhone users. From what I understand, it uses videos on Youtube to help you learn language "using real life, native content." FluentU has a free app, but you can also purchase an upgrade which costs around $8/month. To read a review of FluentU, click here. To go directly to the FluentU website, click here. If you have had any experience with FluentU, please let me know in the Comments section. Would you recommend it? Did you use the free app, or did you purchase a subscription? Here's a video that will tell you more about FluentU. |
AuthorMy name is Craig, and I've been teaching English for many years. I initially created this site for my students, but all English learners are welcome. I hope you find something helpful to you. Feel free to leave suggestions or ideas in the Comments section under any entry. Categories
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