My Review of an English Pronunciation App (ELSA Speak)

Summary

In this video, the speaker tests out the ELSA Speak app, designed to help English learners improve their pronunciation. After setting the app with a Chinese accent, the speaker undergoes an evaluation and receives a score of 77%, with feedback on problematic sounds like 'TH' and 'L/R' confusion. They later test the app with a clearer, more natural pronunciation and achieve a 97% score. The app offers valuable feedback, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement. The speaker encourages viewers to try the app and share their results, noting that it's free for the initial evaluation and offers modules for further learning.

Takeaways

• 😀 ELSA Speak is an app designed to help non-native English speakers improve their pronunciation and sound more native.
• 😀 The user begins by selecting their native language and English proficiency level in the app.
• 😀 The app provides an evaluation feature to assess the user's pronunciation through various sentences.
• 😀 The user attempts different accents (e.g., Chinese) to test how well the app identifies pronunciation issues.
• 😀 Initial score of 77% in the evaluation reflects the user's intermediate level, highlighting areas for improvement.
• 😀 The app gives detailed feedback on pronunciation issues, including trouble with sounds like 'V' for 'visit' and 'TH' for 'with'.
• 😀 The feedback includes a native speaker’s pronunciation for comparison, showing how the user should improve their speech.
• 😀 The app uses color coding (red for major issues, yellow for minor issues) to visually highlight problem areas in pronunciation.
• 😀 After making adjustments and speaking more clearly, the user’s score improves to 97%, indicating significant progress.
• 😀 The user encourages viewers to try the app and share their own pronunciation scores and improvement areas in the comments.
• 😀 The app is free to evaluate pronunciation, but users need to pay for further modules and lessons for advanced features.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the app ELSA Speak?

ELSA Speak is designed to help students learning English improve their pronunciation and sound more native by providing feedback and exercises tailored to their level.

What was the user's initial experience with ELSA Speak?

The user initially received a score of 77% after completing the evaluation with a Chinese accent, finding that only the advanced level of the app seemed to work effectively, with lower levels providing minimal feedback.

How does ELSA Speak assess the user's pronunciation?

The app evaluates pronunciation by having users read sentences aloud, then providing feedback with scores for various aspects like vowel sounds, stress, and specific sounds (e.g., TH, L, R).

What feature of the app impressed the user the most?

The user was impressed by how the app provided native speaker comparisons and highlighted problematic sounds with color coding (red for major issues, yellow for minor ones), offering useful feedback for improvement.

What did the user notice about their improvement in pronunciation?

The user noticed a significant improvement, with their score increasing from 77% to 97% after speaking more clearly and focusing on specific problem areas. However, they also wondered how the app would respond to a more natural, relaxed speaking style.

What did the user find strange about some of the example sentences?

The user found some of the example sentences in the app awkward or unrealistic, such as the sentence 'The voice I have can now be heard,' which they considered strange.

What kind of feedback does the app provide after a user completes an evaluation?

After an evaluation, the app provides a score, a breakdown of problem areas (e.g., specific sounds), and highlights errors in the user's pronunciation, offering native speaker examples for comparison.

How does the app categorize the severity of pronunciation issues?

Pronunciation issues are categorized with color coding: red indicates major issues, while yellow signifies minor problems. This helps users understand which areas require more focus.

What does the app offer after completing the pronunciation test?

After completing the pronunciation test, the app provides a personalized learning plan with modules targeting specific problem areas based on the user's evaluation results.

What was the user's final score after making adjustments to their pronunciation?

The user achieved a final score of 97%, noting that they consciously spoke more clearly and slowly to help the app understand them better. They plan to test whether a more natural speaking style would result in a higher or lower score.