voice recognition apps to help learn english pronunciation

One way to improve pronunciation is to speak into a voice recognition website.

Just say what you need to practice - and hopefully the system will give it back to you in the correct form - using the most popular online dictionary:

Google Translate

Voice recognition technology uses machine learning algorithms to analyze the sounds of your voice and provide feedback on your pronunciation. This technology can help you identify pronunciation areas where you need improvement and provide you with instant feedback to help you correct your mistakes.

Better English Pronunciation with Voice Recognition

Why Use Speech Recognition for Language Learning?

Improve Pronunciation

First of all, using speech recognition can help you fine-tune your pronunciation. One of the trickiest aspects of learning to speak a language is getting your pronunciation right, especially if you’re mostly learning on your own. Even native speakers can sometimes have a hard time pinpointing which part of your pronunciation needs correcting.

How to Learn Languages with Speech Recognition Tools | FluentU Language Learning

And there are some good apps out there: 

Which is the best AI conversation practice app for language learners? | by Oh Yeah Sarah | Medium

Record yourself while you speak. Sometimes, we don’t know exactly how we sound until we carefully listen to our own voices. So when you’re practicing pronunciation, record yourself and then compare that with the learning material.

13 Best English Pronunciation Apps in 2024 | FluentU Language Learning

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easy english practice.com

There are lots of places to go online to practice your English.

A lot is 'to-pay-for' - and a lot is free - and a lot is a mixture of the two.

Here's a good example:

Listening Course To Improve Speaking » English Easy Practice

Here are a couple of reviews of their offer:

English Easy Practice Course Review - English Video Lessons

My English Learning Journey 👍 Review/Recommend: English Easy Practice Cheap at $39 ONLY! Review#001 - YouTube

Going onto their YouTube channel, they have lots of realistic dialogues to listen to with subtitles - with helpful analysis and 'teaching' to go a little deeper:

English Easy Practice - YouTube

For example:

Here’s how the video is organized: Part 1: Listening Practice with Conversations 🎧 In this part, you will listen to natural English conversations. This helps you get used to the flow of English and how words are used in real life. Part 2: Learn Vocabulary Words 📚 We will teach you useful vocabulary from the conversation. These words will help you understand better and talk more clearly in English. Part 3: English Speaking Practice with the Listen-and-Answer Method 🗣️ Practice your speaking by answering questions based on the conversation. Make sure you say your answers out loud! This will help you improve your speaking skills quickly. Download listen-and-answer practice lessons here 👉 https://englisheasypractice.com/ Part 4: Shadowing English Practice 🗣️ In this final part, you will repeat sentences from the conversation. This is called "shadowing." It helps you match the way native speakers talk, including their accent and rhythm.

Improve Your English Skills with Daily Conversations to Speak English Fluently - YouTube

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creativity in the esl classroom

It's good to get creative in any classroom. But what do we mean by 'creative' and why might it be a good thing? 

There's a very good overview in the introduction to this excellent guide, from Alan Maley and Nik Peachey writing for the British Council:

Creativity in the English language classroom

Here's a look at creativity in the ESL classroom:

Creative thinking is the ability to devise innovative, inventive approaches and solutions to problems. Creative thinking overlaps in some crucial respects with critical thinking. They both engage new and preexisting knowledge. They are also both often involved with problem-solving and decision-making. Finally, both creativity and critical thinking can be triggered by the individual’s curiosity about a specific topic. A 21st-century skill, or “soft skill,” creative thinking is now considered an important feature in education, valued by employers, and necessary to prepare students to enter the workforce. These 21st-century skills are sometimes referred to as the Four C’s: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. But, what does it mean to promote creative thinking in ESL, specifically?

Unleashing the Power of Creative Thinking in the ESL Classroom

Here are some great lesson ideas from the latest E L Gazette:

TIME TO GET POLITICAL
How one class used performing arts to address real world issues

WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE
Teaching communication skills through group projects in digital media

THE BIGGER PICTURE
We chat with an artist and writer about how being bilingual has influenced her work

IN TIMES OF WAR
Teachers and students across three countries use creativity to support those in need

LOOSEN UP
Using ‘loose parts play’ with very young learners

Finally, here's a recent academic study:

Infusing creative pedagogy into an English as a foreign language classroom: Learning performance, creativity, and motivation - ScienceDirect

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what is 'science'?

Science is celebrated in many corners - for example:

Sidmouth Science Festival

Here's an example of 'science':

Jay Doubleyou: why do some people believe bees shouldn't be able to fly?

And, yes, it gets political:

More than half of British girls lack confidence learning maths, poll finds | Schools | The Guardian

Ada Lovelace Day – Celebrating the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths

Cafe Scientifique: Floating Offshore Wind Farms – Sidmouth Science Festival

2021 Sidmouth Science Festival programme.pdf

Jay Doubleyou: why do some people believe bees shouldn't be able to fly?

Science is very much about getting the numbers:

Jay Doubleyou: damned statistics

It should mean we are getting more knowledgeable:

Jay Doubleyou: are we getting more stupid?

Back to the science - and its relatives:

Jay Doubleyou: science, technology and philosophy

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what is 'music'?

Why do humans do music? 

Jay Doubleyou: why music?

What is 'music'? Here's a picture:

Jay Doubleyou: what does your taste in music say about you?

What music we listen to tells us a lot about who we are:

Jay Doubleyou: what does your taste in music say about you? part three

Here's a quiz which shows it:

What the Music You Love Says About You and How It Can Improve Your Life | TIME

What are the basics?

Jay Doubleyou: the basics of music

Jay Doubleyou: polyrhythm and different rhythms

And once you dig deep, it gets very interesting:

Jay Doubleyou: music and politics go hand in hand

Jay Doubleyou: how classical music brings people together

Jay Doubleyou: dumbing down high culture

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what is 'merit'?

This is something most of us think is a good thing - but what is 'merit' exactly?

the quality of being good and deserving praise:

MERIT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

And what do we mean by 'deserving' what you get?

to have earned or to be given something because of the way you have behaved or the qualities you have:

DESERVE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

Most of us believe that 'merit' deserves recognition and should be rewarded:

In a meritocracy, the people are chosen who are thought to be the best.

Meritocracy - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But do we really 'merit' or 'deserve' what we get?

Do you feel lucky? The answer, well known to psychologists, is that you probably don’t. You probably think you got where you are today through willpower and elbow grease. We chronically underestimate luck’s role, and this seems to get worse the richer we get; surveys show that the wealthiest are least likely to attribute their fortunes to, well, good fortune. They also seem to be meaner: one ingenious study found drivers of luxury cars were more likely to cut others off than those in cheaper vehicles.

It’s hardly surprising many such people oppose taxation and government spending: why should others get a handout if they didn’t need one? The ironic result is that they vote against the very policies that helped them get lucky to begin with. In a recent Atlantic essay, Robert Frank, an economist who has studied attitudes to chance, quoted EB White: “Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.”

Yet to see this purely as a problem of the super-rich lets the rest of us off too easily. Anyone living in a highly developed economy in 2016 is already the beneficiary of stupendous luck – for example, not being born during the plague, or living in the modern-day Central African Republic (average life expectancy:about 50). Ponder that, and it’s easier to see why Buddhists speak of the incomparable luck of being born human at all. You might have been a battery hen, or a mayfly with a one-day lifespan.

Don’t think you’re lucky? Think again | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian

Jay Doubleyou: don’t think you’re lucky? think again

In other words:

Do Those on Top Deserve Their Success?

Many people who find themselves on the wrong side of growing inequality feel the system is stacked against them.
But who deserves to succeed?
Should we reward talent and hard work?
If so, what do we do about those left behind?
Do they deserve their fate, too?
And is talent, in fact, little more than luck?
Using a pioneering digital facility at Harvard Business School, Professor Michael Sandel is joined by 60 people from nearly 40 different countries.
Together they look for answers to these tough questions; questions which lie behind some of the biggest political stories of the moment.

The Global Philosopher - Do Those on Top Deserve Their Success? - BBC Sounds

Jay Doubleyou: meritocracy

Even the Financial Times is questioning this:

Architects of Meritocracy

Michael Sandel has written a book about this:

The Tyranny of Merit

And he makes a provocative statement:

Michael Sandel: 'The populist backlash has been a revolt against the tyranny of merit' | Michael Sandel | The Guardian

Here he is talking about this:

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Michael Sandel: The tyranny of merit | TED Talk

Jay Doubleyou: the tyranny of merit: we are not self-made or self-sufficient

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There are two new books out on this:

Inheritocracy | Biteback Publishing

The Art of Uncertainty by David Spiegelhalter review – a search for sense in probability and chance | Books | The Guardian

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On the radio:

Start the Week - Chance and fortune - BBC Sounds

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what is 'justice'?

There is the philosophy of justice:

A Theory of Justice - Wikipedia

With a very popular online course available:

Justice | Harvard University

Justice with Michael Sandel - YouTube

Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do? Episode 01 "THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER" - YouTube

And there is the practice of justice:

Jay Doubleyou: restorative justice

Jay Doubleyou: crime and punishment

With experiments happening in Liverpool [from 2:36:00]

Today - 18/09/24 - BBC Sounds

Back to philosophy:

Prisoners should indeed suffer for the wrongs they have done, not only because locking them up keeps society safe, and not only because their suffering may deter future offenders, but also because it is better that they come to truly understand the error of their ways, even if they never step back into society afterwards. In bringing about the feelings of shame that attend moral insight, punishment can add moral knowledge to the world. And more knowledge is better than less.

On Retributive Punishment | Issue 163 | Philosophy Now

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