An Overview of Pronunciation Software

TESOL 2002
Using Technology to Teach Pronunciation Colloquium

Deborah Healey

Contact information
Deborah Healey, Ph.D.
Director, English Language Institute
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-1632
541-737-6985
Fax: 541-737-0871
deborah.healey@orst.edu
www.onid.orst.edu/~healeyd

Outline

Why
  Common needs
Standard features
  Listen, record, compare
  Discrete item practice
  Waveforms or other graphical representations
Positive features
  Visual representations of sounds
  Suprasegmentals
  Phoneme work
Drawbacks
  Visual representations
  Lack of analysis
  Lack of context
  Absence of psychological and social elements
Examples from programs
Future directions and wish list

References and Resources Online

Overview of Software for Pronunciation

TitlePublisherDescriptionCostCommentsReviews
Accent LabAccent TechnologiesExercises on sounds, formant maps, waveforms$40Visuals are hard to interpret, but the price is very reasonable. Authorable. Windows only.Beare
American SpeechSoundsSpeechComProfessional version has authoring$70 personal, $300 professionalWindows only.Beare
Better Accent TutorBetter AccentExercises$125Windows and Macintosh.
Connected SpeechProtea TextwareExercises with video; focus on suprasegmentals$120North American form; Australian and British now available. Windows only. Darhower
Course in English PronunciationSky Software House Exercises with video$45 British English. Sounds, words and sentence-level activities in an organized curriculum. Windows only.
Clear Speech WorksNow sold by DynEdExercises, specialized and vocational vocabulary work$80Exercises can be grouped by L1. Windows and Macintosh.Beare
Earobics Step 1 and Step 2Cognitive ConceptsAdaptive game format; record-keeping$60 2 users total; $300 12 users for ea levelTwo levels, one for younger and one for older children. Designed for native speakers in speech clinics. Windows and Macintosh.
Ellis Master PronunciationELLISExercises, including tongue twisters, speech acts; native language help$500Explanations in over 20 languages. Windows only.
English Easy: Vowels and ConsonantsGreenwood MultimediaCanadian English pronunciation in a cultural context$40 each (?)Explanations in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese. Windows only.
Hear Say for AllCommunication Disorders TechnologyExercises, graphic representations$75Also available: special versions for Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish speakers. Windows only.
Pro-Nunciation Sound Lab and Mouth ExercisesPro-NunciationExercises on individual sounds and intonation patterns; mouth diagrams$55British or American English. Right-click on any word to hear it and see mouth diagrams. Windows only.
Pronunciation in American EnglishAmEnglish.comStress, intonation, and rhythm emphasized in exercises$30 siteSome record management. TOEIC-related content. Windows only.
Pronunciation Power 1 and 2English Computerized LearningFocus on phonemes; some work on intonation. Mouth views in cutaway and video format; waveforms$145 (PP1); $85 (PP2); $195 bothAmerican English. Windows and Macintosh.Beare, Kellermann
Sky Compilation Disk 1: PronunciationSky Software HouseA set of pronunciation programs.$45British English. Minimal pairs, stress and rhythm, phonemic alphabet. Extensive on-screen explanation makes this best for high-intermediate and advanced learners. Windows only.
Sounds English, Alphabet Academy, Fit or FatGeoff TaylorExercises and games to practice phonemes and IPA; recorded and synthesized speechfreewareBlack and white graphics. Macintosh only.
Speak OutPerLingua SoftwareRole-playing game using speech recognition$10 sharewareLanguage in context - students focus on accuracy to play the game. Macintosh only.
Speech PrismLanguage VisionA variety of visual representations for work on sounds. Relatively easy to compare visually to model.$130 Designed for speech therapy. No sounds included. Record-keeping. 30 day trial from website. Windows only.
Vowel TargetLanguage VisionGame to improve vowel sounds - try to approximate the model to hit the target$60Not easy to match the sound, even for a native speaker. Record-keeping. 30 day trial from website. Windows only.
Video KaraokePerLinguaStudents add their voices to video clips $20Several different settings to choose from, all conversational. Macintosh only.
VideoVoiceMicro VideoSpeech therapy program; many visualizing activities$2500Comes with digitizing equipment; no sounds included. Windows and Macintosh.
VisiPitch; Video PhoneticsKay ElemetricsPitch visualizations; video and sound samples useful for pitch and waveform analysis Requires its own hardware. Software only-version available as Sona-Speech II.



http://oregonstate.edu/~healeyd/tesol2002/pron.html
Last updated 14 May 2005 by D.Healey, deborah.healey AT oregonstate.edu