This post was updated in November 2021
Learning English pronunciation can be challenging especially for ESL and EFL (English as Foreign Language) students who have no access to immersive native language usage contexts. Well, with the Internet and web technologies access to native English pronunciation is now easier than anytime before. I still remember how hard it was for us in the early 90s of last century to learn English. There was no Internet and certainly no YouTube and the little English we would hear came from TV channels our parents satellite dishes would capture, for those of us whose parents were lucky enough to afford one.
The net is teeming with all kinds of web tools and mobile apps to help anyone learn a new language right from the comforts of their own place. From Skype to Buncee, students have tons of options at their hands.
In learning English, one particular aspect that poses the most difficulties to learners is English pronunciation. This is something I noticed first hand when I was teaching EFL, and something that happened to me when I first started learning English. English pronunciation is hard it has no consistent phonetic pattern. For instance, the words tough, enough, and though have the same graphic ending (ough) yet sound differently.
Luckily, many of the online dictionary now offer pronunciation features which allow users to hear the words and read their definitions.
Below are three web tools or strategies I would recommend for ESL and language learners to help them improve their English pronunciation. These are Google Dictionary, Google Pronunciation, and YouGlish.
Google Dictionary
Google Dictionary is integrated with Google Search and is also available as a Chrome extension which you can download from Chrome Web Store and use on any web page to search for definitions of difficult terms. Each definition comes the pronunciation. Similarly, when you go to Google Search and type in ‘Define+ word” (e.g., Define+ scratch) you will get the definition of the word and a Listen icon before the word. Clicking on that icon will enable you to hear the English pronunciation of that word. Additionally, under each word is the phonetic transcription which is ideal especially for students with hearing problems. Phonetic transcription shows students how the word sounds.
Google Pronunciation
The second tool is similar to Google Dictionary. You simply open Google Search and type in ‘How to say + word’ (e.g., How to say scratch), and Google will provide you with a sample of how the word is pronounced. Unlike Google Dictionary, this tool allows you to switch between British and American English. Phonetic transcription is also provided making the pronunciation of the word accessible to all learners.
YouGlish
The third tool I would recommend for ESL students keen on improving their English pronunciation is YouGlish. I have already provided a full review of YouGlish in another post here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. Youglish works differently. You type in a word in its search box and hit ‘Say it’ to get a collection of YouTube video clips where the word is pronounced.
There are several excellent features provided by YouGlish. These include : real time captions with the ability to click on any word that shows up in the caption to definite it. YouGlish provides a recording feature which allows students to record themselves and save their recordings. They can share these recordings with their teachers or listen to them and compare them with native speakers. There is also a section with tips on how to pronounce English words. These tips are customized to each word you search for. Other features include Nearby Words which is a collection of words that have similar pronunciation to the search word, tips to help with pronouncing words, and many more.
