HearSay - Pronounce English

HearSay helps you improve your American-English pronunciation.

Using HearSay is easy - it will speak some words that appear on the screen, the user repeats them into the microphone, and then listens to both pronunciations.

It was designed with help from professors of English as a Second Language – ESL, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and English for Academic Purposes - EAP.

Listening to a recording of your own voice is a fast way to change how you sound. With practice, your accent will become like the accent in the recordings. A few minutes a day will make your verbal communication easier.

There is no perfect accent, but there are degrees of frustration that accompany heavy accents that are influenced by another language. The only way to improve is to exercise. The change is gradual, and takes effort.

There is an American accent called “neutral” or “Broadcast” accent which is widely accepted as the closest that we have to a standard. This app is not intended for Americans who have a regional accent - southern, or New England. These accents are considered charming, and communication is still fluid with other Americans who speak with a different accent. We are aiming at helping people who have difficulty understanding, and being understood.

The Canadian accent is quite similar to American. This app can be used by those seeking to communicate fluidly with Canadians. It's not about the subtle difference in pronunciation, it's about easy communication.

This app currently has 50 “phrases” in the Basic phrase pack. Some of these are not really phrases, but words with similar, or contrasting sounds. They exercise the 14 different vowel sounds in English, and a few of the other common problem areas. You can make a lot of progress working with just these sounds.

There is an Advanced Phrase Pack that has the most common sounds that non-English speakers have trouble with. There is a small fee to use the Advanced Phrase Pack.

You can practice them in order, or allow HearSay to pick them randomly. You can repeat the previous phrase over and over until you are satisfied that you are close to the recorded accent.

There is also a Hands-Free mode that will go to the next phrase automatically until you turn it off.

The quality of the sound depends on the quality of your phone or tablet. Using earphones or a headset may improve the experience.

We appreciate your feedback. If you have any suggestions for the developers, please feel free to let us know. And especially your success stories - we want to hear them!

Dr. Colin Archibald
Dr. Lisa Macon

drcolinarchibald@gmail.com