6 Language Apps That Use Speech Recognition for Well-rounded Learning

6 Language Apps That Use Speech Recognition for Well-rounded Learning 6 Language Apps That Use Speech Recognition for Well-rounded Learning Its one of the biggest obstacles for language learners.Ive got all the right books tons of vocabulary flashcards Im signed up for an awesome online courseBut I cant find anyone to actually speak with!If youre learning a language solo and dont live near native speakers of your target language, youre probably sick of gabbing to yourself.Luckily, technology provides a solution.Thanks to increasingly advanced speech recognition software, there are apps that can give you instant feedback on your speaking and pronunciation skills.Here are the six best apps for language learners with speech recognition, so you can get talkin at any time! Why Use Speech Recognition for Language Learning?First of all, using speech recognition can help you fine-tune your pronunciation. When you practice speaking independently, it can be difficult to hear what youre doing wrong, so having an app that can pinpoint problems is a useful way to determine what you need to work on.Additionally, speech recognition i snt  intimidating. Since you arent working with a real person, you wont be embarrassed if you make a mistake. Practicing with an app can make you more confident in your skills and eventually take away some of the intimidation factor of talking with actual native speakers.Finally, speech recognition apps provide a  flexible study option. You can get speaking practice whenever you want, without needing to schedule time with your conversation partner.That means you can cram in a little extra speech practice whether youre waiting in line at the store, relaxing in bed or even in the shower (just make sure your phone is waterproof first).6 Language Apps That Use Speech Recognition for Well-rounded LearningIf youre anxious for this kind of speaking practice, youre the type of language learner who enjoys immersive learning (surrounding yourself with the real spoken and written language). FluentU is a great option for at-home immersion to round out the speaking skills that youll build with t he apps below.FluentU provides authentic foreign language videos, like movie trailers, music clips, inspiring talks and more, thatve been transformed into language learning experiences. Each video comes with interactive captionsâ€"click any word for an instant definition, native pronunciation and visual learning aid. Youll also get flashcards and exercises to help you remember what youve learned when youre done watching.All the videos are organized by genre and learning level, so its easy to find something that works for you. Its a fun way to actively build your vocabulary, grammar and comprehension skills while absorbing your target language the way native speakers really use it.Check out the full video library for free with a FluentU trial, and then test your speech on the new words you find there with the apps below!MondlyNeed some conversation practice? Mondly might be the supportive, non-judgmental conversation partner youre looking for.Mondlys main focus is on helping you lear n common words and phrases that you can use in real-world situations youre likely to encounter.After helping you remember key words and start putting together phrases, Mondly will put your speaking skills to the test with a simulated conversation. Youll hear a prompt spoken by a native speaker. The words and their translations will also appear on the screen. From there, youll have a list of options for replies you can actually say into your device.Mondlys speech recognition aims to improve your pronunciation by listening to your words and phrases and giving you feedback for correct, clear speaking.Mondly offers more than 30 languages, including common options like Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. However, Mondly also offers less common options, like Afrikaans, Bulgarian, Croatian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Persian and more.BabbelIf you dont have much time but want to pack in a lot of language learning, you might want to try Ba bbel.Babbel aims to teach you a language in 10- to 15-minute daily lessons. It covers popular topics, like business, travel, shopping, dining and transportation, to ensure that the skills you learn are likely to be usable in the real world.Babbels speech recognition feature appears during vocabulary review. Youll see the written word and its English meaning and you can also play an audio pronunciation. From there, you have the option of speaking the word yourself. Your goal is to emulate the pronunciation you heard.If your pronunciation is good, youll get a new word. If not, you have four more chances before the app moves on regardless of your pronunciation.Babbel offers 14 languages, including Spanish, French, German, Russian, Italian and English.AudioNoteWhile AudioNote isnt designed for language learners, it could be your secret weapon for perfecting your pronunciation.AudioNotes main focus is (you guessed it) taking audio notes. This means that you speak into your device while t he app jots down what you said.For language learners, this provides a  quick way to see if your pronunciation is clear enough for the app to understand what youre saying. If the transcription isnt accurate, you may not be speaking clearly enough.One of the features thats perhaps most useful for language learners is the linking of  audio and text. You can play back the audio you spoke as the app highlights the transcription to show where youre at. This makes it easy to pinpoint which (if any) words you mispronounced. You can also tap your notes if you want to hear specific words you said.AudioNote is available in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.BusuuGot an extra 10 minutes today? Busuu can help fill it with language learning goodness.Not only will Busuu provide you with grammar lessons, vocabulary practice and conversations with native speakers, but it can also help you improve your accent with speech recognition exercises.In these exercises, you hear a native speaker an d repeat after him/her. Then, the app will tell you if you pronounced the prompts correctly.Levels range from beginner to fluent.  Busuu offers 12 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.Rocket LanguagesSure, Rocket Languages offers plenty of interactive materials to help you learn a language. Sure, its designed to be flexible so you can learn at your pace in whatever time you have available. But lets get to the juicy stuff: the speech recognition activities.Rocket Languages offers speech recognition for thousands of phrases. Youll be presented with a written word or phrase and its English translation. For languages that dont use the Latin alphabet, therell also be a transliteration listed to make things a little easier for you.Then, you can speak that word or phrase and the app will give you feedback on your pronunciation.Rocket Languages offers 12 foreign languages, including Spanish, Portug uese, French, Italian, German, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Arabic and Japanese.Rosetta Stone If youre into language apps and/or software, chances are youve heard of Rosetta Stone. Probably a lot. But dont stop reading just yet!Rosetta Stone has a lot to offer for language learners, so it should come as no surprise that their app offers some top-notch speech recognition. In fact, their speech recognition comes complete with its own registered trademark name: TruAccentâ„¢.It aims to help you perfect your accent by practicing common words and phrases and reading short stories aloud.This technology not only checks to make sure the words and phrases you used are correct, but it also compares your speech to that of a native speaker to provide you with an instant assessment of which words you pronounced well and which could use some more work.You can even compare the wavelengths of your audio to that of the native speaker, for super-precise adjustments. Plus, Rosetta Stone will track your pr ogress and let you  see how your pronunciation has improved over time.Rosetta Stone offers over 20 languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, French and German.So speak up with these six apps with speech recognition! And One More ThingSpeaking is only one side of the conversation. Let FluentU sharpen your listening, reading and writing skills, too.  FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that real people speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos, like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse ScreenFluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover over or tap on th e subtitles to instantly view definitions.FluentU Interactive TranscriptsYou can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.