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It all started when one of my English teachers made us “repeat after her”, and it still echoes in my head  “I sink…”  just like the infamous commercial indicating the importance of learning English but correctly. All the descriptions my teacher made to pronounce “think” were perfectly alright but the end product was not accurate. It could happen to all non-native English teachers and in times like these “Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters or Batman? Here comes technology to the rescue. (once again)

In times when your sole information source was your “teachers” it was quite important for us to rely on them. Technology in this case replaced teachers. Learning had to be in class most (sometimes all ) of the time increasing your dependency on teachers. What’s more, trying to pronounce words in front of your peers was a painful experience due to fear of being corrected and mocked , even outside the class, until accurate pronunciation is heard. We now have countless means to be exposed to language instead of “repeating after teacher”. That’s why I decided to develop an application with a close friend and colleague of mine to help students improve their pronunciation skills.

If you had a look through my own blog you must have realized the Speech (Voice) Recognition technology for pronunciation practice. Now the idea is turned into reality by adding functionality through creating an Android Application which recognizes your speech and gives you instant feedback when you wrongly pronounce it three times in a row. That is not the invention of all times but the notion is being aware of the latest technology as a teacher and looking for ways to adapt it into your teaching. I was looking for a way and asked my colleague and friend (Mustafa Kırgül), who is also an instructor of English and way better in writing scripts than I am, to create an application that includes vocabulary of the books I am teaching. Please share your comment as it will evolve but please remember that we are not Professional Software Developers but English Teachers who love technology. We used internet to learn how to develop the software, meaning technology again replaced teacher.

Why do I need an App like this? Students will be able to practice pronunciation using the vocabulary they will learn through their level, not some random vocabulary. Although the main focus is on Pronunciation practice it has another function which is as important. Side effect is about Vocabulary. During practice students will familiarize themselves with the vocabulary in that level or class. That way a visual and audio retention will be created in students mind to ease remembering or learning a vocabulary.

Why did we develop the app in Android platform but not in iOS? Forbes* answers the first part of the question; Over this past quarter, of the mobile devices sold, 64.1% are powered by Google’s Android and 18.8% are operated by Apple’s iOS.  (22.08.2012). Also Apple requires a lot of procedure , expertise and money whereas Android is Open Source meaning no requirement of procedures and high cost (free).

Benefits of the application:

• Focusing on target vocabulary.
• Aids/supports teacher in class
• Saves teacher time in class
• Reduces peer/teacher anxiety
• Practice anytime & anywhere

Application is not distributed through Android Market (Play Store) as it is still under construction trying to complete its evolution. But you can download the .apk and install:

Download and Installation Guide Video

* http://www.forbes.com/sites/darcytravlos/2012/08/22/five-reasons-why-google-android-versus-apple-ios-market-share-numbers-dont-matter/