ELSA Speak: Is it worth it?
- Drew Anne Oliver
- Feb 15, 2024
- 5 min read
ELSA Speak is a mobile app designed to help non-native English speakers improve their spoken English skills, particularly focusing on pronunciation and accent reduction. The app adopts the American English variety, ergo, the standard American pronunciation, also called Broadcaster or General American English. "ELSA" stands for English Language Speech Assistant. The app utilizes advanced speech recognition technology and artificial intelligence to provide users with personalized lessons and feedback on their pronunciation.
Want to install the ELSA App and test it while you read this review? Click here for the best offer and pricing.
This blog post was originally published on 09/23/2023 and is the original work of Drew Anne Oliver. All rights to this content are reserved, and any use or reproduction of this material must be credited to drewanneoliver.com.
KEY FEATURES OF THE ELSA SPEAK APP
Pronunciation Analysis: The app listens to users as they speak and provides instant feedback on their pronunciation accuracy. It identifies specific areas where users might struggle and offers guidance on how to improve.
Personalized Lessons: ELSA Speak offers tailored lessons based on the user's native language and individual pronunciation challenges. This ensures that the learning experience is relevant and effective for each user.
Speech Recognition: The app's speech recognition technology assesses aspects of speech such as intonation, stress, and rhythm. This helps users refine their speaking skills to sound more natural and fluent.
Vocabulary and Phrases: ELSA Speak covers a wide range of vocabulary and common phrases used in everyday conversations. This helps users practice speaking in real-life contexts.
Progress Tracking: The app keeps track of users' progress over time, allowing them to see how their pronunciation skills are improving and where they still need to focus.
Interactive Exercises: ELSA Speak offers interactive exercises and quizzes to reinforce learning and make the process engaging.
Accent Reduction: One of the app's main goals is to help users reduce their accents, making their spoken English clearer and more easily understood by native speakers.
MY SAY ON ELSA
I tested ELSA Pro for two months, and, as a somewhat competitive human being, I'd say it can be pretty engaging if you explore it enough.
Well, at first, I felt kind of lost with so many options, and because my deadline to do this review was nowhere near my horizon, I started using the app once a week to see what happened. And you know what happened after a month? Absolutely nothing! I then realized I was stuck with this boring app.
To make things worse, I looked at a couple of reviews online, and my impressions got even more negative.
But then I thought, wait a second, these guys are all English pronunciation teachers, so of course they have some bias. I looked into some other reviews and then said, you know what? I'm gonna put in the effort and do this thing for once.
So, instead of just picking the "practice daily lessons" once a week - and sometimes not even completing the lessons of that day – I did the exercises completely and started seeing some results. I started paying attention to the gamified aspect of ELSA, and it all made more sense.
First of all, the idea of rank & league gamification systems is not new, and many apps have adopted it. If you're not familiar with the ranking & league systems, here's how it works in ELSA. There are ten different leagues:
1. Andromeda League
2. Bootes League
3. Cassiopeia League
4. Draco League
5. Eridanus League
6. Gemini League
7. Hydra League
8. Indus League
9. Leo League
10. Orion League
Every Sunday, the leaderboard resets, and so does point counting. This means that the top 5 ranking users (leaderboard members) move up to the next league, and the lowest 5 ranking users are demoted to the previous league. Everyone else stays in the same league.
I went up to the Orion League and finished in the final leaderboard just to see what happened when one finishes the game, but I decided not to give any spoilers here, so, see for yourself and let me know how you felt about it.
Suffice it to say that the overall ranking and moving up to the Orion League is not the only achievement you can have in the app. Take a look at this:
And, before I move into the pros and cons of the app, one important fact about it is that you can always opt out of the competitive mode in the learning settings.
PROS
Many exercise options
The ELSA Speak app impresses with its extensive range of exercise options, providing learners with a versatile and customizable language learning experience, making it suitable for both beginners and advanced learners. Whether you prefer pronunciation drills, vocabulary challenges, or conversational practice, ELSA Speak has you covered.
Free speech analysis
The inclusion of free speech analysis in the ELSA Speak app is a remarkable feature, allowing users to receive instant and detailed feedback on their pronunciation and fluency, enhancing their language skills effectively. This invaluable tool empowers learners to refine their speaking abilities with precision, making ELSA Speak a standout choice for those striving for language proficiency.
Adaptation to various American pronunciation varieties
A notable advantage of the ELSA Speak app is its adaptability to diverse American pronunciations, offering a flexible learning experience that accommodates existing variations. By allowing users to practice and perfect their preferred pronunciation while ensuring linguistic accuracy, it fosters a more personalized and effective language learning journey. In other words, if you pronounce a word differently than the suggested IPA, the app will accept your pronunciation and adjust the IPA transcript as long as it's a valid/possible pronunciation for that word.
Intonation and fluency analysis
ELSA Speak's intonation and fluency analysis features provide users with invaluable insights into their speech patterns, helping them master the nuances of natural conversation and communication. These features not only enhance language fluency but also promote a deeper understanding of the rhythm and melody of spoken language, making ELSA Speak a standout tool for achieving conversational excellence.
Convenience
The ELSA Speak app's convenience is a significant asset, offering learners the flexibility to practice their language skills anytime, anywhere, and at their own pace. Its user-friendly interface and mobile accessibility ensure that language learning fits seamlessly into users' busy lifestyles, making it a practical choice for those seeking effective and flexible language education.
Affordability
ELSA Speak's affordability is a remarkable advantage, providing users with access to expert pronunciation training at a fraction of the cost compared to hiring a private pronunciation coach or teacher, making it an excellent budget-friendly choice for language learners. While private coaches can be prohibitively expensive, ELSA Speak ensures that effective pronunciation improvement is accessible to a wider audience, democratizing the path to language proficiency.
CONS
Repetitive exercises
If you always pick the Practice Daily Lessons option, you'll probably get bored with it soon. However, while the ELSA Speak app's exercises can sometimes become repetitive and potentially boring, it's worth noting that repetition is indeed the mother of skill in language learning, as it helps solidify essential concepts and improve pronunciation accuracy over time. So, although this may be a drawback for some users seeking variety, it also underscores the app's commitment to honing fundamental language skills. My suggestion here is: explore the app and go for different exercises or categories, such as the Course Finder.
Unnatural conversations
One drawback to consider is that some conversations within the ELSA Speak app may come across as slightly unnatural or awkward, which can impact the authenticity of language practice. This is exactly one of the points some pronunciation coaches mentioned in the reviews I watched and read. However, while these instances may not fully replicate real-world interactions, they still serve as valuable pronunciation learning opportunities as well as the challenge posed to users in regards to adapting to different linguistic contexts.
Scores are not 100% accurate
It's important to note that achieving a 100% score on the ELSA Speak app may be challenging, even for native speakers, due to various factors such as environmental noise and the quality of the microphone hardware. In some cases, users might need to put extra effort into enunciating words or articulating sounds clearly and ensuring optimal conditions for accurate pronunciation assessment, which, while a valuable learning experience, can still present challenges.
U.S. American English pronunciation only
A drawback worth mentioning is that the ELSA Speak app focuses exclusively on U.S. American English pronunciation, neglecting other English varieties, such as Canadian English-specific pronunciations. This limitation might hinder users seeking to adapt their pronunciation to a broader range of English accents and dialects.
In-app purchases, even in the Pro version
One potential downside is the presence of in-app purchases within the ELSA Speak app, which may disappoint users as certain achievements and features may require additional payments beyond the Pro Membership subscription. This could potentially lead to unexpected costs for users who desire access to the full spectrum of app capabilities.
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Moreover, even though my review is based solely on the Pro version of ELSA Speak, since I haven't explored the Premium version, I believe that there are specific achievements (certificates) that may not be included in either version, meaning you would have to pay extra either way.
MY CONCLUSION
Overall, the ELSA Speak app aims to provide an accessible and convenient way for non-native English speakers to work on their pronunciation and communication skills, ultimately boosting their confidence and effectiveness when using English in various situations.
Does it deliver what it promises? Definitely! Like I said, it's not perfect, far from it. But it can absolutely help you drastically reduce your foreign or regional accent and improve your pronunciation so that everyone can clearly understand you.
The only caveat here, though, is that you should learn pronunciation and the phonetic alphabet in a structured and systematic way. Sure, the app offers lessons on several pronunciation topics, but they're not as structured as a book or course on the subject, and you'll need that if you want faster progress.
So, bottom line, as far as pronunciation practice goes, I 100% recommend ELSA. It is affordable and convenient, and even when it forces you to articulate more in order to get a more accurate assessment, it's actually helping you work out the exact muscles you need to become fluent.
And what's more, how long you should use ELSA depends solely on your progress. I'd say that at least one year of subscription can do so much for anyone on the accent reduction/ pronunciation improvement journey! To keep you motivated, I'd suggest you start in the competitive mode. First, focus on increasing your ELSA score and getting a 90% plus score. Then, keep it up while moving through the leagues. After you make it to the Orion league leaderboard, you could turn off the competitive mode and keep exploring the app, searching for new exercises to do your daily practice routine.
Ready to start with ELSA? Click here for the best offer and pricing, plus one month of the Pro subscription for free!
