Sounds: The Pronunciation App FREE app for iPhone and iPad


4.2 ( 7072 ratings )
Reference Education
Developer: Springer Nature Limited
Free
Current version: 3.3, last update: 7 years ago
First release : 01 Apr 2011
App size: 6.47 Mb

The ultimate mobile English pronunciation aid, for both students AND teachers. Sounds helps you study, practise and play with pronunciation wherever you are.

This free version includes Interactive Phonemic Charts for British English and American English. Tap to hear a sound, or tap and hold to hear the sound and an example word.

In the Premium version (now available) you can look up, listen to and record words in the WORDLIST; PRACTISE your pronunciation skills; test yourself with the pronunciation QUIZZES; use the phonemic TYPEWRITER; and LEARN with Top Tips, videos and more!

*** Winner of the British Council ELTons Award 2012 for Innovation in learner resources. The judges felt that “This is a great app – it is easy to navigate, user-friendly, thorough, and, I am sure, innovative.” ***

FREE VERSION FEATURES:

- Interactive Phonemic Chart with high quality audio
- Work in British or American English, and switch between them at any time
- Instructions
- ‘Introduction to the Chart video
- Tasters of both the Practice and Quiz modes from the Premium version


IN ADDITION, THE PREMIUM VERSION INCLUDES:

- Vocabulary Wordlist (with over 650 words):
> Phonemic transcriptions and audio
> Record your own pronunciation
> Buy additional wordlists in American and British English as in-app purchases
> All new wordlists include both words and phrases
> Show/Hide primary stress marks
- Practice Activities (Listen, Read and Write)
- Quizzes (3 Minutes & 3 Lives modes)
- Phonemic Typewriter for free practice
- Top Ten Tips for Students
- Top Ten Tips for Teachers, including new lesson plans
- ‘Teaching with the Chart workshop video


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Some of the great user reviews we’ve received:

“Excellent app for teachers and students alike. Takes the guesswork out of pronunciation and helps with memorisation of the chart.”

“I’m an ESL teacher in Mexico and cannot tell you how handy this app will be in my classes. I simply love it!”

“I’ve been studying for a TEFL qualification and I wish I’d found this app sooner!”

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For more information about the chart, the choice of vocabulary included in the Wordlist, and the benefits of Sounds: The Pronunciation App for both language teachers and students, visit the website at www.soundspronapp.com

Pros and cons of Sounds: The Pronunciation App FREE app for iPhone and iPad

Sounds: The Pronunciation App FREE app good for

Great for practice. Can be useful for teachers and students as well!
Very functional for learners and teachers. It provides a good support.
I really like it, but it offers hard task. Eu gostei mesmo, mas os exercícios são difíceis.
I strongly recommend the app! Its simple, practical, well organized and well designed. Really liked that.
Takes the guesswork out of pronunciation and helps with memorisation of the chart. Very, very useful. Looking forward to the upgrade for the additional features.
Practically perfect in every way... Just disappointed that the option to copy what I type in IPA is not offered. Paying $6 to get a "copy" button from the premium version (while not interested in the rest that it offers) is too much.

Some bad moments

There are some errors in the American variety. "iron" is one of them.
Macmillan should point out the differences in pronunciation with the different dialects of the English language. There is more to English besides the British version and pronunciation.
Is this ever lame. There is absolutely zero value in using this app to teach pronunciation. All it does is list words, play a garbled audio bit and offer an IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription. Google or any online dictionary/thesaurus does the same and more. This is just a new interface for one of Macmillan’s ESL dictionaries. From a literate students POV, learning pronunciation typically requires that a student remember audio info along with an alphabetic transcription. Using this app, they also have to remember the IPA transcription. Arent students overburdened enough already without adding such useless tasks to the rigors of learning a language? Students need to learn aurally (and orally) not visually. For a variety of reasons students need to learn word sounds in context, NOT in isolation. Have a heart, dont foist this tripe on your students. There may be some value in this app for linguists or student teachers who wish to master IPA but for English language learners: zip. The hype says this app won an Elton Award. What’s that? I checked, it seems like an award program run by the British Council. It also seems like Macmillan Education is a sponsor of the award. Hmmm. Nice bit of synchronicity, that.
The correct symbol for he vowel sound in egg is [ɛ] and not [e] as referenced in this app. The same goes for eight and there. An app based on IPA should be entirely accurate to be useful. It doesnt help that the app has problems with portrait-landscape switching.
Looks promising, but the flawed design means it needs more work to be useable. Doesnt switch between portrait and landscape orientation on an iPhone and keyboard blocks the view on an iPad.
Unfortunately, I dont concur with some of the write practice answers. In one example, I typed the correct answer, which was confirmed when I pressed "show", but that same answer was marked with an "x" when I pressed "check". In another example, when the speaker prompts the word "iron". I think it sounds like "I-ern"-- and while the write practice speaks "I-ern" it provides the phonetic answer that equates to "eye-in". When I say the word calm, I hear the "L" but the phonetic answer provided amounts to "cam" -- perhaps the developer is from the northeast and therefore does not pronounce the "L" in "calm"? In addition, the sound symbol provided for "L" sounds to me like "La" with a vowel of short "a" tagged onto the end. This app has great potential. The layout is clean and easy to use. The concept is wonderful. Unfortunately, I disagree with some of the answers and feedback provided in the practice sessions. If those were corrected -- it would be a wonderful app. It would be nice to have the option to provide auditory feedback for user input that would blend the sounds a user has entered. This feature would allow a user could compare the sound of what they entered with the spoken clue provided to allow a user to alter or amend their response after comparing the two (prompt and user response).

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