Speaking with Speechling

Among the numerous language learning and teaching technology tools available today, you might have noticed that many of those do not give a lot of attention to Speaking, or more specifically to Fluency. This could in part be associated with the fact that audio input processing requires more memory than text, for example, in addition to practicality issues related to assessing fluency as it happens with remote teaching and assessment of Speaking.

However, there are tools that challenge this and attempt to provide the necessary affordances for the practice of speaking. Examples of those are YouGlish, Flipgrid, Videomail, and Tellagami, but in this post I will talk about Speechling.

Speechling is a tool that allows learners to practise Speaking - pronunciation and fluency - through listening. It provides audio output for reference and enables learners to repeat after it as many times as they want while recording themselves.  After recording themselves, learners can compare their output to the models provided and they can also request feedback from a tutor assigned upon registration. An account is needed but learners can also join with a google or Facebook account.  

Different accents are available for learners to choose and the tool has a translation feature that allows for the vocabulary, phrase or sentence being practised to be translated. These preferences can be set in the settings area.

Practice is not only limited to repeating over the models, but it is also possible to simulate a conversation where learners receive questions or prompts for them to respond to, a picture stimulus where they can describe it, and there is also the option of free talk where learners can say anything they want.

 

The content is grouped into topics and levels where single words, phrases and sentences are available. Below are some pictures illustrating the content.

 

Speechling for individual accounts (because there is an Institution account option) is mainly to be used as a self study tool but as teachers we can use to aid our teaching, by either encouraging students to do some practice work on their own based on what they are most interested in improving or by asking them to do specific tasks that we identify. 

On a more critical note, as with every tool, there are some limitations with Speechling that you might want to consider if you decide to use it  which I discuss below:

• In the translation feature, there are some inaccuracies which I believe are consequences artificial language, that can mislead learners. In the screenshot below, “what’s” is interpreted as “whats” (plural of “what”).

      

• Another inaccuracy I found is that words are not translated in context. Literal translation is done, where the most common meaning is considered and it can confuse or mislead students from a language background that is different in structure from English, as is the case of Portuguese, for example. 

          

• Only a few varieties of English are available, and because recordings are assessed in comparison to those varieties, being a computer system, it might judge learners with a different accent as wrong and also limit those learners who might have other interests based on their learning contexts and reasons for learning English. Maybe this issue is minimized through the tutor, who being a real person might provide more balanced feedback, but it is not apparent whether the choice of including such accents had to do with limitations in producing models in other varieties or if the tool is intentionally designed to cater for the needs of those interested in the varieties that have been included;
• Unfortunately, while models are perceptible, they do not sound authentic.

Having looked at these limitations, I believe that with this tool the best role the teacher can take is that of a coach, by assisting students in their use of the tool, explaining the limitations ang sharing some tips. For example, advising students to have a dictionary and/or grammar book to complement their studies.

Despite these limitations I think that Speechling is a valuable tool with many affordances such as repetition, allowance for learners to make mistakes, opportunity for learners to hear their recording and compare to models, personalization, and a pressure free practice environment. These are important aspects that aid the process of learning which I believe are worthy of our investment.

Have a look at it and share what you think in the comments.

See you next week,

Cândida

Credits: Pictures included here are screenshots of pages from the  Speechling website at https://speechling.com/