speech recognition software
I need a practice method to improve both my pronounciation and the flow of my Spanish. I would like to be able to speak into a mic and get feedback or do a 'repeat after me:" type of thing which offers feedback. Any suggestions?
2 Answers
You need a Spanish version of software like Dragon Naturally Speaking. With that speech recognition program what you speak is converted into text. Two problems: If it could not recognize a word that you spoke, you would not know if you were pronouncing it incorrectly or if it was the software's shortcoming. (may not know regional differences on letter pronunciation). And then there are those pesky homophones, there, their, etc. Second, the software trains itself to your voice. So after continued use, even if you were pronouncing the word poorly, it might begin to recognize the word and print the correct text. Self-defeating.
Save yourself a fortune, and get much better results: use the chat room here and listen to the feedback from any native wishing to critique your pronunciation. If you aren't speaking to a native and get a lot of ¿Qué's? or ¿Cómo's? you probably aren't pronouncing something correctly.
There are also some sites and programs that offer something similar. Livemocha.com offers a very short verbal practice session. Native speakers offer suggestions and help with improvement. There are two problems with this though. First, you have to pay to join this site. Secondly, I have a six month trial as a gift. After using this feature, I have found that many people are extremely polite and often afraid and/or unable to critique in such a way as to offer any significant improvement.
Also, the Berlitz C.D.'s have a feature which allows you to record your voice. The program will then give you feedback and show you on screen how close you have come to speaking with the proper pronunciation of vowels, etc. Again, you have to purchase this program.
I'm not aware of anything available for free, although I'm sure someone else will know of something. 
