ELSA Speak Review: An Advanced AI Application for Cultivating an American English Accent

English is my second language, and achieving proper pronunciation was the most difficult aspect for me.

I was interested in testing the AI-driven ELSA Speak application to determine if it could assist me in sounding more like a native speaker. The app has been recognized by Forbes as a leading AI firm with global impact potential and has also secured investment from Google.

My experience revealed that the application effectively identified and worked on my pronunciation issues, although it had some limitations.

An Overview of ELSA Speak

ELSA Speak is a mobile application designed for English students who wish to enhance their pronunciation. Developed with input from a speech technologist, the app employs artificial intelligence to evaluate your speech patterns and deliver tailored practice sessions.

For instance, when you speak into the app, it can detect mispronounced letters or incorrect syllable stress.

A notable limitation is its exclusive focus on American English, with no options for British English.

Nevertheless, ELSA Speak is built to accommodate English learners at any stage. It offers an extensive library of over 25,000 exercises and educational resources.

While I primarily suggest it for pronunciation, it also includes functionalities that improve overall speaking skills and introduce new vocabulary. You can rehearse video interviews, study frequently mixed-up words, and engage in open dialogues with an AI chatbot.

As a state-of-the-art application, it is continually being refined. It was listed by Forbes as a top AI enterprise poised to make a significant difference and has received financial backing from Google, which prompted me to test it.

The Structure of ELSA Speak Lessons

Initial Speech Assessment and Daily Practice

As you might anticipate, the process begins with a speech evaluation to gauge your current proficiency level.

I was particularly interested in my results, having studied English for some time:

The assessment takes under ten minutes, and I was pleased with its clear analysis of the specific sounds I found challenging. It also explicitly indicated that my intonation needed further development.

After receiving your results, the application provides a organized set of lessons to begin with.

I immediately proceeded to the “Daily Lessons” area, where ELSA Speak had selected five lessons for my daily practice:

My initial reaction was that the underlying technology is impressive, yet the sheer volume of content can be daunting when deciding where to start. This is the purpose of the “Daily Lesson” feature.

Despite the thousands of available modules and lessons, you will encounter the same exercise formats repeatedly. Pronunciation Practice Activities

The core of the app consists of pronunciation drills. You start by practicing individual sounds, progress to words, then phrases, and finally complete sentences.

These require you to speak aloud to the application, which then informs you if your pronunciation is accurate:

This surprised me, as I was unaware that I was mispronouncing the word “caused”!

If you make an error, the app offers a thorough description of the correct pronunciation. This can be initially confusing, and sometimes I needed multiple attempts to get it right:

Additional Exercise Categories

Beyond pronunciation drills, you will also find the following:

• Listening Verification — This is particularly useful as you must distinguish between two similar-sounding words (such as “wish” and “witch”). I struggled a bit with “year” and “ear”!
• Stress Exercises — Stress is a vital, though often neglected, component of English pronunciation. For example, the app might have you practice saying “ a verage,” emphasizing the first syllable.
• Sentence Intonation Practice — If stress is difficult, intonation is even more so! You are provided with a sentence and instructed on which words to emphasize.
• Conversational Exercise — The app generates a simple dialogue, and you read the responses aloud. A range of topics is available, covering everything from weekend activities to the advantages and disadvantages of university education.

I appreciated the diversity of the exercises, which kept the practice sessions from becoming monotonous.

However, the sentence intonation and conversational exercises seemed less beneficial for my needs.

Many users have reported that the sentence intonation exercises are overly stringent—sometimes even native speakers do not achieve high scores!

The conversational exercises felt like I was merely repeating lines without understanding how to apply them in actual conversations:

Self-Directed Lesson Selection

In addition to the daily exercises, you can independently select lessons from the app's vast collection. There are two main categories: Improve Pronunciation and Topic-Based Study.

The “Improve Pronunciation” lessons are structured, concentrating on particular sounds like the schwa or TH sounds. These may include video guides or written instructions to clarify how each sound should be produced:

Studying by Topic provides lessons based on real-life situations, such as ordering coffee, using popular English slang, and preparing for job interviews. There is even a section on dating!

All these lessons maintain the same structure as the personalized daily exercises. However, they are not sorted by difficulty, so finding appropriate ones may require some exploration.

Additional App Functionalities

While ELSA Speak's primary goal is to improve pronunciation, the app offers more, particularly if you subscribe to the premium tier that unlocks all features.

You can use the app to gain more spoken English practice (and feel more self-assured for future real-life conversations):

AI Dialogues

Featured prominently on the main screen are AI-powered conversations.

I consider this feature more valuable than the standard conversation exercises because it requires you to formulate your own replies.

In each dialogue, the AI poses open-ended questions on specific subjects, like “What kind of party do you want to have?” or “If you encounter conflict at work, how would you resolve it?” You respond verbally, and the app transcribes your answer into a text message.

ELSA Speak promotes this as having a personal conversation tutor, given the spontaneous nature of the interactions.

The app can also assess whether your response is contextually suitable.

Certificate Programs for English

If you are preparing for a formal English speaking exam, ELSA Speak can be a useful study aid for the oral section.

It includes comprehensive study materials for major English exams like TOEFL, IELTS, and TOEIC, each with over 100 modules.

There is also a business English course derived from official Oxford University Press textbooks.

Games, Lexicon, and Vocabulary Sets

Honestly, given the enormous number of lessons, I doubt I would use these remaining ELSA Speak features extensively.

The games include activities like Missing Letters and Word Shuffle, where you deduce a word from its scrambled letters:

There is also a dictionary focused on pronunciation. When you search for a word, you can view videos of its pronunciation or have the app evaluate your own.

Finally, ELSA Speak allows you to save vocabulary from exercises into study sets. These function like pronunciation-focused flashcards, as the app tests you on how to say them.

I did not find them as effective as the flashcard systems in other language learning applications.

Advantages and Disadvantages of ELSA Speak

Having detailed the main features of ELSA Speak, here is my overall assessment:

Advantage: Structured and Research-Backed

Mastering English pronunciation is challenging, even for proficient learners. Obtaining specific feedback on areas for improvement is difficult! Native speakers can often detect a foreign accent but may not always identify the exact cause.

ELSA Speak uses a research-backed approach to determine which aspects of your speech need work. You receive continuous, detailed feedback on your English pronunciation, and the recommended exercises are tailored to your needs.

Even a human tutor might not provide this level of detailed analysis.

Advantage: Wide Range of Activities

ELSA Speak emphasizes pronunciation drills, but after a week of consistent use, I never grew bored due to the extensive variety of exercises. You can hone your listening skills, discuss topics like pets, or chat freely with AI about your university days.

Another distinctive feature is their video call simulations. While practicing conversational phrases, video clips appear, simulating a Zoom call experience.

Advantage: Truly Beneficial for Pronunciation

With many language apps making grand claims, skepticism is understandable, but I noticed an improvement in my pronunciation after one week.

As an advanced learner, I believed my pronunciation was good but not entirely native-like, and ELSA Speak provided a clear plan for enhancement.

The schwa sound is a common challenge for English learners, yet it's crucial for a native-like accent. Through consistent practice, I was producing the schwa sound more accurately.

The app also provides positive reinforcement, which boosts motivation.

Disadvantage: Excessive Content Can Be Overwhelming

This is my primary criticism of ELSA Speak. I appreciate the vast lesson library, but the app's design could be improved to prevent new users from feeling inundated by choices.

Initially, I felt overwhelmed by the plethora of lesson options.

Additionally, some pronunciation lessons use IPA symbols in their titles, which may not be familiar to all English students.

Disadvantage: Occasional Inaccuracies in Speech Analysis

Generally, the speech recognition algorithm performs well and consistently identified my mistakes.

However, it can be excessively strict. Many native speakers—including English teachers with standard accents—report receiving scores around 80% or lower.

It is simpler to pronounce individual words and phrases correctly, but when practicing sentence intonation, the app can be inflexible.

Since ELSA Speak is modeled on a textbook American accent, native speakers with different accents may receive lower scores.

Cost Structure

ELSA Speak offers three pricing plans: Free, Pro, and Premium.

The Free plan is quite restricted, providing access to only a few lessons, essentially serving as an app preview.

For regular users, the Pro plan is likely the most appropriate. It grants full access to all lessons and daily recommended practices.

The Premium plan, the top tier, removes limits on additional features like AI speaking practice and all English exam preparation courses.

ELSA Pro costs approximately $19.99 monthly, with Premium slightly higher. Visit the app's pricing page for further details.

If you are uncertain about subscribing, ELSA Speak allows you to sample exercises on their website and offers a seven-day free trial.

Other Options Besides ELSA Speak

BoldVoice

BoldVoice is a direct competitor to ELSA Speak but incorporates more human elements.

It also uses AI-powered speech recognition for pronunciation feedback but supplements this with video lessons from real people—specifically, Hollywood accent coaches.

Say It

Say It, an application from Oxford University Press, instructs in both American and British accents.

Rather than AI, it evaluates your pronunciation using sound wave analysis. When you speak, the app produces a soundwave graph for comparison with a native speaker's.

Speechling

For those seeking listening and speaking practice, Speechling is a viable alternative. This established program lets you record yourself speaking English sentences, after which a native speaker offers personalized feedback.

The sentences act as flashcards, allowing for review and incidental grammar and vocabulary learning.

Lingflix

Exposure to native speech is also crucial for pronunciation improvement. Lingflix provides immersion through thousands of lessons featuring authentic English content from movies, TV series, and other sources, all tailored to your level.

The app also includes pronunciation practice via video-based quizzes that contain speaking questions.

Is ELSA Speak a Good Investment?

For those dedicated to improving their English pronunciation, ELSA Speak is a dependable application to consider. The AI-generated feedback is customized and helpful, and new exercises are continually added.

It is relatively expensive and requires a subscription for full functionality, so consistent practice is necessary to justify the cost.

Although it offers beginner lessons, much of the content targets more advanced learners, as the pronunciation exercises often presume a broader vocabulary.

Remember that its main purpose is to align your English speaking with a standard American accent—and you should supplement it with other resources if your goal is full speaking fluency!