Pronunciation Practice!

I just added a major new feature to Bookchoy: pronunciation practice! The app will grade your pronunciation and tones and give you useful feedback to help you improve.

The first type of pronunciation practice is per-word practice:

The app will ask you to pronounce a word, and it will tell you characters that sounded a little off, and whether your tones were correct. You have to get it right 3 times in a row to move on. If you get it wrong 3 times in a row, you move on and the SRS will track that this word needs more practice. I got this idea from Outlier Linguistics. In a podcast, they talk about how pronunciation is less like a study-able topic, and more like practicing a sport or an instrument. You can't just get it right once and move on; you have to practice till you can't get it wrong. Before each pronunciation practice, you'll get a quick "pinyin check" which helps you memorize which tones correspond to which characters and meaning.

You'll also be able to practice full sentences, based on the words you're practicing:

These ones are a bit tougher, but it's definitely worth practicing. I've noticed while testing the feature that if I listen to the built-in audio samples a few times first, my pronunciation naturally improves when it's my turn to try.

Finally, I also integrated pronunciation practice directly into the YouTube player.

You can turn on the "repeat" button and drag the markers to pick a segment of the video you want to focus on. You can also turn on "auto-pause" to pause after each sentence. Tap the microphone icon and you can record your voice, and the app will give you feedback on how well you pronounced it. Shadowing is one of the most commonly recommended techniques for improving both pronunciation and listening skills. Now it's easy and convenient directly in Bookchoy!