Accent feedback that tells you what to change — not just a score

Having an accent is fine. Being misunderstood is the problem. Good accent feedback focuses on the handful of sounds that make listeners hear a different word — and ignores the rest.

“This app will give you some random scores but no clear path to improve anything.” — App Store review of a popular pronunciation app

That review sums up why many learners give up on accent apps. A score tells you something is wrong. It does not tell you what.

The three kinds of feedback that actually help

1. “We heard X instead of Y”

If “very” comes out as “berry”, your lips are closing for a b instead of your top teeth touching your bottom lip for a v. The misheard word is the most valuable piece of feedback you can get, because it pinpoints the sound.

2. A physical instruction

Tongue, lips, jaw, voice on or off, long or short vowel, which syllable is loud. One sentence, something you can do immediately.

3. A slow model you can copy

Hearing the word slowly, then at normal speed, then saying it yourself straight after, is how actors and singers fix pronunciation. It is called shadowing and it works.

Tell the app your first language

Spanish speakers often swap b and v; German speakers often say w as v; Japanese speakers often mix r and l; Hindi speakers often reduce the th sounds. SayRight lets you set your first language so tips speak to the habit you actually have.

What not to worry about

• Sounding exactly like a native speaker. Clear beats native.
• Every vowel being perfect. Fix the words people mishear first.
• Speed. Slightly slower and clear is better than fast and blurred.