ELSA vs. Duolingo - let's go!

It was clear to me from the start that practicing my pronunciation would be the most difficult challenge for me. Not because I'd be particularly bad in it, but simply because I didn't know how to practice it. I have been studying in English with some friends but none of us are native English speakers and we don't always notice the pronunciation mistakes in our speech if they aren't glaringly obvious.

I was recommended by my counsellor to try out this mobile app called ELSA. It's an AI powered app that focus on your pronunciation – and speaking skills overall – and it generates the program most fit for you, if you do the starting test. It seems like the test isn't mandatory but, for the best results, I would, of course, recommend it.

I haven't used the ELSA app a lot yet and so far, I have mixed feelings about it. The program that it tailor for me didn't feel hard enough but I do like how diverse it is. I get guiding videos, and I also get to speak full sentences or to just practice single words. I've noticed that for me, I get past the full sentence or full conversation speaking practices easily, but I get stuck on single words for a longer moment. The app is looking for a really specific tone of pronunciation but doesn't explain very clearly (at least, in my opinion) what it is, so getting it right can be quite difficult. Though sometimes, I do just breeze through them.

In addition to ELSA, I've been using the notorious Duolingo app as well. This one has a completely free version, unlike ELSA (where I've been using the 7-day free trial), though I must say that you only have 5 hearts per day and there are a lot of ads. Like, a ridiculous amount of them. Duolingo doesn't also only focus on pronunciation, but it has a lot of speaking practices. I'm also familiar with the app because I use it to learn other languages, and I've found it quite good for casual learning. Duolingo also offers a tailored program for you, but it isn't as personalized as ELSA's, and the app definitely isn't as demanding.

Well, I'll continue to use ELSA until my free trial runs out and we'll see if my opinion on it changes. I do like it, and I can see why people would recommend it, especially when studying by yourself. I will also continue to use Duolingo as it is something I already use on the daily. Let the battle between the learning apps begin!