Apps and websites to practice speaking

1.Best for Targeted Practice: ELSA

Cost: Free; Pro subscription starting at $74.99 per year

Before you start speaking English, you have to focus on your pronunciation.

ELSA—which stands for English Language Speech Assistant—is an interactive speaking app that helps you speak English better by fixing small errors in your pronunciation.

 When you begin learning, ELSA asks what your native language is. Then, it gives you a few common phrases and words and listens to your pronunciation of them.

 Once that’s done, ELSA starts teaching the specific syllables and sounds that you’re having trouble with.

ELSA’s program was designed by expert speech and communication coaches. 

2. Best for Immersive Learning: FluentU

Cost: Monthly subscription; free trial available

FluentU teaches English by immersing you in videos that demonstrate how native speakers use the language in their own media. These clips include music videos, news clips, and movie trailers.

 This authentic content teaches you English the way it’s spoken by native speakers, rather than the stiff, formal English you’d learn from traditional sources. And unlike other sources of English videos, FluentU has language learning tools that make it easier to understand words and phrases you haven’t heard before.

 The videos on FluentU all have interactive subtitles that let you click words for a translation, example sentences, and a pronunciation guide. This way, you’ll understand more of what you hear. The videos will not only teach you how native English sounds but how phrases are used in different contexts.

FluentU also has personalized quizzes that let you practice what you learn from the videos. In the app version, the quizzes have speaking questions that let you practice your English pronunciation with your device’s microphone. Simply speak your answer into your device and FluentU’s speech recognition program will let you know if your pronunciation is accurate.

3.  Best for Private Video Lessons: Cambly

Cost: $85 per month

If you want to get more private English speaking practice, then you might enjoy Cambly. This app connects you with a native English tutor who will be happy to chat with you.

You can choose your English teacher based on when they’re available and what their English specialties are. Once you plan a lesson, you can talk directly with your tutor for up to an hour at a scheduled time. He or she will help you with what you want to practice, whether that’s grammar or pronunciation, or just speaking practice to build confidence.

Besides private video lessons, Cambly also has guided courses that focus on specific English skills, such as business English or academic English.

II. Website

1. LearnEnglish by the British Council 

This app offers activities to practice your speaking skills. You can improve your speaking by noticing the language used in different situations and practicing useful phrases. The self-study lessons on this website are organized by English level based on the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) 

2. Duolingo

This app offers activities to practice your speaking skills. You can improve your speaking by noticing the language used in different situations and practicing useful phrases. The self-study lessons on this website are organized by English level based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)