ELSA Speak Review: A market leader with a BIG drawback
ELSA Speak (also called English language speech assistant) is an AI-driven application that aims to help you master the American accent through online pronunciation coaching.
It was first made available in 2015. Developed by a team of talented scientists and linguists, this well-designed app focuses on voice recognition. What makes ELSA Speak different from other English learning apps like Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, or Fluentu is the fact that it focuses only on improving English pronunciation.
ELSA is relatively well rated by users: 4.7 on Google Play, 4.8 on the App Store, and 4 out of 5 on Facebook.
Features and educational contents
Initial Assessment:
After signing up, you will be requested to take part in an assessment by recording yourself while reading 16 sentences aloud. Upon completion, you’ll get your fluency level, e.g., Intermediate, or Advanced, an overall score, pronunciation scores for each letter, and a predicted IELTS score.
AI-based detailed feedback: Elsa provide real-time speech recognition feedback on English pronunciation & fluency. The feedback identifies errors in your pronunciation using colors and scores so you can correct yourself on the next try. You can try as many times as you want until pronounce the words correctly.
Video Lessons:
Elsa provides a collection of YouTube free videos inside the app. These videos aren’t behind the pay wall, so non-premium users can access them as well. These videos don’t add much value to the app, users can find similar ones on YouTube.
User experience & interface:
Appealing UI/UX plays a significant role in keeping the users engaged and driving growth over time. The app is designed to maximize ease of use in every aspect; all pages, buttons, and other visual elements are strategically placed to ensure maximum functionality and convenience. All areas of this app were carefully designed to make navigation a breeze.
Plans and Pricing
ELSA PRO: Billed US$141.99 Annually
ELSA PRO: Billed US$58 Quarterly
ELSA PRO: Billed US$19.99 Monthly
Big Drawback
Elsa invests a lot of time and money to develop a high-quality app, but without real human coaching feedback, it seems deficient. An accent coach is needed to monitor, correct, and motivate students. Artificial Intelligence isn’t fledged enough to replace humans, yet. Students mostly in the beginner and intermediate levels reported improvement using ELSA. It’s highly beneficial to improve fluency until the upper intermediate level. To become fully English fluent speakers, students need to take a full course that includes human coaching.
Main Competitors & Alternatives
ChatterFox
ChatterFox stands out as a notable alternative to ELSA, integrating AI technology with personalized feedback from a certified accent coach for a comprehensive accent training experience.
Currently, ChatterFox is offering an attractive deal with a 33% discount, plus a 7-day trial, making it an opportune time to explore their services. This promotion is a great chance for those curious about ChatterFox to try it out.
Accent Advisor
A reputed institute provides private Tutoring, which is a little bit more expensive than the previous option. To gain a comprehensive perspective, it might be beneficial to read an Accent Advisor review.
Bold Voice
BoldVoice, much like the ELSA Speak app, is a simple-to-use platform that targets improving your English accent. It leverages advanced AI technology and video lessons from expert coaches to offer real-time feedback on your speaking. If you’re seeking a thorough understanding, I recommend diving into a Bold Voice review.
ELSA Story
ELSA Speak was founded after Vu Van, CEO, and co-founder, left Vietnam to pursue an MBA and Master’s in Education at Stanford University. Despite being confident in her English vocabulary, Vu knew she had a strong Vietnamese accent. In class, she felt that her opinions were often dismissed because her professors and classmates had trouble understanding her.
Vu realized she wasn’t alone in facing this problem. Most of her international friends faced the same communication barrier in their first year of studying abroad. She found few solutions to this problem when she looked into it.
When Vu was searching for a co-founder, he approached Dr. Xavier Anguera, a well-known speech analyst. In 2015, they officially launched ELSA Speak. According to Forbes, ELSA Speak is among the top four AI startups in the country, along with Microsoft Cortana and Google Allo. Millions of learners around the world use ELSA Speak.
A short comparison with other English applications
ELSA Speak vs EnglishClass101:
There are a variety of language learning skills taught in EnglishClass101’s videos, including vocabulary, grammar, listening, and speaking. ELSA Speak focuses exclusively on pronunciation. ELSA Speak Premium is less expensive but EnglishClass101 offers a lot of content for free. If you want to improve your general English, EnglishClass101 is the better choice.
ELSA Speak vs Glossika:
Both ELSA Speak and Glossika use AI (artificial intelligence) to help students to improve their English. Glossika focuses on learning useful words and phrases in a language, while ELSA Speak is focused on pronunciation.
ELSA Speak vs Pimsleur:
ELSA Speak and Pimsleur are similar because they both use listen-and-repeat style lessons. In addition, both of them try to improve the user’s English pronunciation. Pimsleur, however, offers longer audio lessons that cover more topics, such as grammar and culture, while ELSA Speak offers quick on-the-go practice.
ELSA Speak vs Verbling:
While ELSA Speak allows you to practice on your own, Verbling connects you with a native teacher. Due to the fact that you are paying actual teachers for their time, Verbling is more expensive.
Q&A
What skills does it improve?
ELSA Speak provides a range of games and practice activities to help users improve their spoken English and pronunciation. The app personalizes learning for the user, tracks progress in several ways, and even allows users to personalize their learning through the creation of their own study sets.
Is ELSA Speak easy to use?
The app is incredibly easy to use and access.
What age is it appropriate for?
Users must be 13 or older to use the Service. This app is not suitable for children under 13. I believe that users over the age of 18 would benefit the most from the content and other features of this app because they would be able to access it on their own.
How will students benefit?
The app will provide students with a variety of engaging games in order to help them become better English speakers. The app includes a number of different components to assist students, such as allowing them to hear how words and sentences should be pronounced so that they can match their pronunciation to the app’s.
Is Elsa's app free?
ELSA’s free users are limited in their access. You must have an ELSA Speak premium account to get the most out of the service.
