Another difficulty that I got when I practiced Elsa Speak in my smartphone was pronouncing schwa sound or [ə]. I had difficulty pronouncing that sound because it was hard to distinguish the sound [e], [u] and [ə] if those sound applied in some words. In Elsa Speak, I had to pronounce several words that are "introduce", "introduction and "to" correctly where in those words the letter "o" pronounced with [ə]. In the first trial, I was difficult to pronounce the sound [ə] in those words properly. My score in the first trial was 320.
I was not satisfied with my low score, so I was looking for ways to pronounce [ə] correctly on YouTube. This is the video that I watched:
Besides I watched tutorial video about how to pronounce schwa sound on YouTube, I also practiced every day. After I thought that my pronunciation in schwa sound better, then I tried again to practice in Elsa Speak. Finally, almost all words that I pronounced were correct and perfect. I got a score of 500 from 320. I'm so happy. From Elsa Speak I learn that learning a language is about practice because practice makes perfect. Thank you Elsa Speak.
Here are the screenshot of my last progress in pronouncing the schwa sound:
I found difficulty in pronouncing the letter [θ]. In Elsa Speak, I had to pronounce the word "math", "path", "month", "bath", and "faith" correctly but in the first trial, I failed to pronounce those words. I got a low score. My score was 260.
I did not give up in the first trial. I practiced everyday pronouncing the letter [θ]. I also watched the tutorial on YouTube to make my pronunciation better than yesterday. It helped me a lot because in the video it showed how to produce the letter [θ] correctly. While I watched the video, I also practiced directly. Here is the video that I watched:
Elsa Speak is an application to improve English speaking skills. I knew this application from my lecturer in PBI UMY. Her name is Mrs. Mariska. She asked me and my friends to try this application. Before I downloaded Elsa Speak on my smartphone, I watched a video about Elsa Speak in YouTube first. This is the video that I watched. It can give you a little description about what is Elsa Speak.
On the first day I tried Elsa Speak, I've done 11 lessons in Skill 1 - Welcome.
1. Lesson 1 - Basic Terms: In this lesson, I had to practice 5 phrases that are "please", "excuse me", "sorry", "should" and "you should take some time off". Those phrases are stressed in the word "s". I got a score of 500 in this lesson. It was easy for me.
2. Lesson 2 - Listening Teaser: In this lesson, I heard some words in the beginning then I have to answer the correct sound of the words that I had listen before. I got a score of 1000 in this lesson. It was easy for me.
3. Lesson 3 - Taking Vacation: In this lesson, I had to practice 5 phrases that are "Oceania", "vacation", "I'm on vacation", "destination" and "what is your final destination?". I had to pronounce those words with stress on certain syllables that have been determined. I got a score of 500. It was easy for me.
4. Lesson 4 - Well-deserve Vacation: In this lesson, I had to practice 3 phrases. In those phrases, I must be able to distinguish [s] and [ഽ]. I got a score of 500 in this lesson. It was still easy for me.
5. Lesson 5 - At The Airport: In this lesson, I had to practice 5 phrases. In those phrases, I must be able to pronounce [s] properly in the word "desk" and "information". I got a score 500 in this lesson. It was still easy for me.
6. Lesson 6 - Choosing a Seat: In this lesson, I had to practice 5 phrases. In those phrases, I must be able to pronounce [s] properly in the word "seat", "aisle" and "exit". I got a score of 500 in this lesson. I was struggling to pronounce "aisle" properly. I had to repeat 3 times until I pronounced it correctly.
7. Lesson 7 - Listening Fun: In this lesson, I heard some words in the beginning then I have to answer the correct written words that I had listen before. I got a score of 800 in this lesson. It was easy for me.
8. Lesson 8 - Baggage Policy: In this lesson, I had to practice 5 phrases. In those phrases, I must be able to pronounce [s] properly in the word "policy", "additional", "maximum" and "extra". I got a score of 500 in this lesson. It was easy for me.
9. Lesson 9 - Check-in at The Airport: In this lesson, I had to practice 4 phrases. In those phrases, I must be able to pronounce [s] properly in the words "suitcase", "additional" and "seat". I got a score of 500 in this lesson. It was easy for me.
10. Lesson 10 - She Sells Seashells: In this lesson, I had to practice 5 phrases. I found difficulties because those phrases are tongue twister. I must be able to pronounce [s] properly in the word "she", "sells", "seashells", "sea", "shore", "sun", "shine", "shop", "sign", "shout", "south", "sheriff", "sick" and "sore". I got a score of 2500 in this lesson. This lesson is very challenging to me.
11. Lesson 11 - Say This Sharply: In this lesson, I had to practice 5 phrases. In those phrases, I must be able to pronounce [s] properly in the word "say", "sharply", "shortly", "softly", "sixteen" and "succession". I got a score of 1200 in this lesson. It was easy for me.
