ChatGPT - can check your pronunciation better than Bing with ChatGPT!

A further activity for Dolors would be dictate the same sentences herself and to do this I have asked Chat GPT to print the sentences one by one and wait for ‘me’ to voice-type the exact same sentence, before evaluating it and presenting the next sentence for me. (Remember I am using Microsoft Edge and the Edge extension Speech Agent)

Could you please print each sentence in the text below one by one and wait for me to try to voice-type the exact same sentence before evaluating it and presenting me with the next?

Could you please print each sentence in the text below one by one and wait for me to try to voice-type the exact same sentence before evaluating it and presenting me with the next? When Jane arrived at Rob’s house, she didn't find Rob, but she found Paul. She wasn't expecting him because she thought that he was leaving. She asked him what had happened and why he was now at Rob’s house. He said that he missed the company and the relationship with Paul, but that's no problem because he thinks that he will soon go back to London. Jane was very angry because of this answer and at this moment, Rob arrived with breakfast. He asked her if she wanted to have breakfast with Paul and him, but she was very angry and declined. After that, Rob asked Paul what had happened, and Paul said that he had only told Jane that he was soon coming back to London. Rob said that he never said that, and Paul responded that he thought it would be better for him to come back to London because he believed that his life in New York had changed him. Rob argued that it was his life and that he wanted to live in New York, and that he loved Jane. Paul bought a bus ticket for Rob for that afternoon because he thought it was better for him to leave.

Sure, here's the first sentence:

"When Jane arrived at Rob’s house, she didn't find Rob, but she found Paul."

When Jane arrived at Robs house, she didn't find Rob, but she found Paul.

Great! Here's the next sentence:

"She wasn't expecting him because she thought that he was leaving."

She wasn't expecting him because she thought he was leaving.

Good job! Here's the next sentence:

"She asked him what had happened and why he was now at Rob’s house."

She asked him what had happened and why he was now at robs House. (I've highlighted a mistake it missed, but...)

Great! Here's the next sentence:

"He said that he missed the company and the relationship with Paul, but that's no problem because he thinks that he will soon go back to London."

He said that he missed the company and relationship with Paul, but that's no problem because he thinks he will soon go back to London.

Excellent! Here's the next sentence:

"Jane was very angry because of this answer and at this moment, Rob arrived with breakfast."

Jane was very hungry because of this answer and at this moment Rob arrived with breakfast.

Close! The correct sentence is "Jane was very angry because of this answer and at this moment, Rob arrived with breakfast." (Speech Agent doesn't alawys get the commas right and ChatGPT is strict about this!) (ChatGPT detected this problem hungry/angry which I made a deliberate mistake with, but see later on...)

Here's the next sentence:

"He asked her if she wanted to have breakfast with Paul and him, but she was very angry and declined."

He asked her if she wanted to have breakfast with Paul and him, but she was very angry and declined.

Perfect! Here's the next sentence:

"After that, Rob asked Paul what had happened, and Paul said that he had only told Jane that he was soon coming back to London."

After that, Rob asked Paul what had happened and Paul said that he had only told Jane that he would soon coming back to London.

Almost perfect! Just a minor mistake. The correct sentence is "After that, Rob asked Paul what had happened, and Paul said that he had only told Jane that he was soon coming back to London." (Speech Agent doesn't alawys get the commas right and ChatGPT is strict about this!)

Here's the next sentence:

"Rob said that he never said that, and Paul responded that he thought it would be better for him to come back to London because he believed that his life in New York had changed him."

Rob said that he never said that.And Paul responded that he thought it would be better for him to come back to London because he believed that his life in Njc had changed him.

Good job! Here's the next sentence: (Strangely, New York has been dictated as Njc by Speech Agent and not detected by ChatGPT)

"Rob argued that it was his life and that he wanted to live in New York, and that he loved Jane."

Bob argue that it was his life and that he wanted to live in New York and that he loved Jane.

Close! The correct sentence is "Rob argued that it was his life and that he wanted to live in New York, and that he loved Jane."

Here's the next sentence:

"Paul bought a bus ticket for Rob for that afternoon because he thought it was better for him to leave."

Paul bought a bus ticket for Rob for that afternoon because he thought it was better for him to leave.

Great! That's correct. Is there anything else I can help you with?

Please write the complete text again and I will try to voice type it all by reading it as naturally as possible. When I have finished could you point out any errors you find and suggest why Speech Agent may have had a problem understanding me?

Sure, here's the full text:

"When Jane arrived at Rob’s house, she didn't find Rob, but she found Paul. She wasn't expecting him because she thought that he was leaving. She asked him what had happened and why he was now at Rob’s house. He said that he missed the company and the relationship with Paul, but that's no problem because he thinks that he will soon go back to London. Jane was very angry because of this answer and at this moment, Rob arrived with breakfast. He asked her if she wanted to have breakfast with Paul and him, but she was very angry and declined. After that, Rob asked Paul what had happened, and Paul said that he had only told Jane that he was soon coming back to London. Rob said that he never said that, and Paul responded that he thought it would be better for him to come back to London because he believed that his life in New York had changed him. Rob argued that it was his life and that he wanted to live in New York, and that he loved Jane. Paul bought a bus ticket for Rob for that afternoon because he thought it was better for him to leave."

Go ahead and try to voice-type it, and I'll let you know if there are any errors and provide feedback.

When Jane arrived at Robs house, she didn't find Rob, but she found Paul.She wasn't expecting him because she thought that he was leaving.She asked him what had happened and why he was now at robs House.He said that he missed the company and the relationship with Paul, but that's no problem because he thinks he will soon go back to London.Jane was very angry because this answer and at this moment Rob arrived with breakfast.He asked her if she wanted her breakfast with Paul and him, but she was very angry and declined.After that, Rob asked Paul what had happened and Paul said that he had only told Jane that he was coming back to London.Rob said that he never said that, and Paul responded that he thought it would be better for him to come back to London because he believed that his life in Njc had changed him.Robe argued that it was his life and that he wanted to live in New York and that he loved Jane.Paul bought a bus ticket for Rob for that afternoon and.Said it was better for him to leave.

Here are the corrections to your transcription:

• Instead of "hungry" it should be "angry" in the sentence "Jane was very angry because of this answer..." ( This is strange, because I didn't make that deliberate mistake in THIS exercise!)
  
• Instead of "her breakfast" it should be "to have breakfast" in the sentence "He asked her if she wanted her breakfast with Paul and him..."
• In the sentence "Paul said that he had only told Jane that he was coming back to London" it should be "soon coming back to London" instead of just "coming back to London".
• Instead of "Njc" it should be "New York".
• At the end of the text it should be "because he thought it was better for him to leave" instead of "and.Said it was better for him to leave".

It's possible that some of the errors were caused by misheard words or incorrect pronunciation of certain sounds. Also, speaking too quickly or not enunciating clearly can make it harder for speech recognition software to accurately transcribe the words. Keep practicing and speaking clearly, and you'll get better at voice typing!

 I found the advice given at the end absolutely heart-melting! Who could ask for a more charming teacher?

This is what I offer my face-to-face students:

• My students record themselves speaking English every class. Sometimes it is pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar practice, but each student records themselves re-telling a story and/or being interviewed every class.
• I listen to some of these recordings and give very informal feedback twice a week.
• I ask my students to select their best recording of them re-telling a story or possibly being interviewed and I give detailed feedback on one minute of their best recording every week.
• My students write an email, a letter, a story, an article, or a description every week.
• I correct all the errors in their weekly writing and mark 5 mistakes as being the most important to learn from.
• My students send me a corrected version of their weekly writing for me to check.
• I check their corrected version and make any additional suggestions for improvement.
• In theory, my students add their best recordings and their twice-corrected writing to their e-portfolio each week.
• My students read a simplified book every week (in theory) and write a two line comment about it for other students to read.
• After reading 6 books at one level I suggest they try the next level. Ideally they will read books from four levels in the three terms.
• I suggest homework from the workbook and DVD(s) but tell my students to be selective and say “ONLY DO WHAT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU” as there is too much to do it all.

This is what I don’t offer my face-to-face students:

• I don’t correct the homework from the workbook and DVD(s) in class or at home. But I offer to help them with any doubts they have about the answers to this homework.
• I don’t correct all the mistakes my students make when speaking in class, but I do write a selection of errors on the board after most speaking activities.
• I rarely ask individual students to give answers to questions in exercises. Instead, students do the exercises in pairs, while I listen and tell them if I hear that they make a mistake.
• I rarely ask individuals to speak to all the class. I nearly always ask them to work in pairs or groups of three when speaking and record themselves.
• I don’t tell my students their grade for their writing until they have sent me a corrected version, although I have given them a grade and made a note of it after the first correction.
• I don’t correct worksheets my students do in class or at home, but instead, I give them the answers and ask them to correct it themselves in a different colour. Sometimes I collect the corrected worksheets to see if there is something I need to teach again.
• I rarely say “Excellent!”, “Very good!” etc in class, but I’m always saying things like “Great!” to my students online.

We use English File Pre-intermediate and Intermediate 3rd edition. We have already done one term using the book and plan to finish the book over the next two terms. Our class is equipped with an interactive whiteboard and I use it a lot. We use mobile phones in class and the internet out of class.

How best can technology help students speak? [I always write about the same thing!]

Speaking as much as possible is the best way for students to speak better. Any materials which encourage students to speak to each other will help. I prefer students to work in pairs as that creates the most opportunities to speak. I adapt materials to maximise opportunities for students to speak in pairs.

Where does technology come in? I am lucky as I have a projector attached to a computer so it is easy to project a series of questions that half the students in the class can see but the others can't as they are sitting with their backs to the screen. If possible, when they swap roles, I have another set of questions for the second interview. The projected questions are rather like the auto-cue used on TV. This can be done without technology, by preparing posters and sticking them to the whiteboard.

In this kind of activity there is a lot of simultaneous speaking and it is sometimes hard to monitor, help or assess students. However, if students record themselves answering the questions using their mobile phones it is easier for teachers to monitor errors and or assess students' speaking. Teachers can still help during the activity

Using apps like audioboo or ipadio smartphone owners can build up a portfolio of their speaking which their teacher can follow using feedly. Students can follow each other, too. Even simple mobile phones can be used with an ipadio account for free in many countries of the world.

This is just one example of how speaking in pairs can be set up and recorded. There are many advantages in getting students to record themselves:

- Students are more likely to speak in English when they are recording themselves.

- Being able to listen to themselves makes students more aware of how well (or badly) they speak

- Building up a portfolio of their speaking showing their progress is motivating

- Teacher feedback on one minute of every recording takes about the same amount of time it takes to give feedback on written work and generates a manageable number of errors to work on

- Providing students with small amounts of regular individual feedback on their strengths, weaknesses and errors in grammar and pronunciation is more effective than brief general classroom feedback

- It is much easier for teachers to get to know their students' speaking level by listening to them regularly. Assessment is much easier as a result.

The other type of speaking activity in pairs we do in class involves creating an information gap which students have to explain. Typically it is a story or article which only half of the students listen to and/or read. They listen to it a number of times and often see the script for a moment the last time they listen. They then practise retelling it to each other before retelling it to one of the students who hasn’t listened to it. I offer help with problems I overhear when they are practising retelling and students usually only record themselves when they are retelling it for real.

These extended monologues are a real test of and opportunity for speaking and involves real communication and are ideal for assessment.

Depending on your definition of speaking you may or may not consider the following activities to be speaking as they don’t involve communication, but do involve saying words and sentences in English. My students also record themselves doing these activities:

-          repeating new vocabulary after a model (and recording both the model and their own version

-          repeating new grammatical structures in the same way to reinforce them and to work on their pronunciation

-          repeating pronunciation exercises

-          reading aloud paragraphs from the course where there is a model to compare with

These recording are also added to their portfolio of spoken English, which I listen to on my way to work and give them the words they need to look up later on howjsay.

Here is a list of the websites mentioned above:

audioboo https://audioboo.fm  which my students use to record their pronunciation

ipadio http://www.ipadio.com/  which my students use to record their real speaking

feedly http://feedly.com/  which I use to follow my students recordings

howjsay http://www.howjsay.com/  where students can check the pronunciation of words

Edmodo https://www.edmodo.com/ where I give formal assessment in private