Learning a language is not easy. We tend to take our ability to verbally communicate without misunderstandings for granted because it appears to be one that we are born with. However, language is as complex as it is crucial, hiding layers of syntactical intricacy, semantic nuance, and social stigma beneath its deceptively natural textual and phonetic interface. For instance, while reading this paragraph, are you consciously parsing each sentence for meaning or simply…”understanding” subconsciously?

The burdens that arise from a language’s complexity have been somewhat lightened by the accessibility presented by language education apps. The focus of apps like DuoLingo on translation, auditory comprehension, and vocabulary with reward systems has led to commercial success. However, these apps often place less emphasis on correct pronunciation and their scale makes generalizability require major structural overhauls. Studies have reported that users may benefit from pronunciation training through speech recognition.

Over the summer, I helped my mentor, Jobin Jacob Kavalam, bring customizability and practicality to consumers in this field. A configurable language education app, Talk2Learn employs speech recognition to correct pronunciation and hands-free navigation.