Forvo, a crowdsource pronunciation dictionary in several languages
Autonomous learning
Description: Forvo is a website and app that provides audio pronunciations of words and languages in various languages along with their translation. These audio pronunciations are submitted by native speakers worldwide. Forvo is free to use and does not require having an account to listen to word pronunciations, although registration allows for additional features like contributing pronunciations and saving favorite words.
Evaluation: Forvo is a valuable and handy tool for finding out the correct pronounciation of words. With its help, students can autonomously check and learn words' pronounciation, while teachers can provide the site as a reference resource. Since it is crowdsourced, please consider that some pronunciations may not necessarily be standard. However, users who provide the pronunciation often also indicate whether it belongs to a specific dialect or speech community, so Forvo can be a helpful tool for those seeking to get familiriased with a specific dialect or accent.
Cost: Free.
Usability and tech notes ▼
Time efficiency Time needed to learn how to use a tool and its time-saving potential: High. It may take some time for a contribution (pronunciation) to be approved by the site, but as a learner, it is a great and quick way to accurately know how words are pronounced.
Interface language(s) The number of languages in which the tool is currently available/adaptable to: Interface available in 40+ languages; pronunciation for words in more than 300 languages available.
Respect for privacy What data does the tool collect and why? What security measures are there? GDPR compliant? : Medium. Forvo does not sell data to third parties and shares it only for several purposes, among which advertising. One of these third parties is Google Ad Manager. Forvo’s privacy policy mentions the use of measures to ensure the security, secrecy, and confidentiality of data. Users are also informed about their rights to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing, object, and data portability. Forvo’s policy states that data is stored in the EU, processed in compliance with applicable legislation, including Regulation (EU) 2016/677, but it does not explicitly mention compliance with the GDPR. See more here.
Saving work for future use Can work be saved for future use?: Yes. A profile can be set up and words bookmarked.
Examples of use