Things we learned transcribing English the way it is actually said — not the way the spelling pretends it is. The same decisions sit inside the app’s scoring.
The small words of English are almost never said in their dictionary form — and pronouncing them carefully is exactly what sounds foreign.
Half of North America says these words the same, half doesn’t — and a fair scorer has to accept both.
FAM-ly, REE-ly, gran-mother: fluent speech drops written syllables on purpose, and reading every letter is what gets flagged.
Everyone has heard of the schwa. The reduced “ih” does half its work and gets none of the fame.
Children get corrected constantly; adults never are. Why pronunciation feedback stops at the exact moment you need it.
“You scored 78%” is a verdict, not an instruction. What pronunciation feedback has to look like before you can act on it.
Minimal pairs put two words one sound apart and make the difference audible. Why contrast teaches the ear faster than repetition.