This article was updated in November 2023.
What is YouGlish?
YouGlish is a great resource for learning how to pronounce words correctly. As the name suggests, it is set up for English speakers and uses YouTube to deliver those orientation videos. But it goes further and offers many language options.
Crucially, this uses native speakers of the language from which the word originates. This means that you can hear that word pronounced by someone who can speak it naturally in the local language.
Since it uses YouTube as a source, the videos are very easy to access and can be played on a large number of digital devices.
The option to obtain pronunciations from different places around the world is also available. You choose the region you want from multiple options, or all of them, if that’s what you select, plus there is an option for sign language.
You can listen to the audio playback after you type the word you want, and it’s also written below so you can read it if turning up the volume isn’t an option, although this is less useful of course.
Obviously, all of this makes YouGlish a great resource for ELL (English Language Learners) students, as well as ESL (English as a Second Language) students.
What’s new on YouGlish?
YourGlish offers a constantly evolving database of words and their pronunciations. At the time of the update here, the site offers over 100 million tracks to choose from. The design is still basic but it just works and that’s the point.
Currently available languages include: US, UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand.
How does YouGlish work?
YouTube has many and lots of videos: as of 2020, 720,000 hours are uploaded daily. So if you wanted to watch an hour of videos uploaded to YouTube, it would take you about 82 years. Why is this relevant?
YouGlish is smart enough to crawl through all that content to find the word or phrase you want to hear. It then offers a video with that word or phrase spoken in the language you selected.
The video itself could be about any topic, but the important thing is that the word or phrase is pronounced clearly, in many cases several times, so that you can hear it being pronounced correctly.
For example, type “power” in English and you’ll see a man talking about fighter jets and the power they have, during which he repeats that word several times in the clip. But this is just one of 128,524 English options to choose from.
What are the best features of YouGlish?
In addition to making it easy to find videos relevant to pronunciation, YouGlish also offers useful options to make it even clearer.
You can turn on subtitles so you can read the words exactly as they are said in the video. This can help with spelling and recognizing how the word fits into the structure of a sentence.
Another really useful menu option allows you to control the playback speed. This allows you to play at “Normal” speed or slow down to hear words spoken more slowly. You can also go faster if that helps. These options range from “Min” for minimum to “0.5x” and “0.75x”, then back to normal before moving on to “1.25x” and “1.5x”, “1.75x” and then “Max” for faster playback. .
A handy button below the video lets you go back five seconds so you can repeat a section over and over again without having to use the tracker to find that point.
You can turn on a thumbnail view to see all the other videos in the list and skip to the one that seems most relevant. A light icon lets you play in dark mode for a more focused look.
YouGlish works for a selection of languages and can be played in multiple accents and dialects for each. Language options are Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Sign Language.
Is YouGlish useful for teachers?
YouGlish is a very valuable tool not only for individuals, but also for teachers with ELL and ESL students.
You can limit your search by word, class, phrase class, or context. The tool also provides tips on how to improve English pronunciation, written below the video. This includes phonetic pronunciation, as well as suggestions for other words that help with pronunciation.
Teachers can use restricted mode to use these videos and guides in the classroom. It’s worth noting that educators should be wary of inappropriate words and adult content, as YouGlish won’t necessarily filter them out. It’s also a good idea to review clips before sharing them in the classroom.
Top YouGlish Tips and Tricks
Talking in class
Use this app on the big screen and have students try to say a word before playing it for the class to hear.
Connect words
Explore a language using similar words to show how certain letter combinations in that language are pronounced in different sentences.
Revert it
Play a word game and see if students can figure out where that word comes from, even though it may not be as expected.
