Speak mode

Shadowing means repeating after a native speaker, line by line, copying their rhythm and intonation. Speak mode turns any video into shadowing practice and tells you which words you got right.

How to use Speak mode

1. Open a video, tap the mode button and choose Speak.
2. The video plays one line and pauses.
3. Tap the microphone (or press M on a keyboard) and say the line out loud.
4. Words light up green as they’re recognised. The line counts when you say almost all of it — roughly one missed word in five is fine, and one missed word is always allowed.
5. Play back your recording to compare it with the original, then move to the next line.

Recording stops by itself after about two seconds of silence.

Tips for good shadowing

• Start with Understand or Listen so you know what the line means.
• Use Slow mode or Loop to hear a hard line several times. See Modes overview.
• Copy the melody, not just the words — say it the way the speaker does.
• Short daily sessions work better than long rare ones: 10 lines is a good start.

Your voice stays on your device

Speech is recognised by Apple’s speech recognition on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. Your voice is not uploaded to our servers.

The first time you use Speak for a language, your device may download a speech model. You’ll see “Preparing the language — the speech model is downloading”, and then “Speech model ready”. Until it’s ready, you can still record yourself and listen back, and the line still counts.

Which languages support Speak

Speak works for every language. When your device can recognise the language, words light up as you say them. When it can’t — or the speech model is still downloading — you record yourself, listen back and compare with the original, and the line still counts. See Microphone and speech recognition.

Free or Pro

Speak gives you free lines every day — 10 by default. The mode card shows “Free today: N more”. With Pro, Speak is unlimited. See Free and Pro.

If it doesn’t work

• “Microphone is off” — allow microphone and speech recognition for PlayLingo in iOS Settings → PlayLingo.
• “Didn’t catch that” — speak a bit louder and closer to the device, and wait for the microphone to start before speaking.
• “Your settings skip this line” — the line is shorter or longer than your exercise settings allow; you can still say it.
• Words don’t light up — your device can’t recognise this language yet. Record yourself and listen back; the line still counts.

Common questions

Does Speak mode check pronunciation?

It checks whether each word is recognised, which is a practical signal of clear pronunciation. It doesn’t grade accent.

Can I shadow without speaking out loud?

Use Listen or Build instead — they train the same lines without the microphone.

Does it work on Mac?

Yes, with a microphone. On a Mac with a keyboard, press M to start recording.