A minimal pair is a set of two words whose sounds differ by only one phoneme. For example: "stuff" and "staff".
Learners of a foreign language often have difficulty hearing minor differences which are important in their target language but not in their native language.
This app trains you to recognize the differences.
You can test the app here.
You will see two pockets, each displaying a button for one of two different phonemes (say /ʌ/ and /ɑ/, the vowels in "stuff" and "staff"). You can press these buttons to hear the phoneme.
You will also see a card with a Play Audio icon on it, and hear a word. This word will be one of a minimal pair that uses one or other of the phonemes shown on the pockets. Your task is to tap on the appropriate pocket (or drag the card to the pocket). When you do this, the card will turn over to display the word, an image illustrating the word, and its phonetic transcription.
If you chose the correct phoneme/pocket, the card will then slide inside the pocket.
Under the first card, a second card will be shown, twisted a little so that you can see its corners. Before you make your choice, you can press the first card to hear the cue word repeated, or you can press one of the corners of the second card to hear the other word in the minimal pair.
After you have made your choice, the second card will turn over in place, and its word will play. It will then slide into the other pocket.
If you chose the wrong phoneme/pocket, you will see a different animation. The first card will slide across the screen to the side associated with its pocket, and the second card will turn over and move to the other side of the screen. A button with the word Done will appear. You can now press either card, or the buttons on the pockets, to compare the sounds. When you are finished, you can press the Done button, and both cards will slide into the pockets.
The last card that you played will be visible inside the semi-transparent pocket. The part that shows the phonetic transcription will be fully visible and interactive. If you press-and-release a card, it will slide out of its pocket and its word will play. Then it will slide back in again.
If you press-and-hold a card, all the cards in both pockets will be spread across the screen in two parallel lines. The most recent card will appear on top. Other cards may be overlapped.
Clicking on the topmost card will play its word. Clicking on any other card will bring that card and its minimal pair in front of the others. These will now be the topmost cards, and a second click will play the word.
Clicking anywhere but on a card will gather the cards up and slide them back into the pockets.
A hamburger menu button will open a menu where you can choose:
- Preferences
- Interface language
- Target language
- Allow taboo words and images
- Layout in landscape mode (right-handed, left-handed, split)
- Index of minimal pairs to practise in your target language. Your progress for each minimal pair will be shown.
- About us (contact the developers)