The Iowa “Sounds of Speech” app features animated libraries of the phonetic sounds of English and other languages. App versions for Android & iOS are available under the name Sounds of Speech. 
(Until Spring 2020, there was a free website version, but it relied on Adobe Flash, and will not be supported in the future, so now only the apps will be available, unfortunately.) In the apps, for each English consonant and vowel, you’ll find an animated articulatory diagram, a step-by-step description, and video-audio of the sound spoken in context. The animated side view of the mouth is particularly helpful for tongue placement and to see the difference between nasal and non-nasal sounds, e.g. /l/ and /n/.
If you’re not familiar with the categories on top, click on “voice,” because then you’ll have just two sets of consonant sounds to look at. “Manner” just means how the mouth obstructs the flow of air, and “place” just means where in the mouth that obstruction occurs. Vowels are listed separately: “monophthongs” is a fancy word for simple vowels with one sound (sometimes finishing in a glide), and “diphthongs” is another fancy word for combination vowels like /au/ in “house.”
This project was a collaborative effort of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Speech Pathology and Audiology, and Academic Technologies at The University of Iowa.
Here are past comments from users:
–Fantastic tool because it shows you not only the sound difference but also the mouth and tongue and teeth positioning. Very vivid. Love it.
–Interesting…if you are able to control you tongue though!
–Good. I can know exactly where the tongue should be located
I would love to see this for french too!
Mais oui, moi aussi!
How do you get to this website?
Hi, thanks for pointing out that the link has changed! I’ve updated the description above with the new link. To get to the website version (as opposed to buying their phone app), scroll down the page. The full link is http://soundsofspeech.uiowa.edu/index.html#english
Hi, Jean–sorry that the original reply seems to have gotten lost here. Iowa Sounds of Speech’s website now states that only the app versions will be available in the future.
will to improve my English pronunciation.
I planning my Esl classes in Lynn, Mass. and i wanted to include your site as regular resource for my students. I am disappointed, however, that you folks are charging for the app. If that is true, do you have an educator’s deal?
I love your site and love that it is academic.
Hi, Ms. Kiley. The University of Iowa offers the website for free, actually, even though they charge for the app. I like the full functionality on the website, and haven’t yet found additional features (except mobile convenience) in the app. This e-resources site is not affiliated with the University of Iowa. We’re at the University of Michigan.
Sadly – unless I’m really missing something or it’s just not working today – it looks like the free resource has now been taken down. The links at the top of the page no longer take you to the web version, but simply redirect you to links for the app for various languages. This is a real shame as my students loved it.
It’s a powerful tool in learning English.
It is helpful to learn English
Hi, I’m a technical college ELL instructor, and I love using your site with students. I have bought the excellent phone app, and I recommend it to students. However, I find the online link is dropping the video examples of the sounds. Curiously, odd videos /b/ remain. Is there a way to support your site in another way?
Thanks!
Hi, Laura, hope you’re doing well. Iowa has announced that they’ll only be supporting the app version in the future.
Hi,
The sign up button is not clickable. It changes color when clicked but that’s it. Please fix it. Thank you.
Rather than sign-up, Iowa is now pointing people to just buy their apps.
Hello! Is the website still working? I am getting a static picture. Great resource!
The website may work for a few more weeks/months in a non-Chrome browser, but they’re phasing out the website to just point everyone to the apps.
The link to the website does not work. Do you have a new link or the site is not functioning at all?
The website may work for a few more weeks/months in a non-Chrome browser, but they’re phasing out the website to just point everyone to the apps.
That new link posted September 12, 2017 now takes you to a sign-in page that says things aren’t working and gives you a temporary sign-in name and password which doesn’t work. There is no information about who is in charge of the website to report this. If you have any pull with them, can you let them know about the situation?
I wish I had pull! The website may work for a few more weeks/months in a non-Chrome browser, but they’re phasing out the website to just point everyone to the apps.
pbogart: I agree, and I was trying to find who administers the site so I could appeal to them. I first started using the website about 9 years ago when it was full screen. I used it interactively with my students on a SmartBoard. Then it was totally messed up for a while but when they updated it it only filled a quarter of the screen. It’s still small but centered in the middle now. I’m glad there is a mobile app, but the website version is still needed. It would totally be worth updating to new technology. Perhaps U of Iowa doesn’t realize the value of this tool, or how much positive attention it brings to the U. of Iowa!
Hello,
I teach Spanish, so I’d like to know if your planing on launching the app for Spanish phonetics, and if so, when will it be available for download.
Thank you in advance.
I have used Iowa Uni Spanish Phonetics tool and it is EXCELLENT.
I am looking for a similar one for FRENCH. Does Iowa Uni project has it?
I think they’ve just got Spanish, German, and English at present.
hi. it was wonderful. I am teaching these to my students. is there any possibility of downloading the flash file for speech sounds with animated vocal tracts?
You could contact University of Iowa, but no, i don’t think that independent downloads are an option.
There is no button for “English.” I am using Google Chrome, and there doesn’t appear to be a compatibility issue. Please help.
The issue is that U of Iowa has taken down the website version; only the app version is now supported. As you can see from other comments here, the language teaching community is quite disappointed.
Totally disappointed that this app is not available online in a desktop or laptop version. It WAS so good. not anymore. I used this app a LOT. more than 8,400 Lessons with students from 90 countries. alas NO more. Thanks. it was great while it lasted. such a disappointment (Yes, I am saying This 2x)