How do I set up my microphone for speech recognition?

We know that ease of use is important for our learners, so we’ve made sure to have our speech integration be as seamless as possible. When you first start a lesson on any device, you’ll be asked whether or not you want to use speech recognition. Here’s how to make sure you’ve set up your microphone correctly.

Desktop

To use Babbel's speech recognition, we generally recommend Chrome. If you are using Edge, Firefox or Safari, speech recognition is only available for learning languages German, Italian, Spanish and French.

  1. Start a lesson of your choosing
  2. When you’re asked whether you want to learn with or without speech recognition, select With speech recognition
  3. Click on Continue
  4. If your browser asks for your permission to allow Babbel access to your microphone, click Allow 

App

  1. Start a lesson of your choosing
  2. When you’re asked whether you want to practice speaking, select Practice speaking
  3. If your device asks for your permission to allow Babbel access to your microphone, click allow 
  4. Your speech recognition is now active

If you choose No speaking but later change your mind, this is an easy fix! Just tap on the microphone icon at the bottom-left corner of any lesson, and this will turn the speech recognition feature on.

If you’re having issues with the app not recognizing your voice, here’s how to make adjust the microphone settings.

  1. Tap on Profile profile.jpeg, then the Settings wheel
  2. Tap on Settings  
  3. Scroll down to General and tap on Microphone 
  4. Adjust the sensitivity until your voice is within the green area when you speak

Still having issues with the speech recognition feature? Check this page to make sure your device meets our system requirements.

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