Otter is a tool which focuses mainly on speech and pronunciation practice, as it records the words spoken by the user and then automatically writes them on the screen, revealing both mistakes made due to poor diction and grammatical errors.
This technology aids student self-assessment, as they can see their progress on their own, repeating words and sentences as many times as required to obtain feedback in a context outside the classroom. They can practice and enhance their speaking skills, correcting common errors in diction and language use.
Most students in schools tend to have a lack of confidence when they speak a second language because they are not sure if they are doing it right. It is for this reason that Otter uses artificial intelligence to record all the sentences spoken by students and convert them into a script. By doing this, the student can notice if anything they said is manifested in the script, and if not, be able to notice the mistakes and improve through repetition until they perfect their pronunciation. In this way, they can be more confident later on when performing activities that require conversation.
Although Otter is not an application designed to play or compete, its main attraction is the speed with which students can use it cyclically to repeat several times what they need to record.
As mentioned above, unlike other applications or virtual tools, Otter does not have games, levels or any other element that relates to a game in which students can participate. This point is crucial to identify what kind of target audience the application is aimed at, and also to realize which is its limitation, since its audience is focused on students who are a little more advanced in terms of levels of linguistic analysis and comprehension of the L2. As a result, the application would be somewhat obsolete in terms of its use in lower grades, since it does not contain elements that are eye-catching or that encourage the participation of young children.