Highly recommended for language learners.

I am learning Korean and use Anytune to slow the audio in my CDs which accompany my textbook.

The dialogue is recorded at natural speed which is not comprehensible even if I know 100% of the vocabulary used. This is because learning to parse words in real time is a skill independent of learning words and grammar.

In the classroom, the solution is for the teacher to stop the CD every few seconds and repeat the phrase at a slower speed. This is tedious and also undermines the exercise to a certain extent.

I find it much better to use a "scaffolding" approach where I first listen at 50% speed several times until I understand, then listen at (say) 70%, then 85% then finally 100%.

In other words, slowing the audio turns incomprehensible input into comprehensible input. Exposure to such comprehensible input is a key concept in second language acquisition.

This has the additional benefit of providing motivational small wins. Instead of being demoralized that I cannot understand the dialogue despite knowing all the grammar and vocab therein, I become excited that I could understand and feel fired up for the challenge of listening at the next speed level.

My teachers love this app as well.

The downside is the price. I tried a cheaper app first and found that the quality deteriorated too much when the audio was slowed below 85%, which provided only limited utility.

With Anytune I can slow the audio all the way to 40% without excess deterioration in the quality. This makes an enormous difference as most of the real-speed dialogues in my textbook are not yet comprehensible at 85%. Typically I start at 50% on the first listen. So for me the higher price is worth it.

(As with other apps, the original pitch is maintained so the voices do not becomes unnaturally low at slower speeds.)

In short: expensive but awesome. Highly recommended to language learners. If you happen to be a musician as well, all the better.

Yardbird99 about Anytune Pro+