There are many voice assistants, like Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, or Alexa. Here’s a tutorial on how to use Siri (or any other such application) to practise your English:
For advanced students, here are a few tips to improve your intonation when using a personal assistant:
PLEASE NOTE that you need to be connected to a network to use your assistant, and set your phone or tablet to English (UK). So your first command should be: Hola Siri/Google, ¿cómo cambiar el idioma a inglés?
CATEGORIES or FUNCTIONS:
| To express politeness | Info | Indirect questions |
| Hey Siri, I’m “Jenny Tulls”, how do you do?
How are you doing today? Can I tell you a secret? I’m your father. It’s true! What could I do to make your day? Good bye hun! See you later, alligator! Thanks, bye! |
Hey Siri, what time is it in New York?
Where is the closest petrol station? How can I get to the airport? When is the next football match on TV? What time is “Captain Marvel” showing at theatres? What’s the weather like today? How long before the battery dies? How far is Moscow? What is a “platypus”? How many feet in a mile? How much is a flight to London? What’s 5.5X3? (Answer: 16.5) |
Hey Siri, I would like to look for a Chinese restaurant.
I’d like to know whether it’ll rain today. Do you know when Easter begins? I wonder where the closest KFC is. Can you tell me how to make gazpacho? I’m not sure if you are single or married. I don’t know if it’ll be cold over the weekend. Sorry to ask, but what does Siri mean?
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| Random questions | Commands/Requests | To study English |
| Hey Siri, when will the world end?
Hey Siri, what are you doing later? Hey Siri, are you a male or female? Hey Siri, which came first the egg or the chicken? Hey Siri, when was Albert Einstein born? How many cups are there in a gallon? What are you wearing? How much do you cost? |
Hey Siri, please open/close Wordreference.com.
Please call me “Master” from now on. Please remind me to buy some milk. Please wake me up at 4:45 PM. Create an event called “Doctor” tomorrow at noon. Please call “David”. Text David and tell him I’ll be late. Please launch YouTube. Please look for an email sent on 12/01/2019 with the word “ESL” in the subject. Please play “I guess that’s why the call it the blues” by Elton John. Please turn BlueTooth off. |
Hey Siri, can you look for ESL exercises on Articles?
Can you teach me the alphabet once and for all? Can you help me to learn English? What’s Spanish for “sensible”? How do you spell “recipe”? Please look for clips on YouTube on English pronunciation. Please look up for sentences containing the words “out of the blue”. What is the difference between “wait”, “expect” and “hope”? How to pronounce “morning” and “mourning”? |