Several websites record you saying a word or sentence. Then they analyze it and give feedback in a score. The approach allows you to practice repeatedly and improve your accent. The programs work by comparing your recording to the model recording in the program, after adjusting for any basic difference in pitch.The programs vary widely in what they offer.

1. Pronunciator is free through many libraries, has good scoring in 99 languages. It shows one word at a time, for you to speak, and it scores your pronunciation.
2. Transparent $30 per month, (cheaper for longer terms) in any one of 100 languages, 2,000+ words; limited graph only shows volume, accepts poor pronunciation, but you can replay pronunciation of the native speaker and yourself to compare them and improve 
3. Rocket is $100 for each level of each language, with free samples on the web. It offers many words and short phrases on a page, where you click one button to hear the native speaker and another to speak yourself and get a score. You can practice with this for a long time. It seems to score rhythm and pitch, more than exact pronunciation.
4. Passport to Languages / Learn to Speak has a simple pronunciation score in 6 languages, but it needs an old computer with Windows XP or earlier. 
5. Two more are expensive and hard to use, according to reviews: Tellmemore and Rosettastone. Tellmemore (bought by Rosetta in 2014) scores pronunciation generously. I got undeservedly high scores in Spanish. A graph in old copies still available at retailers shows volume and an extra line for pitch to help you learn intonation. This would be good for Mandarin, which is one of the languages they teach, though at far higher cost than Transparent. Reviewers say that in sentences, you must speak each word separately to get a good score. Reviews say Rosetta's scoring of pronunciation does not work, and do not say that Rosetta has now picked up Tellmemore's graphs.
6. Babbel gives you too little feedback about pronunciation and then moves on to reading and writing. It scores good pronunciation on a scale 50-100, but gives you no score or feedback on poor pronunciation and goes on to the next screen before you get the pronunciation right. They let you say each word just once each time through a lesson.
7. Two others are free, but only teach intermediate English: EnglishCentral and GoEnglishMe.
8. Berlitzonline is expensive, and no samples or reviews are available.

Next: Time Needed to Learn Languages

Review of Passport to Languages, from eLanguage.com
Words+pictures, Pronunciation scored, Cheap, ★★★★

They teach 35 languages in a combined package ($20). All languages let you record and compare yourself to their native speaker. They earn 4 stars for scoring your pronunciation in US English, French, German, Italian, and Latin American Spanish. They earn 3 stars for other languages. Their scoring of your pronunciation can be set from generous to strict.

They lose a star because their software seems to need Windows 95/98, ME, 2000 or XP. They told me they have a version compatible with Windows 7 and Vista, but when I bought it, directly from their website, it did not work on Windows 7. I tested it with an old laptop running XP. It is an excellent 5-star program if you have access to one of the older operating systems.

They explain lessons in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish, though a few buttons and the installation instructions remain in English.

The pronunciation scoring is under "Learn by Subject," not "Pronunciation."  They say each word, and show spelling and a picture, You choose whether they provide a translation into your own language. They say the word as often as you wish, and you can get scoring of your pronunciation as often as you wish. Sound quality varies but is reasonable.

They cover a lot of vocabulary. In health terms, they have detailed words for different bones, blood and breathing systems, major organs, parts of the head, mouth, eyes, arm, hand and foot, as well as a modest range of health office terms. They teach a charming sequence of 14 emotions with pictures of a mime. They have different health words from Pronunciator, and more than Transparent, though Transparent has helpful detailed pronunciation  graphs besides the summary score.

They explain grammar, but offer no drills or practice.

ELanguage also has more detailed packages in English, French, German, and Spanish, reviewed separately.

Review of Transparent.com,  Byki.com
Desktop+online+MP3+app, Pronunciation scored, Cheap ★★★★★ up to Windows 8,  Expensive ★★★ in Windows 10
Transparent and Byki (Before You Know It) are the same company, and have several versions of language courses on their 2 websites. Versions 1 and 2 are highly recommended for beginners with older Windows computers, because of the pronunciation scores and graphs. Version 2 costs more, and also gives you MP3 files to download and listen offline. The following graphs give an example of the falling then rising tone of yǔ in Mandarin, meaning "and." Transparent helps you learn to say tones. Use BBC to practice recognizing them when others speak.

1. $12-$30 for a desktop package of 76 languages, 1,500+ words each; good graphs and scores to improve your pronunciation (title: 101 Languages). Needs Windows XP, Vista, 7, or 8; does not work in Windows 10, so it loses a star in the overall list. Support has ended. Use instructions below, not the instructions which come with it. ★★★★★
2. $20-$70 for desktop and MP3 in any one of 72 languages, 1,000+ words; same graphs and scores to improve your pronunciation as version 1 (title: Byki Deluxe). Needs Windows XP, Vista, 7, or 8; does not work in Windows 10, so it loses a star in the overall list. Support ends in 2017 ★★★★★
3. $30 per month online, (cheaper for longer terms) in any one of 100 languages, 2,000+ words; limited graph only shows volume, accepts poor pronunciation, but you can replay pronunciation of the native speaker and yourself to compare them and improve (title: Transparent Language Online) ★★★
4. $50 for 5 audio CDs or MP3 downloads in any one of 10 languages; does not score your pronunciation (title: Everywhere Audio Course) ★★★
5. Free desktop version with 150 words or phrases in each of 72 languages; does not score your pronunciation (title: Byki Express) ★
6. $8 per language for Android or iPhone apps, 1000+ words in each of 25 languages; does not score your pronunciation  (title: Byki Mobile) ★
7. $99 per 90 minutes for private tutor or $300 for 8 classes, by web, though they do not say how many teachers are native speakers, or class size. You may find less expensive sources.

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CHEAP AND EXCELLENT APPROACH for older Windows computers (XP, Vista, 7, or 8):

Versions 1 and 2 are excellent places to start, since they hear you and score your pronunciation while you learn. Beginners do well to take advantage of this pronunciation scoring, so you build good habits. Bad pronunciation is hard to fix later and is a barrier to people ever understanding you. The main competitor which has pronunciation scoring is Pronunciator (free through many US libraries, for 47 languages). It costs more than version 1, and has much less detailed feedback on pronunciation (just an overall rating and pitch), but it lets you start with very simple words like numbers, which are easier for learning good pronunciation than the complicated artificial conversations which Version 1 teaches. Try either or both.
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Instructions: Version 1 teaches individual words and phrases, but its instructions are too cryptic, so try these:

1. During installation choose which languages to install; go back later to install more. Besides the target language(s) you want to learn, install one you know, such as English (it is aimed at Spanish speakers), so you can learn how the program works in a language you know. Keep the CDs handy, since the program sometimes asks for them.
2. After installation, the opening screen lets you double-click any installed language.
3. They call each line of text a segment. In some languages the 3rd-10th segments (lines) are a table of contents showing the segment (line) where each topic starts: 12, 68, 116, 184... However this is in the target language, not very useful for beginners, which is why step 1 suggested installing a language you know. Different languages have different lessons, but similar approaches.
4. Click the Pronunciation tab, then "Listen+Speak" then "Start."
5. Scroll down past the explanatory text to simple phrases. Double-click any word to hear it spoken. The meaning of the word and its sentence will appear below the text. Click the turtle to toggle between normal speed and slower.
6. Hold down the left mouse button on the "Record Your Voice" button, while you say the word. Graphs compare you to the native speaker, and a half-circle graph gives you an overall score (green is best).
7. If you find a section you want to go back to, write down its segment (line number), which is in a small rectangular box under the display of words in the target language. In future you can click that box and enter the number you want to go back to.
8. Numbers are taught in different places in each language. For example numbers 0-100 are taught near the end in most languages, but some languages only teach numbers 1-10, and they start in segment 23.
9. Repeat, with more words each day, and later advance to full sentences and the other tabs.

Version 1 has 76 languages and dialects with pronunciation by native speakers, and another 25 with 750+ words each but not pronunciation, hence its title "101 Languages of the World." Our index shows the languages which lack pronunciation as "Trans silent." Version 1 converts all spelling to the Roman alphabet. Amazon reviewers say it is a good introduction for people going to multiple countries, or who want to hear common words in some rarer languages.

Version 2 teaches 66 of the first 76 languages, and 17 others. Most are also in version 4. The 17 which are not in version 1 are: Altai, Armenian, Bashkir, Buriat, Chechen, Dari, Georgian, Hausa, Kazakh, Macedonian, Mirandese, Mongolian, Pashto, Tajiki, Turkmen, Tuvan, Uzbek.

FREE, NOT SO GOOD APPROACH:

By contrast with the thorough teaching in the low cost Version 1, the free Version 6 only has vocabulary flash cards. It shows spelling in English (optionally also in target language), and a native speaker says the word or phrase.

A problem with Version 6 is that even the first lesson is full of phrases which are too long for beginners. They range up to 5 syllables and average 3 syllables per word in the first lesson, in both English and Chinese. The turtle button lets you toggle between normal speed and slightly slower, but it is still very hard for total beginners to pick up the sounds of long phrases.

You could start instead with numbers. Version 6 shows zero through ten, in random order.

Ttansparent and Byki do not teach business phone conversations. Version 6 is clearly aimed at travelers, with 30 long phrases on taxis, though no lessons to understand drivers' answers. Version 1 includes similar phrases on taxis along with a few possible answers. It also has conversations on changing money at banks, and checking into hotels.

OTHER DISTINCTIONS:

Version 2 and perhaps others too, will display words/phrases which are hard for you, more often, until you learn them. In all versions you can click to repeat anything.

Only the MP3 files (Versions 2, 3 and 5) let you learn alone in the car, since the apps make you look at the screen.

For intermediate students Transparent/Byki have strengths and weaknesses. They do not conjugate verbs, and do not cover as much vocabulary as Pronunciator. However they cover grammar in a way Pronunciator does not. Version 1 (and probably 2-4) lets you click any word in the lesson on the Reading tab, and then shows you links to grammatical explanations for how that word is used. Version 1 is thus an inexpensive way to learn basic grammar if you cannot find a printed grammar for your target language. Pronunciator does not have these grammatical explanations, though Pronunciator conjugates 100 verbs in past, present and future tenses.
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All versions are taught in English, except English itself which most versions teach in Spanish and/or Portuguese. Apps (version 7) teach English in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish.
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Versions 2 and 7 have over 1,000 words/phrases according to reviews of the desktop and the app, or "thousands" according to the website, with some of these contributed by other learners.

Review of PRONUNCIATOR.com
Web, MP4, App, Pronunciation scored, Free, ★★★★ in USA. Not available in rest of world.
This is only accessible if your library in the USA and Canada subscribes. Your library will tell you how to log in. It has words spoken by native speakers in 72 languages. It is free state-wide in Texas (TexShare), North Carolina (NC LIVE), Louisiana, and Arkansas (Traveler).

App: "Pronunciator" needs a constant data connection.

You can choose lessons in any order. Inside each lesson (drop-down menus) you have to study words in order. Click to repeat a word or phrase as often as you need.

It offers structured lessons, beginner to advanced. At the top of the list is the "Main Course." At the bottom is basic vocabulary for health care workers.

"Main Course" has Core Vocabulary (100 categories like computers), Powerful Phrases (50 travel categories like money), and 100 Verbs conjugated. Beginners can choose easy subjects (like Numbers or Animals), and the site slowly speaks numbers 1-30, then by tens to 100, or names the animals, and pauses for you to repeat, while showing pictures so you know what each foreign word means.

An excellent feature in the Main Course is the Songs (tab called "ProRadio"), very clearly sung, and it shows lyrics to help you learn (Chinese, Danish, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish and Swedish).

​Videos (drop down menu item called "ProFlix") with subtitles let you repeat any phrase you want to learn in some languages. 

The Audio tab lets you download lessons, though they have a lot of distracting explanation in your own language (Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Sinhala, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, and Urdu, not English).

Another excellent feature is to listen and score pronunciation, under Main Course /  Drills / Pronunciation Analysis. I recommend students start here, specifically with the drop down menus for Core Vocabulary and Numbers. Click the spelling on the screen to hide it, and listen, wait for the red light, then repeat. Your rising scores encourage you to continue. The system gave me appropriate low scores in Arabic, which I do not speak, until I practiced enough to get middling scores, so it can help and motivate beginners. It gave me an occasional 100% for my intermediate Spanish accent, so its standard is not strict, and it may not help you polish an intermediate accent to an excellent one.

It also lets you record and compare your voice to teachers.

Health vocabulary, grammar, and a class for the US Citizenship exam are in the first menu (same page as language selection in the App).

Pronunciator has a graph of pitch, as musical notes; it is under the word Pitch, at the far right of the Main Course Drills tab. It only gives one or two notes per syllable, so it is not detailed enough to show the rising and falling tones of Chinese. Also, the notes do not always match the voice: Merci beaucoup shows rising notes, but the speaker goes down at the end. If you have a Windows computer with Windows 8 or earlier, Transparent has more detailed graphs on pitch, vowels, consonants, etc, which gives you more guidance.

Pronunciator is a good site for beginners and intermediate learners, because of the pronunciation feedback and the range of topics. Beginners do best to start with topics where pictures clearly show the meaning, and spellings can be hidden (by clicking the spelling on the screen): numbers, animals, colors, eating utensils, furniture, home appliances, bathroom, kitchen, insects, light sources, musical instruments, nationalities, shapes, tools, vehicles. Spelling normally distracts you from good pronunciation, since your mind tries to pronounce letters as they would be pronounced in your language. However the spelling is available to clarify whether the speaker is saying b, p, v, etc. Even for Chinese there is a Pinyin option, giving Roman letters which help with consonants, and accents which show tones (explained in free FSI and BBC courses and graphed in Transparent and Tellmemore courses).

The main competitor which has good pronunciation scoring is limited to old computers with  Windows 8 or earlier: Transparent ($25-40 for unlimited time in 76 languages). Transparent costs less, has more detailed feedback on pronunciation, and grammatical explanations of each word, but it starts with complicated artificial conversations, does not let you choose topics, and does not conjugate verbs. Pronunciator lets you start with very simple words like numbers, which are easier for learning good pronunciation, and then you can choose more advanced topics. After you learn good pronunciation with Transparent or Pronunciator, there are other free or inexpensive programs with 4 or 5 stars to expand your vocabulary and grammar.

The main competitors which lets you pick topics to study are 50 Languages and Internet Polyglot, but they have no feedback on pronunciation, and have less vocabulary. For example on medical terms, Pronunciator goes from ache, acne, aids, allergy, ambulance, to vaccination, vitamin, wheel chair, and x-ray. If you need medical care abroad, you really need practitioners who speak your language or hire a translator, but for times when the translator is not there, you can learn some medical terms to track the babel around you. Even if you speak the language, you may not know all these terms, so you can learn them when needed.

A PDF file compares Lessons from Lang1234, 50 Languages, Pronunciator, and Internet Polyglot.

Review of Learn to Speak, from eLanguage.com
MP3+video+web, Pronunciation scored, Cheap, ★
They teach 4 languages in their full course ($50-100), with MP3 files to learn on the go. They have minimal scoring of pronunciation. They do start with numbers from 0 to 1000, but they go quickly to complex phrases, with little explanation and pauses that are too short to repeat the phrase. There are 40 lessons; each has vocabulary, dialog, grammar.

They show a needle on a dial to score your pronunciation, and it is very inaccurate. In the English course, when I was supposed to say Tail, I got a good score for Teal, and a medium score for Say. Zero pronounced in English, French or Spanish was all acceptable, in the English course.

They have computer pictures of the mouth saying each sound, but the pictures move too fast and are too small and indistinct to learn from.

Some lessons are good and simple, like the difference in English between few and little. Other lessons cover too much, like plurals, and make mistakes. They say, "Both the -s and -es spellings are accepted for nouns ending in -o" and they list heroes and tomatoes. They do not say that -s and -es generally apply to different words. Most require -s. A few require -es,  and a few can take either. They teach "How are you?" as a greeting, without saying that the standard answer regardless of health, is "Fine, thanks." They give that answer 4th, after: "Nothing much," "I'm all right," and "Pretty good."

The English course has travel videos of a few US cities, no better than any commercial movie for learning, and hard to hear the words through the music. These mispronounce the Corcoran Gallery and misspell the Juilliard School. Sound quality varies on their MP3 files, which are full speed.

Unlike their 35-language course, this does operate on recent Windows systems. Version 10 works on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8. Version 12 is for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10.

Most Amazon reviewers give good reviews to the Spanish course, not to French, nor to English, where all explanations are in English, unlike the same company's 35-language course which has explanations in 6 other languages, and is reviewed separately. Amazon incorrectly refers to a "newer version" which is a competitor lacking speech analysis.

Review of ROCKETlanguages.com
Web, App, Pronunciation scored, Expensive, ★
They offer 13 languages, European, Asian, Arabic and American Sign Language. They show spelling in English and in the target language and audio ($100). Their English course is taught in English, Spanish or Japanese.

They have a button to play each word or short phrase, and another button to record you, which yields a score if you use the Chrome browser or their app. You can select easy, medium or hard scoring, but I did not find much difference, and none is strict. For Italian, "come stai?" (rhymes with caw may sigh?), I said "come stay?" (rhymes with rum bay?), and got a 100% score, as long as my rhythm and rising pitch matched their recording. 

$100 pays for about 30 conversation lessons of 20 minutes each, with far more explanation in English than words in the target language. It also includes another 30 lessons of explanations and grammar. The target language itself is spoken primarily by native speakers. They say the price includes:

• "24/7 lifetime online access (via app and desktop computer)
•  A 60 day no questions asked money back guarantee
•  Free upgrades for life
• true voice recognition is only available for Chrome users. Firefox & Edge will be able to record audio without pronunciation feedback. All other browsers including Internet Explorer and Safari can only play the tutor’s audio."

"Life" means as long as they stay in business. This is better than downloadable software, which will often fail when you upgrade computers. For some languages they offer a second and third level. For some they offer a monthly subscription at $20, which could be good for a month before a trip.

They make a good easy start with numbers 1-6. Then, like many courses, they change to a complex topic, saying hello at different times of day to different kinds of people, rather than easy topics like colors, sounds, phone appointments, times, purchases, metric system, etc.

Many sites recommend it, perhaps because of their generous commissions.

Review updated 3/6/2019