Personal Diagnostic Recording – 4 Diagnostic Texts
Four Diagnostic Short Reading Texts.
Select only
one of these four Diagnostic Short Texts.

Each of these four short texts are crafted to contain all 44 sounds used in English. As a result, they may sound somewhat artificial in places.
Choose one of these texts, and practice.
Focus on making your chosen text sound meaningful.
… and then record and send us your voice recording.
[Please stay within the maximum 5 minute limit]
A. ‘Smartphone’ Challenge
Introduce yourself
- Hello, my name is ….
- I grew up in < city / state / country >…
- I am now < doing what (studying / working / visiting ) > in < where? >….
- I really enjoy ….
Read to us
‘Smartphone’ Challenge Who’s in charge? Do you control your ‘smartphone’, or does your phone control you?- Do you reach for your phone as soon as you wake up each morning?
- Do you interrupt conversations with family or friends to look at your phone?
- Decide on times when you do use your phone and when you do not.
- Can you charge your phone outside your bedroom overnight?
- Can you put your phone away during mealtimes or evening events?
- Distinguish between times (such as at work?) when your phone is an essential tool, and other times when phone-use destroys things you treasure. Dare to begin a ‘smartphone time’ diet.
Tell us more about yourself, your study plans, your interests ….
Say ‘goodbye’ – and stop recording.
B – ‘Mahatma Gandhi on Education’
Introduce yourself
- Hello, my name is ….
- I grew up in < city / state / country >…
- I am now < doing what (studying / working / visiting ) > in < where? >….
- I really enjoy ….
Read to us
Mahatma Gandhi on Education Mahatma Gandhi said, “Real education consists in drawing the best out of yourself.” Drawing ‘the best’ out of ourselves is not an overnight or a one-time event. We must be prepared:- to look at our mistakes,
- to learn from others,
- to reflect on experiences, and
- to courageously try again where we have failed.
Tell us more about yourself, your study plans, your interests ….
Say ‘goodbye’ – and stop recording.
C – ‘High School Years’
Introduce yourself
- Hello, my name is ….
- I grew up in < city / state / country >…
- I am now < doing what (studying / working / visiting ) > in < where? >….
- I really enjoy ….
Read to us
High School Years If you’re just beginning high school, stop and think about the new opportunities available to you. What choices can you make so that you get the most out of your high school experience?- What new activities can you learn from?
- What can you learn from a bunch of new friends?
- How much time should you spend in studies? … at leisure? … with friends? … alone?
Tell us more about yourself, your study plans, your interests ….
Say ‘goodbye’ – and stop recording.
D – ‘The Rainbow Passage’
Introduce yourself
- Hello, my name is ….
- I grew up in < city / state / country >…
- I am now < doing what (studying / working / visiting ) > in < where? >….
- I really enjoy ….
Read to us
The Rainbow Passage When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act as a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colors. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it. When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Throughout the centuries people have explained the rainbow in various ways. Some have accepted it as a miracle without physical explanation. To the Hebrews it was a token that there would be no more universal floods. The Greeks used to imagine that it was a sign from the gods to foretell war or heavy rain. The Norsemen considered the rainbow as a bridge over which the gods passed from earth to their home in the sky. Others have tried to explain the phenomenon physically. Aristotle thought that the rainbow was caused by reflection of the sun’s rays by the rain. Since then, physicists have found that it is not reflection, but refraction by the raindrops which causes the rainbows. The differences in rainbows depend considerably upon the size of the drops, and the width of the colored band increases as the size of the drops increases.Tell us more about yourself, your study plans, your interests ….
Say ‘goodbye’ – and stop recording.
SUBMITTING Your Personal Pronunciation Sample
How can you submit your personal pronunciation sample for us?
Again, it’s easy!
You can submit in two different ways:
- DIRECT: You can record and send DIRECTLY from WhatsApp, WeChat, LinkedIn, Facebook Messenger or Skype
- ATTACH: You can use the voice recorder on a smartphone, and then ATTACH the recording to Twitter message, an email or any WhatsApp, WeChat, LinkedIn, Facebook Messenger or Skype message.
