What if you could run some Python code that would process MP3s? This means you can save word sounds in MP3 format. You can run Python to hear the word, type the word correctly, and proceed to the next spelling word. You can learn how to spell as many words as you want. Not only can you learn new spelling words, but you can also hear how they are pronounced correctly.

To do this, you need to download the sound module to run with our Python code. For the sound module that I am using, the sound files need to be in MP3 format. You can record any sound. If it is not in MP3 format, then you can convert it to MP3. Unless you have an app that can record sounds and save them as MP3s, you need to convert them.

First, check out the spelling codes below. The codes can be copied and repeated for other words. Just replace the MP3 spelling sound files for every different word. Also, don’t forget to change the answer part of each code to reflect the word to spell (you type the word after listening to it).

Note: If you were to execute the codes below by themselves, Python would display errors. The playsound.py module and MP3 spelling sound files would be missing for Python to load.

Here are the steps to get the above codes working

Step 1: Create a folder on the desktop. In this example, I’ll just name it "Spelling Words." 

Step 2: Get the sound module. Go to the website below to download the playsound.py module. This is the module that can be used in Python to play sounds. 

https://github.com/TaylorSMarks/playsound/blob/master/playsound.py

Once at the website, look to the right, then click on the arrow pointing down to download the raw file (see screenshot). It will automatically save playsound.py to the user profile in the Downloads folder. Next, you need to go to the Downloads folder. You can also access it by clicking on the “This PC” shortcut on the computer, which will then show Folders (the Downloads folder is located here), Devices, and Drives. Now copy and paste playsound.py to the folder name you created on the desktop. In my example, it will be Spelling Words. 

Step 3: This part is probably the longest to implement. I hope I explained it well enough here for anyone to do it step by step. Once you get the hang of it, it will be much faster. It will be even faster when you and your friends can create the spelling sound files and share them with each other.  

Creating sound files for spelling words

To do this, I use Voice Recorder. It comes free with Windows 10 and Windows 11. Type “voice recorder” in the Windows Search Bar, and you will see the voice recorder app show up. Do make a shortcut of this to your desktop to make it faster to find and run the next time around. Know where the microphone is on your laptop. 

Here is what I literally do: I take my cell phone, type in a word on the browser, and let it pronounce the word to the computer microphone. I run Voice Recorder to record the sound. Windows saves it in M4A format. Once I stop recording, the sound file is saved to the default Windows location. To know the location of the saved M4A files, in Voice Recorder, click on the bottom right ellipsis to open file location. This is where all your recorded word sounds are saved. I always click on "Open File Location" and leave the folder open. 

Here are the detailed steps for recording the sounds: First, I press the record button (the blue microphone) on the Voice Recorder app, then I quickly press on the cellphone to pronounce the word to the computer microphone. Next, I quickly stop the recording when the word is pronounced. I then click on the Trim button to make the recording as short as one second. Last, I click "Save" and choose "Update Original" after trimming it. This will replace the same file in the Open File Location. I use only the ones that are recorded correctly and trimmed. Some recordings may not be clear, be cut off, or be too long; those are deleted right away and redone. If the recorded sound is good, I would go ahead and rename the file to reflect the word that I want to learn how to spell. I keep it all organized in the same open folder. 

Once I have a good batch of recorded words, I then use a free app (see the free Switch Audio File Converter below) to convert all the M4A sound files to MP3. Then I place all the MP3 spelling sound files in the Spelling Words folder (the one I created on the desktop). 

Website for free sound converter: https://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html

When at the website: Go to the "Get it Free" area. Click on "Download the free version here." When you finish downloading it, run it. During installation, please click "Certify for non-commercial or home use." It will be free and should never expire. Sometimes, when running the free app later, it will ask again if it is for non-commercial or home use. Always click for non-commercial or home use. The free app is fairly easy to use; please learn how to use it. The app is very useful for converting sound files to other formats. Please do not install any other NCH-advertised apps; those are not free and are not needed for what we are doing. NCH apps are very good apps, btw. But, in our case, we only need the free Switch Sound Converter to do the job.