Dict

Learning a new language doesn't only resume to knowing words and what they mean, but you should also be able to fluently and properly speak it. Cultural variety makes this difficult, but thanks to a fair number of specialized computer applications such as Dict, it all becomes a walk in the park. With this little utility you can easily download learning material to exercise pronunciation.

The application comes in a pretty light package and doesn't even take you through a setup process, being ready to run as soon as the download is finished. This gives you the possibility to keep it on a USB Flash drive and easily take advantage of its features from other computers as well. The only thing you need to make sure is for the target PC to be equipped with .NET Framework.

All you need is well-organized in a compact window that poses no accommodation problems whatsoever. Several input fields require attention to specify a default location to save your files, as well as the word you're looking for.

Another field is dedicated to the source, which needs to be a valid URL. Luckily, the application already comes with a few presets like the Macmillan, Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries. You're not limited to them, since they can only provide English words, with the possibility to add a custom URL, but it needs a little tweaking because the ones it comes with are specially written to fit queries you input.

Connection is flawless, with files downloaded in the nick of time. Accessing the settings menu lets you set up a proxy connection by providing the corresponding credentials, add custom paths and keep track of your search history. A word of advice, you might want to stick with one source for proper learning, because pronunciation, although delivered in high-quality, can slightly differ and create confusion.

Files are downloaded under the MP3 format so that no compatibility issues occur. What's more, the application prompts you to pick the part of speech which interests you in case a word is used with multiple attributes. What you have to live with is the unstable functionality, which can sometimes lead to crashes, meaning you have to run the app and configure it again.

Taking everything into consideration, we can safely state that Dict is a helpful utility that saves you a great deal of time navigating through confusing websites or dictionaries. Although it's a bit unstable, you can overlook this inconvenience considering the simple manner through which you can download word pronunciation audio files to better learn or practice a specific language.