"Elle" should sound almost exactly like the English name for the letter "L". "Il" [great choice of font, Duolingo!] should sound almost exactly like the fish "eel". If not, report it using "Feedback".

My favourite mistake so far from not being able to hear the voice properly: Voice: "Ils mangent les noix." I wrote: "Il mange lait noir." I thought that was a pretty gross thing to be eating...

When in doubt: always use the slow version. To me it is often les<>leurs or de<>des

I agree with ciny... there's a fuzziness in the speaker voice so that Bois-tu l'eau? sounds like Boit-il l'eau? and so forth. The computerized voice could use some tweaking for clarity. Slower version is better but must I click "slower" every time? Maybe Duolingo should have an option for "beginners" to always play slow version, instead of default to full speed. (Suggestion to improve Beta.) Overall, I'm really liking Duolingo. Thanks for the service!

I like the dialogue here. My advice would be, savour this service for all its benefits, the downside will fade in relevance if you do so. : )

ikr ciny