A speech-recognition system learns a speech profile of a user whose speech is to be recognized. The system plays audible speech samples, stored in sound files, so that the file that most resembles the user's speech may be selected. After receiving the selection, the system identifies an acoustic model that is associated with the chosen sound file. The system may also select a subset of sound files based on information indicative of the user's speech. The system may then play a subset of sound files so that the file that most resembles the user's speech may be selected.