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Text to Speech

Overview

  • Text-to-Speech (TTS) is a type of software that reads written text out loud, so people don't have to read it themselves.

  • TTS works by highlighting the text you want to hear, and then the program reads it out loud. Some programs also show the words as they’re being read and may offer extra features like a built-in dictionary or breaking words into syllables.

  • TTS helps people who have trouble reading, like those with reading disabilities or decoding issues, by allowing them to listen to the text and follow along with their eyes.

To see Text to Speech in action, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEn9n1X7wIA


Research

Park et al. (2017)

  • This study examined the effect of TTS software on unassisted reading performance. 164 Grade 9 students with reading disabilities used a TTS software for ten weeks.

  • The results displayed that students showed significant improvements in reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Huang and Liao (2015)

  • This study examined the effect of TTS on spelling. 21 third grade students participants in this study.

  • The authors found that students were able to memorize approximately twelve more words using TTS,  thus suggesting that TTS helps increase vocabulary for students that are learning English as a second language.

Schmitt (2011)

  • This study examined the effect of TTS compared to silent reading on the text comprehension of 25 middle school students who were remedial readers. Participants were given a set of comprehension questions after silent reading and TTS reading conditions.

  • The results showed that that listening to text while reading it did not improve total reading comprehension compared to a silent reading condition.

Meyer (2014)

  • This study examined the effectiveness of TTS on reading fluency, comprehension, and task completion for three high-school students with reading disabilities.

  • The authors found no significant improvement in reading fluency, text comprehension, and time taken to complete the readings.

Cunningham (2011):

  • This dissertation study examined how the quality of TTS affects comprehension amongst typically-developing students and 45 students with an LD.

  • Results showed that having a high quality TTS voice that sounds similar to a human voice will improve reading comprehension; the less robotic, the better. Furthermore, having the computer present the words at a rate between 140-180 words per minute is an optimal speed for students.


Can I use TTS on all documents?

  • To use TTS you’ll need documents in “readable format”. To check if a document is readable, try highlighting lines of text and copying and pasting them into a word processing program (e.g., Microsoft Word). If the text can be successfully copied and pasted, it is likely in a Readable Format.

  • If a document is not in a Readable Format, you will need an optical character recognition (OCR) tool that converts non-readable documents into Readable Format. OCR technology will create a file in a Readable Format that your computer can recognize and interact with.

  • Many scanners for physical documents have OCR built in, however some do not. When scanning, consult the product’s web page to check if it has built-in OCR.

  • If the scanner doesn’t have a built in OCR, there are OCR softwares that can convert documents on your computer/mobile device into a Readable Format.

  • To explore your OCR options, visit our OCR review page.


Quick Facts

Advantages

  • Effective in circumventing problems for students with reading learning disabilities

  • Beneficial for students learning a second language

  • Can be used regardless of impaired vision

  • Can assist writers in editing and proofreading texts

Disadvantages

  • None

To Consider

  • Find the right voice. Having a high quality TTS voice will improve comprehension (Cunningham, 2011). To preview different voices, visit: http://www.acapella-group.com

  • Control the speed at which the voice presents the text. Having the computer present between 140 and 180 words per minute is an optimal speed (Cunningham, 2003, Cunningham, 2011).

  • The program should have bi-modal reading ability, that is, have the computer highlight the presented word as it is presented out loud (Montali & Lewandowski, 1996).

  • Only select a small amount of text at any one time. Having too much text selected will lead to poor comprehension.


Insights from Practice

Reading

Bi-modal reading is very important for comprehension, this is when the TTS highlights the words as it reads them aloud so that students can follow along with their eyes. It can be useful to play around with a couple high quality voice options, find one that the student prefers. Best practice is to select sentence by sentence, or paragraph by paragraph, do not select the whole document at once, students will often loose focus as it plays. And remember, most TTS requires that documents be in an accessible format (tip, if you can highlight the text with your cursor, then it is probably in an accessible format).

Writing

TTS can be helpful when editing and reviewing work. When re-reading our work, we often anticipate what we meant to say, rather than reading exactly what is on the paper, leading us to overloook small errors in the text. TTS can assist with catching these errors as well as issue with flow.

Research Summary

  • Schmitt (2011) found that listening to text with TTS didn’t improve reading      comprehension compared to reading silently.

  • Meyer (2014) observed that using TTS didn’t make a big difference in reading      speed, understanding, or fluency.

  • Park et al. (2017) showed that ninth-grade students with reading disabilities improved their reading skills and vocabulary after using TTS for 10 weeks.

  • White (2014) found that students with dyslexia who used TTS in small groups improved their motivation, reading fluency, and comprehension over six weeks.

  • Huang and Liao (2015) discovered that students learning English as a second language were able to remember more words when using TTS, which helped increase their vocabulary.

Product
Price
OS Compatibility
Internet Reliance

Exact prices change frequently, which is why only approximate ranges are listed. 

$ - Under $5

$$ - Between $6 and $50

$$$ - Between $51 and $250

$$$$ - Over $250

References 


Cunningham, T., & Watson, P. (2003). If you hear a word and see a word do you know it? The effects of a text-to-speech program on both non disabled and disabled post-secondary

students. Peterborough: Trent University.


Cunningham, R. T. (2011). Understanding Synthetic Speech and Language Processing of Students With and Without a Reading Disability (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Toronto, Toronto.


Huang, Y. C., Lioa, L. C. A Study of Text-to-Speech (TTS) in Children’s English Learning. Teaching English with Technology. 1, 14-30.


Meyer, N. K., & Bouck, E. C. (2014). The impact of text-to-speech on expository reading for adolescents with LD. Journal of Special Education Technology. 29(1), 21-33.


Park, H. J., Takahashi, K., Roberts, K.D., Delise, R., Delise, Danielle. (2017). Effects of text-to-speech software use on the reading proficiency of high school struggling readers. Assistive Technology. 29(3), 146-152.


Schmitt, A. J., Hale, A. D., McCallum, E., & Mauck, B. (2011). Accommodating remedial readers in the general education setting: Is listening‐while‐reading sufficient to improve factual and inferential comprehension? Psychology in the Schools, 48(1), 37-45.

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