What is Speech-to-Text?
Text-to-Speech and Speech-to-Text (TTS, STT) refer to computer software that reads digital text aloud or converts spoken language to text.
Speech-to-Text Has Improved
Only a few years ago, text-to-speech (TTS) and speech-to-text (STT) technology were expensive and clunky to learn. The voices sounded horribly robotic, and many of our students resisted using them. However, new phones, tablets, and computers have microphones and STT/TTS capability. Most students now welcome the chance to use these tools. They are no longer “accommodations.” Professionals use these tools every day and our students instantly see them as valuable.
How to Use Speech-to-Text
For help turning speech-to-text on or finding it on your device, search YouTube for a tutorial — for example, “How to use speech-to-text on my iPad.” Or just ask your student; students often amaze us with technical savvy. Teachers sometimes worry that using STT/TTS will make students lazy about learning to spell and write. Similarly, we hear concerns that students might become lazy about improving their reading skills. In our experience, and in the research, the exact opposite is true. In fact, researchers found that STT/TTS technology “promotes independence, increases self-worth, and increases productivity in students with learning differences” (Edyburn, Higgins, & Boone, 2005) which can “increase motivation and learning” (Cardon, 2000).
Speech-to-Text Reinforces Tracking
Students using STT/TTS repeatedly hear their own voices speaking to the computer while watching their words appear on the screen. They hear and see the words simultaneously; just what tracking does! Furthermore, dyslexic students are often able to develop improved phonemic awareness because they need to enunciate clearly for the computer. When students use STT/TTS to have material read aloud, they are again presented with the written text while it is pronounced—gaining more of the necessary repetitions in a meaningful context. These tools are perfect for people with dyslexia!
Using Speech-to-Text Requires Coaching at First
In our experience, students gain the most benefit from STT/TTS when coached in how to use it, rather than simply placed in front of a computer and left to figure it out. We like to use a student’s homework or self-generated story to model how to use speech-to-text to bypass the frustration of writing/reading and produce work the student feels proud of. A third-grade boy we tutored had never produced more than one badly written sentence in school. After we modeled using STT/TTS, he wrote a three-page story in under an hour! He was excited to turn it in and amaze his teacher.
Editing provides a Natural Way to Teach Grammar
Students need coaching on how to edit the text produced when they speak to the computer. There will surely be errors to correct. Editing with a student is a wonderful, natural opportunity to teach grammar and talk about homonyms. The computer can’t tell if you say bare or bear. Laughing at the errors is a good start. Then show how to use the computer to look up meanings and do a spell check before printing the masterpiece. For older students, introduce a program like Grammarly to help catch errors when no tutor is around to help. Editing real work to produce excellence makes sense to students; whereas, editing for errors purposely produced on a worksheet is just frustrating.
Short Sessions Work Best at First
As with all the tools, we recommend a few minutes a day, rather than marathon study sessions. This is hard work, and it’s best not to overtire the student. We like to have the student begging for more!
By Yvonna Graham, M.Ed.
www.dyslexiakit.net
@GrahamYvonna