According to OWID, a significant number of students globally struggle with reading comprehension. Reading proficiency, in this context, is defined as a student’s ability to connect main ideas across diverse texts and grasp the author’s intent, enabling them to reflect on and draw conclusions from the material.

The chart highlights that lower-secondary students face challenges in understanding and relating to ideas within texts—an essential skill that fosters curiosity and lays the groundwork for innovation. This learning gap is exacerbated by a shortage of educators in many regions, leaving some students without access to qualified teachers altogether.

Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology could play a transformative role here. By converting text into spoken language, TTS can help students engage with complex ideas across languages, making learning accessible and fostering comprehension through auditory reinforcement.

How Text-to-Speech can help in classroom?

Students' struggles with reading can stem from two main issues: overly complex reading material or a lack of skilled educators. Regardless of the cause, developing reading proficiency is crucial, as it provides a solid foundation for students' future endeavors.

Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology, combined with advanced language models, can go beyond simple text conversion. Through well-crafted prompts, TTS can make understanding complex material more accessible and engaging for students. This combination not only assists with comprehension but also provides an interactive learning experience that adapts to individual needs, bridging gaps in education where teacher support is limited.

For Students

Content Consumption

A Text-to-Speech (TTS) system provides students with round-the-clock access to learning support. They can upload any file type—PDFs, text documents, or even direct questions—and receive audio explanations, with the system capable of narrating entire books. By decoding text with high accuracy and fluency, TTS enables students who struggle with reading to access grade-level materials independently. This interactive format makes content more accessible, breaking down complex topics into digestible audio responses and increasing access to engaging, age-appropriate content.

Control and Customization

Modern TTS technology offers fine-grained customization options, allowing users to adjust volume, pitch, speed, voice gender, and language to suit their preferences. This personalization supports struggling students and creates an inclusive, adaptable learning environment. By providing an iterative feedback loop, TTS enhances engagement, reduces fatigue and frustration, and encourages students to engage confidently with challenging material.

Accessibility

Accessible on all devices and across platforms, TTS serves as a 24/7 “Virtual Educator,” offering consistent support regardless of location or time. By allowing students to focus on the meaning of the text, TTS enables them to complete reading assignments independently, increasing retention through auditory reinforcement and highlighted text.

Pronunciation Aid and Skill Development

For students learning new languages or dealing with unfamiliar vocabulary, TTS serves as an invaluable pronunciation aid, reinforcing phonetics, intonation, and stress patterns. Repeated exposure to spoken text fosters vocabulary, grammatical skills, and reading fluency, helping students develop decoding abilities and providing auditory feedback for their written work.

Students who would particularly benefit

Text-to-speech would benefit students:

• with a reading disability related to decoding
• who decode below grade-level expectations and/or struggle with typical grade-level materials
• who are emergent readers who would benefit from accessing text above their current decoding level
• with a visual processing difficulty

In addition, some students with vision loss may benefit from the use of text-to-speech software

For Educators

Integration with Learning Tools

TTS technology integrates seamlessly with smart classrooms, interactive whiteboards, eBooks, and LMS platforms, allowing educators to deliver more engaging and accessible content. By combining text, audio, and visuals, these tools boost students' comprehension and make learning available anytime. This multimodal approach is particularly effective for students who struggle with reading, as auditory reinforcement combined with visual aids helps bridge comprehension gaps and enhances their ability to grasp complex concepts.

Multilingual Content

In today’s diverse classrooms, TTS serves as a vital bridge for language barriers by providing course materials in multiple languages. This allows educators to ensure all students, regardless of their native language, have equal access to learning resources. Multilingual TTS fosters a more inclusive learning environment, supporting language acquisition and enhancing students’ overall language skills.

Conclusion

In an educational landscape where reading comprehension remains a barrier for many students, Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology offers a compelling solution. By converting text into engaging audio, TTS not only addresses the challenge of complex reading materials but also compensates for the shortage of skilled educators, providing accessible learning support anytime and anywhere.

Furthermore, TTS enables an inclusive classroom experience by breaking language barriers, supporting multilingual learners, and empowering educators to deliver enriched content across platforms. As we integrate TTS more fully into classrooms, we open doors for students to access information independently, fostering lifelong learning skills and laying a stronger foundation for academic and personal growth.