How to Support Children with Reading and Writing Difficulties Using Text-to-Speech (Textbook Support)

My child takes a very long time to read textbooks... I wonder how I should support them.

Are you worried about your child's reading and writing?

By using AI text-to-speech tools, you can learn the contents of textbooks and handouts by "listening with your ears."

Actually, there are many children who, even if they are not good at reading, can understand if they listen.

From April 2024, reasonable accommodation in schools has become mandatory, making it easier to apply for considerations such as having test questions read aloud via audio.

Even during homework or self-study, you can proceed with learning smoothly by utilizing audio.

In this article, we will explain how to support the learning of children who struggle with reading and writing using text-to-speech tools.

What you will learn in this article:

• Basic knowledge of reading and writing difficulties (dyslexia)
• Reasons why text-to-speech is effective for learning support
• How to use text-to-speech in school as a reasonable accommodation
• Specific ways to utilize it for textbooks, tests, and home study
• Procedures for creating study audio with Ondoku

There are 1 to 2 children in a class who struggle with reading and writing (dyslexia)

• Cannot read textbooks fluently
• Takes a long time to copy the blackboard into a notebook

Stumbling with reading and writing like this is actually not a matter of intellectual ability.

Dyslexia is a learning disability where a person has extreme difficulty reading or writing letters despite having no issues with intelligence.

Symptoms vary from person to person, such as "letters appearing distorted," "difficulty distinguishing similarly shaped letters," or "losing track of the line being read," but the common thread is that "it is not because they are lazy."

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2022, the percentage of students enrolled in regular classes showing significant difficulties in learning was approximately 6.5%.

In a class of 35 students, this calculates to about 2 people having some form of difficulty with reading and writing.

In this way, dyslexia is surprisingly common.

The important thing is to receive appropriate support so that they can proceed with learning at their own pace even if they are not good at reading and writing.

One support method that you should definitely utilize for that purpose is text-to-speech tools.

Why can text-to-speech tools be used for learning support?

Text-to-speech tools are recommended for learning support because even if a child is poor at "reading with their eyes," they can often understand the content if they "listen with their ears."

One characteristic of dyslexia is difficulty converting letters into sounds.

Therefore, conversely, by letting a text-to-speech tool handle the conversion from letters to sounds, they become able to understand the content smoothly.

There is also the benefit that by receiving information using both eyes and ears, it becomes easier to remember what has been studied.

Using tools in this way is not something special.

It is the same as someone with poor eyesight wearing glasses.

If there is difficulty in reading, use a tool that reads the letters aloud.

It is perfectly natural to use tools to demonstrate one's own abilities.

Differences between Daisy textbooks and AI text-to-speech tools

As audio teaching materials for children with difficulties in reading and writing, there are "Multimedia Daisy Textbooks" promoted by the Ministry of Education.

These are teaching materials that read the contents of authorized textbooks aloud, and a key feature is that the part being read is highlighted.

However, Daisy textbooks only cover authorized textbooks from the Ministry of Education.

They do not support test questions, distributed handouts, cram school texts, or reference books for home study.

When you want to cover texts other than textbooks, AI text-to-speech tools are useful.

Since you can convert to audio just by entering text, you can turn any passage into teaching material for "learning by ear."

How to use text-to-speech tools in school as a reasonable accommodation?

Can text-to-speech tools be used for school tests as well?

In April 2024, the revised Act on the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities came into force, making the provision of reasonable accommodation mandatory for all businesses, including private operators.

Schools are also required to provide accommodations such as reading test questions aloud or extending time for children who have difficulties with reading and writing.

The flow from requesting reasonable accommodation to the decision

If you want to use AI text-to-speech tools to support learning, first the student or their guardian needs to request reasonable accommodation.

Consult with the homeroom teacher or the special needs coordinator and specifically explain the child's difficulties.

The key is to describe daily situations as specifically as possible, such as "stumbling when reading textbooks aloud" or "taking so much time to read test questions that there isn't enough time to answer."

After that, the school and the guardian will discuss and decide together on the content of the accommodation that suits the child.

There are various methods for reasonable accommodation, such as reading test questions aloud using ICT equipment, extending the time, or taking the exam in a separate room.

GIGA school terminals can be utilized

With the GIGA school concept, where one tablet terminal is provided per student, an environment has been established where text-to-speech tools are easy to use.

By accessing "Ondoku" from the browser of a Chromebook or iPad, you can listen to the contents of textbooks and handouts via audio without installing an app.

Since it can be used on their own terminal, there is also the advantage of not standing out as "having a special device."

For more details on how to credit Ondoku when using it in educational institutions such as schools, please see this article.

Visual guide for credit notation when using Ondoku for listening tests in educational institutions such as public schools and school corporations | Text-to-speech software Ondoku

Using Ondoku makes preparing for various listening tests in English, Chinese, etc., easy! here we will explain in detail the rules for how educational institutions such as public schools and school corporations should provide credit notation.

How to use text-to-speech for different learning situations

From here, we will introduce how text-to-speech tools can support learning in different situations.

Listen to textbooks and handouts via audio

By entering the text content into a text-to-speech tool, you can learn while listening to the textbook with your ears.

If you are using a digital textbook, simply copying and pasting the text is fine.

For paper textbooks and handouts, a convenient method is to take a photo with a smartphone camera and turn it into text using OCR (Optical Character Recognition).

"Ondoku" also has a function to read and speak text from images, so you can easily audio-fy paper teaching materials as well.

[Turn images into audio for free] How to use the function to read text from images and speak the audio [Image reading] | Text-to-speech software Ondoku

We will introduce in detail and explain how to use Ondoku's new function, 'Function to read text from images and speak the audio.' This function can be used from both computers and smartphones. Of course, it can also be used for free.

Read test questions aloud

By listening to test questions as audio, students can accurately understand the content of the questions even if they are poor at reading letters.

Recently, publishers that create tests have begun supporting text-to-speech, such as Kobunshoin providing an audio conversion service for elementary school tests.

For tests that are not supported, teachers or guardians can respond by converting the text of the questions into audio using a text-to-speech tool in advance.

It is recommended to consult with the school along with the application for reasonable accommodation.

Incorporate text-to-speech into home study

Text-to-speech tools also demonstrate their power in home study.

• Homework
• Preparation and review for classes
• Studying for tests

In various situations, you can proceed with studying more smoothly.

When you want to understand the content slowly, it is recommended to set the reading speed to 0.7 to 0.8 times using the function of the AI text-to-speech site.

Conversely, if you want to get a general idea of the content, you can also increase the speed and listen while doing other things.

For audio learning! How to create audio files of things you want to study yourself [Possible for free] | Text-to-speech software Ondoku

Even if you know audio learning is good, if you're asked if 'teaching materials for the content you want to study are sold as audio for audio learning'... they are often not sold. This time, we will introduce 'how to create audio files that allow you to do audio learning for the things you want to study yourself.'

Explaining the steps to read textbooks and handouts with Ondoku

I want to try using text-to-speech tools for studying right away!

From here, we will introduce the steps to create study audio using the AI reading app "Ondoku".

You can easily create audio in 3 steps.

This time, we will explain using the screen of Ondoku Beta, which allows for more natural reading.

Step 1: Input text

Open the Ondoku site and paste the contents of the textbook or handout into the text input field.

*You can also read directly from a captured image using Ondoku's image reading function.

Step 2: Reading settings

Select the reading voice.

Ondoku Beta also allows you to change the reading style.

When reading a story like in this example, it is recommended to choose "Story style."

Ondoku also supports changing the reading speed.

Listening at a slower speed makes it easier to follow the text with your eyes while understanding the content.

Once you get used to it, try increasing the speed little by little to find the pace that suits your child.

(In Ondoku Beta, it is also possible to directly instruct the reading pace in the reading style field.)

Step 3: Generate audio file

Now you are ready.

Press "Generate Audio" to start the audio generation.

The AI reading process will be completed quickly, and an audio player will be displayed on the screen.

The audio will be played automatically, so if it sounds good, press "Download" to save the file.

Audio read this time (Gong, the Little Fox)

The audio read aloud can be downloaded as an MP3 file.

If you save it on a tablet or smartphone, you can listen to it repeatedly at your favorite timing, such as while commuting to school or before bed.

It is especially effective when used for review before a test.

In this way, using Ondoku allows you to easily create learning support audio.

First, why not use Ondoku for free and actually generate some audio?

3 points to protect a child's self-esteem

For children who have difficulties with reading and writing, using support tools themselves can be a hurdle.

If they feel "I'm being treated specially," they may conversely become reluctant to use the tools.

Therefore, from here, we will introduce points that guardians and teachers should keep in mind.

1. Tell them "It's the same as glasses"

Just as a person with poor eyesight wears glasses, if someone is poor at reading, they use an audio tool.

Tell the child and the children around them that it is only natural to use tools to demonstrate one's own abilities.

If adults can explain properly when told "That's unfair," children will be able to use support tools with peace of mind.

2. Rejoice together in what was accomplished

• Understood the test questions
• Was able to understand the content of the textbook

In this way, by using text-to-speech tools, things that couldn't be done before become possible.

The greatest force for increasing self-esteem is the accumulation of such "I did it" experiences.

It is important to acknowledge not only the results but also the fact that they challenged themselves using the tools.

3. Let the child use the tools themselves little by little

When using tools to support learning, guardians will initially need to handle text input and settings.

But once they get used to it, it is recommended to gradually let the child operate it themselves.

By becoming able to master the tools themselves, they can gain confidence that "I can learn on my own."

Summary of learning support for children who struggle with reading and writing

In this article, we introduced how to support the learning of children who struggle with reading and writing using AI text-to-speech tools.

As introduced at the beginning, it is said that children with difficulties in reading and writing exist at a rate of 1 to 2 people per class.

However, by using text-to-speech tools, it is possible to understand textbooks, handouts, and test questions more smoothly.

Since 2024, the provision of reasonable accommodation has become mandatory, and an environment has been established where learning support through text-to-speech is easier to receive even in schools.

The AI reading app "Ondoku" can be used just with a browser, and there is also a free plan.

To support the learning of children who are poor at reading and writing, why don't you try utilizing it too?

■ AI voice synthesis software "Ondoku"

"Ondoku" is an online text-to-speech tool that can be used with no initial costs.

• Supports approximately 50 languages, including Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, and German
• Available from both PC and smartphone
• Suitable for business, education, entertainment, etc.
• No installation required, can be used immediately from your browser
• Supports reading from images

To use it, simply enter text or upload a file on the site. A natural-sounding audio file will be generated within seconds. You can use voice synthesis up to 5,000 characters for free, so please give it a try.

Text-to-speech software "Ondoku" can read out 5000 characters every month with AI voice for free. You can easily download MP3s and commercial use is also possible. If you sign up for free, you can convert up to 5,000 characters per month for free from text to speech. Try Ondoku now.

HP: ondoku3.com
Email: ondoku3.com@gmail.com