Computer Speech and the Remediation of Reading and Spelling Problems

Abstract

A high-quality speech synthesizer (DECtalk, by Digital Equipment Corporation) is very intelligible to children with reading disabilities. Linking the DECtalk to a microcomputer yields a “talking computer” that provides a powerful tool for research and remediation of reading and spelling problems. Two clear and related findings about children with “specific reading disability” (dyslexia) have emerged from previous research: 1) deficits in word recognition primarily cause these children's problems in reading comprehension, and 2) inherited deficits in analytic language processes underlie their difficulties in word recognition. These two findings suggest that speech support for words in text could help these children. In several studies at the University of Colorado, children with reading problems have read stories and books on talking computers for about 30 minutes a day, usually for 3–4 days per week during most of a semester. The children's word recognition and phonological decoding have improved, compared to the skills of similar students who spent the time in regular classroom language arts instruction. The studies suggest that accurate word feedback supporting the reading of text helps these readers. One goal of the research has been to compare the benefits of presenting unknown words as wholes or in segments for different students. That goal has remained somewhat elusive, with interesting interactions that have been significant but not always stable. The paper also describes a different line of study using the DECtalk in a spelling program that allows children to explore English sound-spelling patterns as they compare pronunciations of their own spelling attempts and those of the test words. The paper concludes with descriptions of a current home-based reading study and a future study exploring the benefits of computer-based phonemic awareness training prior to the reading instruction.