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Lesson Plan Title:

Text-to-Speech Software Incorporated into the ESL C.A.L.L. Environment with a Focus on Integration of Language Learning Skills

(Although I wasn't familiar with Gray's articulated position traditional error marking and subsequent student revisions before I began using text-to-speech programs in an E.S.L. C.A.L.L. environment, once I read it, I concurred and decided to attach it as a pre-reading to the following lesson plan.)

"Grammar Correction in ESL/EFL Writing Classes May Not Be Effective" Gray, Ronald Gray,

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. X, No. 11, November 2004

Concept and Standards Addressed:

Language teachers have progressively more diverse computer-assisted learning mechanisms for their students. In a typical classroom there are numerous students with countless variations of capabilities, distinctive learning styles, social and linguistic challenges, and barriers which stand between the students and fluency, such as fossilization. New technologies such as text reading devices or text-t-speech software have made quantum strides towards enhancing natural sounding speech.

What is text-to-speech? It is a facility which comes with most basic operating systems today or software programs such as “Text Aloud” which reads digitized text and reproduces it as sound files in a variety of formats.

General Goal(s):

This C.A.L.L. lesson plan incorporates text-to-speech capabilities into a standard writing assignment prompted by a content-based reading. Along with a center-generated dictation activity, this lesson can touch on all four skill areas: reading, writing, listening and pronunciation (speaking) The digitized text, written by a student, can be read back to the student, first as written by the student with grammatical, syntactical and many other linguistic flaws.

A teacher can quickly correct the errors, reproduce the corrected version in a digital format, and the student can then hear error correction rather than try to make sense of errors marked off and categorized with red ink, i.e. sp, caps, word choice, etc.

Specific Objectives:

To incorporate reading, writing, listening and pronunciation skills into a single lesson.

Required Materials: A personal computer, text-to-speech software, headsets, a content-based reading

Anticipatory Set (Lead-In): Content-based readings demonstrates usage of phrases, the basic academic English composition components such as introduction, body, conclusion, transitional phrases, synonymous terms to avoid repetition, etc.

Additional Uses: Preparation for the Next Generation TOEFL which will use integrated listening and writing tasks because they more closely reflect how we use real language.

"This integrated approach will also help students prepare for success in the real academic environments they will face once they begin their coursework."

The example included here uses a free voice and therefore sounds a bit robotic. Improved, natural sounding voices can be added to any text-to-speech program for a small fee. For examples of more natural sounding voices visit the following sites:

Cepstral > AT and T > NeoSpeech Voices

1. Begin with a teacher guided discussion. For the following example, "happiness" is the topic. The discussion can begin with a general discussion of what happiness is. The discussion can be followed by a reading or two on the subject. For this demonstration, I've selected a high school student essay on happiness from the web site"Essay Depot". The Essay is called "Happiness", written by a second language speaker from Pakistan, Mohammed Zuhair. I have chosen his introductory paragraph.


2. The teacher can also draw students' attention to academic English collocations such as quoted attributions: (Mr. Francis H) argues; Let's consider these factors; In my opinion, Schopenhauer rightly noticed; etc.


3. Have the students write their own essay on the topic and save it to a diskette.


4. At this point, using a text-to-speech software replaces the more traditional and often not very effective error correction, that is, the teacher reads the assignment and draws the students attention to errors. This may be sufficient for a native speaker, but for the second language learner there is little acquisition or language production involved. Having said that, an error- corrected copy should be returned to pont out punctuation and formatting.


5. The teacher then rewrites and saves to diskette substantial portions of the students essay, time permitting--as much as possible--although a paragraph or two in most cases would suffice.


6. The text of both the original and the revised versions are copied and pasted into a text-to-speech program where it is read, recorded as an MP3 and returned to the student to listen to at home or in a a computer lab.


7. The student hears both versions of the assignment.
8. The first version is a student's with all errors read back to him/her.


9. The second version which has been corrected by a teacher is also listened to several times.


10. In order to reinforce the correct form, the student must type the corrected copy, then must read and re-read it along with the correct pronunciation generated by the software.


11. Students learn vocabulary and how to use common phrases to introduce or transition from one topic or sub-topic to another.


12. No doubt the student will take make interest in this assignment as he/she has played a major role is producing the textual concepts.

Here is version on by a student.

Listen to the revised paragraph and type it into the space below.

(Technical Note: This text field is not a .php nor is it saved in a CGI bin on the server side. If it were, then the student could submit it to a class Moodle or send it to the instructor's Email address)