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Here you will find some examples of assistive technology that can be used for English Language Learners. Often, these ATs are employed for other purposes such as supporting students with exceptionalities or simply for productivity. Some of these ATs overlap in function and have multiple purposes.
Read & Write is a literacy support tool offered by texthelp that provides visual and audio feedback of text. It helps students research and proofread written work with useful tools such as highlighters, voicenotes, audiomaker, vocabulary and definition resources.
WordQ is a software developed by Quillsoft Ltd. and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital with the aim of helping people read and write better. The "Q" in WordQ stands for cue, as in prompting, that refers to the word prediction suggestions. In as little as 1.3 keystrokes, Word Q can predict the users next word within the context of the writing. It also includes speech feedback, proofreading, speech recognition and dictation, a PDF editor and research tool.
Speechify is a text to speech reader that allows users to listen to any printed text using high quality voices to the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow; there are over 30+ natural, human-like voices. The experience is personalized by selecting a listening speed in an effort to maximize time or multitask. It is a mobile or desktop app that uses optical character recognition technology that transfers printed text to audio.
Dragon Home/ Dragon Professional: Many free resources and speech-to-text tools exist: Apple dictation, Windows dictation, Google Docs Voice Typing and a host of other apps. However, one does manage to stick out, one that is also shared with many Canadian students with dyslexia: Nuance’s Dragon. Dragon, also sometimes known by its earlier version Dragon Speak, stands out as it uses deep learning ; you literally teach what your voice sounds like, so it continuously learns and adjusts to your voice and environment. It uses many voice commands and is compatible with a number of applications. It can also sync with your mobile device by using Dragon Anywhere.
Aside from their premier product, Dragon speech-to-text, they describe their language technologies more as’ consumer engagement solutions’. The company itself demonstrates how speech recognition technologies go well beyond educational frame for such uses as automated speech recognition, natural language understanding, dialogue and information management, biometric speech authentication and optical character recognition capabilities.
It's definitely a company to look out for as they are listed among such major players as Microsoft, IBM, Google and Amazon in the text-to-speech market.
Reverb voice recorder is a tool students and teachers can use on the Reverb platform. Voice recording on this platform is simple and can be easily shared with anyone on and off the platform. Teachers use the recorder to send personalized feedback, instructions, and differentiated lessons that students can replay and reply to at their own convenience. Users can record audio that is transcribed and easily searchable. Another positive about this tool is that it is built for education. It is designed for students of all ages, and supports students with specific needs.
Google translate is used to translate words, texts, documents and websites from one language to another. Since October of 2022, this multilingual neural machine translation service supports 133 languages at various levels. Google translate also provides an offline mode, where it works, and your device doesn’t need to be connected to the internet. What is also fascinating with Google translate is that you don’t need to only type. Your voice can also be recorded, you can snap a picture with writing in another language that you want to be translated in your language, and you can write on your touch screen device with your finger a word you want translated.
Learning English with Assistive Technology
This video demonstrates how crucial AT's are for students in the language classroom.
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