Behind the Research: How ASR Inspired US to Reimagine Children’s Literacy

This blog delves into the research process, uncovering the motivations and experiences behind the creation of the Auris Tech’s white paper.

Writing a research paper is always a journey, but for the authors of “Reading Aloud using Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) to Improve Children’s Reading Skills”, this project was motivated by personal experiences and commitment to educational innovation. Commissioned by Auris Tech, the paper explores the transformative potential of ASR technology to address the widespread issue of low literacy rates among children in the UK.

Motivated by a shared commitment to improve literacy outcomes, the authors delve into the state of reading attainment in the UK, highlighting the importance of read-aloud practice in developing essential reading skills. Their research reveals how ASR technology offers instant, personalised feedback, making learning more interactive and engaging. Backed by evidence from over 185,000 ASR-based sessions, the paper provides real-world proof of this technology’s potential to reshape the reading experience and enhance literacy for young learners across the country.

In this blog, the authors share the personal motivations behind their research on using ASR to improve children’s reading skills. They reflect on what they discovered during the research process and how it deepened their understanding of the potential for technology to transform literacy education.

Dylan Bolton - Marketing and Research Assistant

"My motivation for this research project was straightforward. Coming from a background in Politics and International Relations and having only recently completed my own education, I was deeply concerned by the state of children’s reading progress in the UK. In 2023, for instance, 27% of children in England—equivalent to 183,976 pupils—left primary school below the expected standard in reading. This gap in such a foundational skill not only limits children’s ability to fully access the school curriculum but also diminishes their future career prospects and earning potential.

What’s even more troubling is that this statistic isn’t an anomaly but rather indicative of a decade-long stagnation in children’s reading achievement. Underpinning this stagnation are declining levels of reading confidence, enjoyment, and frequency. Addressing these factors is crucial to tackling the dire state of children’s reading in the UK.

I have always believed that as technology advances, it holds immense potential to enhance our capabilities, offer innovative solutions to complex challenges, and improve our quality of life. Through this research, I became increasingly convinced of EdTech's ability to transform the daily experiences of students and teachers alike. This belief was reinforced by our analysis, which included academic research and data from over 250,000 children's reading sessions.

We found that reading aloud using Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) offers multiple benefits. Scientifically, reading aloud improves oracy skills, enhances information retention, and supports the development of decoding and language comprehension skills. And from a technology standpoint, a gamified reading experience makes the process more engaging for children, increasing enjoyment and confidence. For teachers, ASR reduces workloads by facilitating independent reading-aloud practice and providing real-time feedback. Together, these advantages lead to increased reading frequency, offering more children the chance to succeed in their education and beyond."

Electra Wallington - Automatic Speech Recognition Engineer

“Reading is a fundamental skill that supports many aspects of life: it unlocks the curriculum and opens doors to education and new opportunities, whilst also having the potential to bring immense joy. If reading skills are truly stagnating in the UK then, it is crucial that steps be taken to address and reverse this trend.

Particularly important to me whilst writing this white paper was contributing to the discussion surrounding how technology - and especially Artificial Intelligence - can be a force for good in the Education and Child Development spaces. 

The discourse surrounding this topic (and discussion of AI, GenAI, and Large Language Models more generally) is currently extremely noisy and, understandably, filled with considerable social unease. I wanted to make sure therefore that we really dissect exactly how AI and EdTech solutions can be developed effectively and responsibly to result in tools and products that are ethical and inclusive.

As part of this, a major theme we explore in the paper is that of collaborative technology development. To build technological solutions that are truly in line with what users actually need within their day-to-day lives, it is crucial that it is not only engineers or computer scientists that take an interest in or interact with the development process. EdTech development should be multi-disciplinary, drawing on insights from those in the Psychology spaces, the Linguistics spaces, the Education spaces, the Policy spaces, and so forth. 

Another particularly exciting component of creating this paper for me was really delving into the insights from Fonetti: the Read-Aloud App’s National Read-Aloud Challenge (NRAC) 2024 (a challenge which encourages children to practise reading regularly during their summer holidays using the award-winning interactive Fonetti platform). Not only did we find evidence in support of our argument that using technology to gamify the reading practice experience can help to up motivation and enjoyment (particularly in younger children),  but we also found that reading aloud with Automatic Speech Recognition as a guide did indeed, on average, facilitate improvements in these participating children’s reading accuracy and fluency levels. 

Of course with NRAC being an annual challenge, we have the opportunity to continue to  gather and expand on this data and these insights. It is exciting that this could potentially facilitate some more extensive longitudinal studies in the future, examining changing features of children's reading and learning, as well as general developmental, behavioral, and engagement attributes, over time.”

Shaping the Future of Education with EdTech

The findings in our whitepaper demonstrate the exciting potential for assistive technologies like ASR to reverse the alarming trends in literacy. By gamifying reading aloud, tracking progress, and providing personalised feedback, children can experience reading in a way that is enjoyable, interactive, and confidence-boosting. This is the future of education, and Auris Tech is at the forefront of this transformation.

We invite educators, parents, policymakers, and all those invested in the future of children's literacy to read the whitepaper and join the conversation on how we can continue to innovate in education. Together, we can ensure that every child has the opportunity to become a confident reader and to thrive academically and personally.

Access the full whitepaper here: https://www.auris.tech/white-paper