The Effects of Text-to-Speech Dictation on Chinese Elementary Students’ Listening and Spelling Skills at a Primary School in China

The objectives of the study were to investigate the effects of text-to-speech (TTS) dictation on Chinese elementary students’ listening and spelling skills at a primary school and explore Chinese elementary students’ perceptions of TTS dictation on listening and spelling skills. The present study adopted a mixed method. Quantitatively, the two-group pre-test and post-test design were employed. The 74 participants studied in Guangzhou Liwan Puiching Primary School (grade 4). The experimental group of 37 students where the TTS dictation was given as the intervention in the classroom, while the control group of 37 students where instruction was taught only in class. The quantitative data were collected through pre- and post-tests. A semi-structured interview method was used to collect qualitative data on student opinions. The results showed that the experimental group students performed better than the control group after the TTS dictation intervention. The average scores of different items in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group, indicating the impact of TTS dictation on Chinese primary school students' listening and spelling skills. The interview data also reveals that TTS dictation, as an intervention, sparked strong interest among most participants. Many of them reported that TTS dictation had a positive impact on their listening and spelling skills. The findings suggest that TTS dictation not only engaged the students but also contributed to noticeable effects in these key areas of listening and spelling skills.