Technology vs. Tradition: Exploring the Effectiveness of Google Translate, Natural Reader, and Traditional Approaches in English Reading Fluency

Abstract

Abstract

This study investigates the comparative effectiveness of three instructional approaches—traditional teaching, Google Translate, and Natural Reader—on the English reading fluency of Thai learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The participants comprised 60 Grade 10 students from a secondary school in Kalasin Province, Thailand, during the 2024 academic year. Participants were purposively selected based on prior academic performance and assigned to one of three groups: a control group (traditional instruction), an experimental group using Google Translate, and another using Natural Reader. The intervention spanned three months, with each group receiving two hours of instruction per week. Reading fluency was assessed using a standardized rubric administered before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-tests, and one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s HSD post-hoc tests. The results showed that both experimental groups outperformed the control group, with the Natural Reader group scoring the highest on post-test; nonetheless, the difference between the two text-to-speech (TTS) groups was not statistically significant. The findings emphasize the pedagogical benefits of incorporating TTS tools into EFL educational contexts to improve learners’ reading fluency, pronunciation, intonation, and comprehension.