EXPLORING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES WITH NATURAL READER APP IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

Abstract

This descriptive qualitative single–case study explores high school students’ experiences using Natural Reader, a text-to-speech application, for English pronunciation practice in a real-life school context. The case is a public senior high school in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Thirty Grade 10-11 students were selected through purposive, maximum-variation sampling (all had used Natural Reader for ≥4 weeks). Data were generated via semi-structured interviews (conducted in Bahasa Indonesia), non-participant classroom observations of teacher-guided practice, and a short questionnaire designed to describe the case and triangulate themes rather than test causal effects. Interview and observation records were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (familiarisation; inductive coding; category grouping; theme generation, review, and refinement; narrative synthesis). Anonymised labels (S1-S30) were used throughout. Findings indicate that students commonly selected short texts, chose preferred voices, adjusted playback speed, and looped segments for listen-and-repeat routines. Questionnaire tallies showed that 25/30 students (83.3%) perceived Natural Reader as helpful for improving pronunciation, and 27/30 (90.0%) believed regular use supported their progress. While students valued the app’s flexibility, several reported challenges related to motivation and limited feature literacy (e.g., speed and voice adjustments). Overall, Natural Reader appears promising as a pronunciation support when paired with teacher scaffolding and in-class speaking opportunities that encourage sustained, strategic practice. The study offers practical implications for integrating text-to-speech tools into pronunciation instruction in high-school contexts.