Screen readers Android
[Narrator:] In this chapter, we will discuss the TalkBack screen reader for Android. At the time of making this chapter, we are using Android 10, also called Q.
Please note that companies using Android on their devices often customise it, so your screen or set of functionalities might look slightly different to the ones described in this course.
TalkBack offers voices in more than 30 languages. Here are some of them.
Gestures
Touch-based devices are gesture driven. Gestures are mostly position dependent. If you want to start an app, you position your finger on top of the app icon and touch the screen.
It is essential that the position of the app icon on screen is part of the gesture. As users with certain visual disabilities cannot detect the position of an element on screen, the normal gestures do not work.
Please be aware that once you activate a screen reader on a mobile device, you need to learn another set of gestures to operate the device.
TalkBack configuration
First check whether you have TalkBack installed on your device. You should find TalkBack under Settings, Accessibility, TalkBack. If you do not have TalkBack installed, download it as part of the Android Accessibility Suite from the Google Play Store for free. You can find the link below the video.
To configure TalkBack for your needs, tap Text-to-speech output. If your system has multiple voice engines installed, you can select your preferred speech engine here. By default, it is the Google Text-to-speech Engine. By tapping the settings icon, the parameters of the voice engine can be configured.
By tapping Install voice data, additional voices for additional languages can be installed. Please note that these voices need to be downloaded from the internet. Depending on the number of selected voices, their quality and the speed of your internet connection, it might need some time to download the data.
[Screen reader:] This is an example of speech synthesis in English. This is an example of speech synthesis in English. This is an example of speech synthesis in English.
[Narrator:] Once the voices have been downloaded, they are available for use. Depending on your personal preferences, you can adapt some voice engine parameters. For example, you can amplify the speech volume, this makes the spoken text louder than usual so that it is easier to hear it over other audio that might be playing.
Other parameters influence automatic number or language detection. By default, TalkBack uses the system language as the default language, but you can change this. To adjust the speech rate: drag the slider.
[Screen reader:] This is an example of speech synthesis in English. This is an example of speech synthesis in English.
[Narrator:] To adjust the pitch: drag the other slider.
[Screen reader:] This is an example of speech synthesis in English. This is an example of speech synthesis in English.
[Narrator:] You can find more configuration parameters at Accessibility, TalkBack, Settings. The Text-to-speech settings menu will guide you to the same settings we saw before. Under Verbosity, you can configure how much additional information describing a screen element should be spoken. You can configure multiple aspects, such as usage hints, list descriptions and element type descriptions. Feel free to experiment with these settings.
Some Android models have proximity sensors, which can be used to temporarily silence TalkBack. When using a phone with a proximity sensor, you can wave your finger on the proximity sensor to silence TalkBack. You can activate or deactivate speaking passwords on the screen, to improve security.
Other options are related to several vibration and sound-related feedback possibilities. The Navigation menu offers options for scrolling, gesture customisation, sensor usage, options for external keyboards and so on. There are more options to configure TalkBack to your specific needs. We have covered the most important ones. Feel free to experiment with the others to see if they can enhance your user experience. Please note that to use some of these configuration options, you will need to connect a refreshable Braille display. For other configuration options, you need to connect a physical keyboard to your Android device via Bluetooth.
Activating TalkBack
There are two options to activate or deactivate TalkBack. Option 1: Press both volume keys for 3 seconds. Option 2: Turn on TalkBack in your device settings. Please take into account that this method requires assistance. Open Settings, tap Accessibility, then tap TalkBack. Turn on TalkBack. In the confirmation dialogue, tap Allow.
[Screen reader:] TalkBack on. TalkBack.
[Narrator:] To deactivate TalkBack, tap the switch to position the TalkBack cursor on it and then double-tap.
[Screen reader:] Stop TalkBack? Tapping Stop will stop TalkBack. Stop. TalkBack off.
[Narrator:] TalkBack gestures. A screen reader presents the user with only one screen element at a time. The current element is visually highlighted by the TalkBack cursor, which is a rectangle drawn around the element in focus.
[Screen reader:] Home. Double-tap to activate. Double-tap and hold to long press.
[Narrator:] The user changes the position of the focus by using different gestures. The TalkBack cursor will follow the element in focus. You can explore your screen by touch, or swipe linearly to hear items in order. To explore by touch, slowly drag one finger around the screen. TalkBack announces the icons, buttons and other items as you drag your finger over them.
[Screen reader:] Back. Double-tap to activate. Double-tap and hold to long press. When TalkBack is on, it provides spoken feedback so that you can use your... Settings. Double-tap to activate. Use service on. Out of list. Double-tap... TalkBack. Navigate up. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] When the focus reaches an item you would like to select, double-tap anywhere on the screen to select that item.
[Screen reader:] Accessibility. Navigate up. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] In this way, a user with visual disabilities can get an idea of where each element is on screen.
[Screen reader:] Accessibility. Volume key shortcut off. In list, 29 items. Screen readers. Heading.
[Narrator:] However, it can be difficult to find all the items with which a user can interact following this approach. Small elements in particular might be missed and would stay hidden. To explore your screen one item at a time, swipe left or right with one finger to move through the items in sequence.
[Screen reader:] Select to speak off. Hear selected text. TalkBack on. Speak items on screen. Text-to-speech output.
[Narrator:] When you focus on an item, TalkBack provides a hint after a short delay about the actions that you can perform with it.
[Screen reader:] Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] By swiping right for the next item and left for the previous item, you can reach all screen elements independently of their screen position. Please note that the swipe gesture can be executed anywhere, you can swipe in the upper or lower part of the screen.
[Screen reader:] TalkBack on. Speak items on screen. Select to Speak off. Hear selected text. Screen readers. Heading. Volume key shortcut off. Search settings. Out of list. Double-tap to activate. Accessibility. Navigate up. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] If you want to activate an element, just double-tap. As you navigate using TalkBack, two menus are available to help you find settings and controls. The global context menu contains commands that work anywhere, whereas the local context menu varies depending on the item in focus. To use the global context menu, follow these steps: Swipe down, then right.
[Screen reader:] Touch the screen and explore in a circle to find an item, then lift to activate.
[Narrator:] The menu is a circle or a list, depending on your TalkBack settings. We are using the circle presentation here. To explore the menu, drag your finger. To choose an item, lift your finger. The global context menu includes the following options:
[Screen reader:] Read from top.
[Narrator:] Hear a read-out of all items on the screen, starting from the top.
[Screen reader:] Read from next item.
[Narrator:] Hear a read-out of all items on the screen, starting from the last focused item.
[Screen reader:] Repeat last utterance.
[Narrator:] Hear the last verbalisation again.
[Screen reader:] Spell last utterance.
[Narrator:] Hear a letter-by-letter spelling of TalkBack's last verbalisation.
[Screen reader:] Copy last utterance to clipboard.
[Narrator:] Copy the last-spoken phrase to your clipboard in order to paste it into another app or take another action on it.
[Screen reader:] Quick navigation menu.
[Narrator:] Offers an additional context-sensitive menu. We will use it later when we read a web page.
[Screen reader:] Languages menu.
[Narrator:] Offers several language related options.
[Screen reader:] TalkBack settings.
[Narrator:] Open TalkBack settings.
[Screen reader:] Text-to-speech settings.
[Narrator:] Open text-to-speech settings.
[Screen reader:] Dim screen.
[Narrator:] Reduce the brightness of your screen.
[Screen reader:] Cancel.
[Narrator:] The local context menu contains controls that relate to the focused item. To use the local context menu, follow these steps: Swipe up, then right.
[Screen reader:] Touch the screen and explore in a circle to find an item, then lift to activate.
[Narrator:] The menu is a circle or a list, depending on your TalkBack settings. We are using the circle presentation here. To explore the menu, drag your finger. To choose an item, lift your finger. The options available in the menu change depending on the focused item. If there are no relevant options, TalkBack announces ‘No menu items’. We will have a closer look at the local menu when we use TalkBack to navigate web pages.
Some more gestures
Cover the proximity sensor, if your device has one, to stop reading.
Back-and-forth gestures: To move to the first item on screen, swipe up, then down with one finger.
[Screen reader:] Network and Internet. Wi-Fi, mobile and data usage. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] To move to the last item on screen, swipe down, then up with one finger.
[Screen reader:] Security. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] To scroll forward, if you are on a page longer than one screen, swipe right, then left with one finger.
[Screen reader:] Accounts. Google. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] To scroll backward, if you are on a page longer than one screen, swipe left, then right with one finger.
[Screen reader:] Privacy. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] Two-finger gestures: Scroll by dragging two fingers.
TalkBack tutorial
To facilitate TalkBack learning, Android offers an interactive TalkBack tutorial. You can find it under Settings.
[Screen reader:] Settings. Accessibility. Screen readers, display, interaction controls. In list, 15 items.
[Narrator:] Accessibility.
[Screen reader:] Accessibility. Navigate up.
[Narrator:] TalkBack.
[Screen reader:] TalkBack on. Speak items on screen. In list, 29 items. TalkBack. Navigate up.
[Narrator:] Settings.
[Screen reader:] Settings. In list, 2 items TalkBack Settings. Version 7.2.0.220...
[Narrator:] And finally near the bottom of the miscellaneous list, called TalkBack tutorial.
[Screen reader:] TalkBack tutorial. Double-tap to activate. TalkBack tutorial. Navigate up. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] You need to activate TalkBack before starting this tutorial.
[Screen reader:] TalkBack tutorial. TalkBack is a screen reader primarily for people with blindness and low vision. It allows interaction with the device using spoken feedback.
Lesson 1: Basic navigation. Swiping, exploring, activating. In list, 5 items. Learn. Lesson 1. Double-tap to activate. When enabled, Explore by touch lets you hear what's under your finger. Move your finger over the items in the centre of your screen. After you have explored five items, the lesson will continue. Item 2. Double-tap to activate. Item 1. Double-tap to activate. Item 2. Double-tap to activate. Item 3. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] Feel free to use the tutorial to get more familiar with TalkBack.
Using the on-screen keyboard
When you enter a text-editing field, a virtual keyboard appears at the bottom of the screen. You can explore this keyboard by touch, just as you would other screens, but the activation works differently.
To type a letter: Slide your finger over the keyboard until you hear the character that you would like to type. Lift your finger to type that key.
[Screen reader:] d-delta, s, a, Shift. Shift enabled. Shift. Cap A-Alpha. Shift disabled. Close features. Capital A. End of field. a, s, d, f, c. c. End of field. c. c. End of field. c, f, e-echo. e. End of field. e, s. s. End of field. s-sierra. s. End of field. s, e, d, r, t. Accessibility. -ibility. End of field.
[Narrator:] To review text in an input field character by character, press the volume up or down keys.
[Screen reader:] y-yankee, t-tango, i-india, l-lima, l-lima, i-india, t-tango.
[Narrator:] Reading a web page TalkBack is an excellent tool to test a web page for accessibility. This screen reader works best with Chrome, the web browser bundled with the Android operating system. After loading the web page, we would like to start reading the page. We open the global context menu and start reading from the next item.
[Screen reader:] Touch the screen and explore in a circle to find an item, then lift to activate. Read from next item. Collage of original illustrations from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, drawn by John Tenniel. Enter a key word. For full text, search and press return. A small size text. A medium size text. A large size text.
[Narrator:] This gives us a lot of navigation information but we would like to read the real content of the page. We stop reading here using a tap. We can now navigate manually to the next or previous element.
[Screen reader:] Home. In list, 3 items. Sitemap. Double-tap to activate. Contact. Double-tap to activate. Sitemap. Double-tap to activate. Home. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] We would prefer to get an overview of the complete document. What headings are there? By swiping up or down, we can select the navigation method. We select Headings.
[Screen reader:] Headings.
[Narrator:] Swipe right to move forward or left to move back using the chosen setting.
[Screen reader:] Introduction. Out of list. Main characters. Language test. Main characters. Introduction.
[Narrator:] Where a web page is designed with accessibility in mind, it offers landmarks, headings, alternative descriptions for images and so on. Landmarks collect multiple items of a web page into a functional group, for example a banner area, a footer, a navigation block or the content.
We can select landmark navigation from the TalkBack local context menu. To open the menu, swipe up and then right in one smooth motion.
[Screen reader:] Touch the screen and explore in a circle to find an item, then lift to activate.
[Narrator:] The menu is a circle or a list, depending on your TalkBack settings. We are using the circle presentation here. To explore the menu, drag your finger. To choose an item, lift your finger. The navigation settings include the following options for the Chrome browser:
[Screen reader:] Default.
[Narrator:] Explore every element on the page in order.
[Screen reader:] Headings.
[Narrator:] Navigate by headings.
[Screen reader:] Links.
[Narrator:] Navigate by different kinds of links, such as visited, unvisited or active.
[Screen reader:] Controls.
[Narrator:] Navigate by other elements, such as form fields, buttons or menus.
[Screen reader:] Characters, words, lines.
[Narrator:] Explore one character, word or line at a time.
[Screen reader:] Special content.
[Narrator:] Explore content, such as tables.
[Screen reader:] Landmarks.
[Narrator:] Navigate by landmarks, such as main, banner or navigation.
[Screen reader:] Landmarks.
[Narrator:] Once the local context menu is closed, swipe right to move forward or left to move back using the chosen navigation setting.
[Screen reader:] The content of the page. Introduction. Alice and the shower... Main content navigation menu. Function navigation menu. Main content navigation menu. The content of the page. Introduct...
[Narrator:] When a web page has a lot of elements, the quick navigation menu can be used to access them by moving the finger in a circle. We want to navigate using the links of the web page.
[Screen reader:] Touch the screen and explore in a circle to find an item, then lift to activate. Links. Links. Touch the screen and explore in a circle to find an item, then lift Quick navigation menu. History. In this resources. Through the Looking Glass. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Introduction. Double-tap to... About Alice... Home. A large size text. A medium size text. Double-tap to activate. History. Double-tap to activate.
[Narrator:] We continue reading and reach an image.
[Screen reader:] Touch the screen and explore... default. Default. Introduction. Out of list. Alice in the shower of cards.
[Narrator:] As we can hear, the image has an alternative image description that can be read by the screen reader. Let’s check how TalkBack presents a table.
[Screen reader:] Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to... The White Rabbit blowing his trumpet. One of the best-known and most popular works of English language... Main characters. Touch the screen and explore in a circle to find an item, then lift to activate. Read from next item. Name. Row 1, in grid or table with some characters of the novel. 5 rows,
2 columns. Description. Alice. Row 2, name. Alice is a child in the mid-Victorian era. Alice unintentionally goes on an underground adventure after accidentally falling down a rabbit hole into Wonderland. Description. The White Rabbit. Row 3, name. The White Rabbit appears at the very beginning of the book, wearing a waistcoat and muttering "Oh dear, oh dear! I shall be too late!". Description. The Hatter. Row 4, name. The Hatter explains to Alice that he and the March Hare are always...
[Narrator:] TalkBack reads the data of the first cell and informs us about the structure of the table. TalkBack speaks header and data elements. It tells us where we are in the table. Let’s try to read a multilingual text.
[Screen reader:] Cheshire Cat. Row 5, name. Alice first encounters the Cheshire Cat on... Language test. Out of grid or table with some characters of the novel.
[Narrator:] The following lines are all in different languages.
[Screen reader:] In list, 3 items. This is a paragraph in English.
[Screen reader reading a text in a foreign language.]
[Screen reader reading a text in a foreign language.]
[Narrator:] The TalkBack screen reader can recognise the different languages and uses the correct voice for each list item. As you can see, TalkBack is a great tool for people with visual disabilities to browse web pages.
Please note that most of the navigation options will only work if the author of the website has made its web pages accessible. For more information about how to make a web page accessible, please refer to the chapter on HTML/ARIA.
More
So far we have used free tools for reading web pages on Android. Please note that there are specialised commercial software solutions available for people with disabilities, which improve the organising and the reading of files even further.
As this course cannot advertise and software updates are released so quickly, we are unable to recommend any commercial tools here. This course can only offer an introduction to TalkBack. For more information, please consult the user guide of your device. You will find some links below the video.
TalkBack supports wireless keyboards and refreshable Braille displays connected via Bluetooth. Once these devices are paired with your Android device, you have additional navigation possibilities to enhance your user experience. Please refer to the Android user guide and the manual of your device to learn more.
Where to continue?
In this chapter you have learned how to use a screen reader using the Android operating system. Depending on your personal interests, you could continue with one of the following chapters:
- Screen readers – Windows
- Screen readers – macOS
- Screen readers – iOS
[Automated voice:] Accessibility. For more information visit: op.europa.eu/en/web/accessibility.