How to Change Voice and Language Settings in Helperbird

Learn how to change the voice, speed, and language for Text to Speech and Voice Typing in Helperbird. Choose from over 60 languages and a wide range of natural voices.

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What are Voice and Language Settings?

Helperbird lets you customize the voice used for Text to Speech and the language used for Voice Typing. You can choose from over 60 languages and a wide range of natural-sounding voices.

These settings let you control how text sounds when read aloud, including the voice and speed. For Voice Typing, you can select which language you are speaking so Helperbird recognizes your words correctly.


Who is This For?

This feature is helpful for:

  • Multilingual learners who need content read in their first language
  • Students in French Immersion or ESL programs
  • People who prefer a specific voice style or speed
  • Anyone who finds the default voice too fast or too slow
  • Educators working with diverse language groups

Changing Text to Speech Voice Settings

Step 1: Open Helperbird

Click the Helperbird icon in your browser toolbar. It looks like a small owl and is usually in the top-right corner of your browser.

This will open the Helperbird menu.


Step 2: Open Text to Speech

Scroll down to the bottom of the Helperbird menu. You will see a section called All Features.

Click the arrow next to All Features to expand it and show all available features.

Look through the list until you see Text to Speech. Click on it to open it.


Step 3: Find the Voice Dropdown

In the Text to Speech panel, the Voice dropdown is at the top of the panel, just below the text area.

There is no separate settings screen to open. All the voice options are right there in the panel.


Step 4: Choose a Voice

Use the Voice dropdown to browse available voices. Voices are grouped into two sections:

  • Standard Voices – Free voices built into your browser.
  • Neural Voices – Premium, natural-sounding voices. These are marked with a Pro label and are available with a Helperbird Pro subscription.

Each voice is shown with a country flag emoji and a short, easy-to-read name, so you can quickly spot the language and accent you want.

Select the voice you want. Click the play button to preview how it sounds.


Step 5: Adjust the Reading Speed

Look for the speed button in the player bar. It shows the current speed, such as 1x.

Click the button to cycle through the available speeds. A slower speed is helpful for learning or following along. A faster speed is good for getting through content quickly.

Your settings are saved automatically and will apply the next time you use Text to Speech.


Changing Voice Typing Language

When using Voice Typing (Speech to Text), you can change the language Helperbird listens for.

  1. Open Voice Typing from the All Features section.
  2. Look for the language dropdown below the text area. It will show your current language, such as "English (United States)."
  3. Click the dropdown and select the language you want to speak in.
  4. Click the microphone button and start speaking. Helperbird will recognize your speech in the selected language.

Supported Languages

Helperbird supports over 60 languages for Text to Speech and Voice Typing, including:

  • English (US, UK, Australia, Canada, India)
  • French (France, Canada)
  • Spanish (Spain, Mexico, US)
  • German
  • Italian
  • Portuguese (Brazil, Portugal)
  • Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese)
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Arabic
  • Hindi
  • Dutch
  • Polish
  • Russian
  • Turkish
  • Vietnamese
  • And many more

The exact voices available depend on your browser and operating system. Chrome typically offers the widest selection of voices.


Video Tutorial

Coming soon


Need Additional Help?

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please contact the Helperbird support team. You can reach us at Helperbird support. We are happy to help you get the most out of Helperbird.

What People Are Saying

Join over 1,000,000 people who use Helperbird every day.

This is a great little extension, lightweight and non intrusive. With dyslexia its reading that's an issue, not the underlying intelligence. An aid such as this one, can help deliver the world to some who may not otherwise have received it. Great Work.

Colm Murphy

Colm Murphy

Helperbird user

My son has dyslexia and has been struggling with parts of distant learning over the last year. We recently discovered this software and he is loving everything about it, especially with the ease of following directions and completing his assignments! We have used several other tools but this has everything a dyslexia person needs all in one bundle! The upgrade is definitely worth it to make our daily struggles, on the computer, run much smoother. I also greatly appreciate customer support (helpdesk). They went above and beyond to make sure we were all set up on the computer for my son to most successful.

Melissa Motz

Melissa Motz

Teacher

This tool helps so many of our students at school - not only those students who have dyslexia, but students and adults who have other learning differences (and those who don't!). It helps ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed in their learning!

Kim Norris

Kim Norris

Helperbird user

The best in its class - SUPERB - It does everything I need for my aging eyes.

Jen Ridge

Jen Ridge

Helperbird user

this extension seems amazing so if that doesn't bother you, I say go ahead and get it!

Ana Robledo

Ana Robledo

Helperbird user

The update fixed opening issue of the app!! Tip: the Helperbird app, the width can be changed.

Firefox user

Firefox user

Helperbird user

Helperbird logo: Stylized owl with large yellow eyes and a beige face, against a green background.

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