Improving Scientific Formula Verbalization in Large Speech Language Models for Accessible Learning

Abstract

Online learning systems provide accessible learning opportunities for blind or low-vision students. To support access to complex scientific materials, the speech models used in these systems need to deliver accurate scientific formula verbalization. While recent large speech language models (LSLMs) provide remarkable low-latency streaming capabilities, their potential for scientific formula verbalization remains underexplored. In this paper, we propose Formula-Speech, the first end-to-end LSLM designed for scientific formula verbalization. Specifically, we construct two high-quality scientific formula datasets with educational experts to align speech models with scientific formula verbalization patterns. We then adopt a lightweight and effective two-stage training framework, combining supervised fine-tuning for basic formula-to-speech alignment with reinforcement learning guided by a custom reward function to optimize for human-preferred verbalization. Experimental results show that our model significantly improves the verbalization performance of LSLMs and achieves state-of-the-art results across multiple scientific domains. Our code and datasets are available at https://github.com/ai4ed/FormulaSpeech.