This study introduces Basa - Kabataan , a mobile of factors such as scarce educational resources,socioeconomic application designed to improve reading proficiency among limitations, and the lack of contextually relevant reading Filipino learners in Grades 5 and 6 through speech materials. recognition technology. Developed using the Waterfall Model, the application followed a structured and sequential In response to these gaps, the Department of Education approach — from requirements gathering to deployment (DepEd) launched the “Catch - Up Fridays” reading initiative in and maintenance. The development utilized Android Studio January 2024, a weekly program across all public schools as the Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Java for aimed at fostering reading habits and boosting literacy levels programming the app, and Hostinger for web hosting. Key [2]. The initiative underscores the urgent need for innovative features include a u ser - friendly interface, integrated database tools and strategies that can address the diverse reading needs management for reading materials and user profiles, and of Filipino learners. real - time feedback mechanisms. The app evaluates reading fluency based on the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory To support national literacy initiatives, this study (Phil - IRI) standards and classifies students into slow, introduces Basa - Kabataan , a mobile app that uses speech average, or fast readers. recognition and adaptive learning to assess and enhance reading fluency. Aligned with Phil - IRI benchmarks [3], it To ensure its quality and effectiveness, the application classifies students as slow, average, or fast readers based on underwent thorough testing using the ISO/IEC 25010:2011 WPM and suggests personalized reading materials. standards, focusing on aspects such as functional suitability, performance efficiency, and usability. The evaluation, conducted by teachers, parents, and IT experts, Prior research highlights the effectiveness of mobile and yielded an overall mean score of 3.4, interpreted as AI - driven interventions. Navarrete [6] stressed theory - based “Excellent.” These results demonstrate the app’s potential instruction, while Tomas et al. [7] and Fernandez and Arriola as a reliable and innovative tool for supporting educators [8] identified reading challenges and comprehension gaps, and parents in enhancing learners' reading skills. By underscoring the need for targeted support. Tarun [9] promoted integrating AI - driven speech analysis with personalized digital tools for collaborative learning, and Escaro [4] explored reading recommendations, Basa - Kabataan contributes digital storytelling for learners with special needs. meaningfully to the Department of Education’s literacy improvement initiatives. Advances in speech recognition have shown promise in