Drillster launches the read aloud function, enabling text in drills to be read aloud. This option supports various languages and accents with male and female voice options. The read aloud function supports people with dyslexia, vision impairment or people who prefer listening instead of reading. It has also proven its value in language learning or when people have to follow an online course in a language that they do not have fully mastered.

The Drillster read aloud function is based on text-to-speech technology whereby written text – questions, answer options, and the feedback elements in drills – is converted to spoken word. A text-to-speech functionality has already been available in the Drillster adaptive learning app for many years. However, before, drill authors had to choose whether the learner could read text or listen to speech. The new read aloud function builds on the prior technology and now ensures that learners can both read and listen at the same time. This broadens the use of text-to-speech for different learning purposes. 

The new read aloud feature can be activated for all business accounts on request. The drill author determines the language that will be used in a drill. Over 30 different languages are supported, including different accents of a language (British, American, Australian, etc.). The read aloud sound clips can be played at three different speeds, even taking markup into account. If text is in bold or italics, the voice will emphasize the word when reading it aloud. A line break creates an additional pause in the reading and a blank in a fill-in-the blank exercise will result in a beep. Drill authors can also choose to let the learner pick the preferred voice, language accent and reading speed. 

The new read aloud function can make the learning easier for people who must or prefer to listen to the text rather than to read it. Can this add value for your training courses and target groups? Please contact us via support@drillster.com.