Multilingual support in Reading Coach

  • 8 minutes

Reading Coach is designed to provide independent, personalized, and engaging reading fluency practice for learners of all ages. One of the standout features of Reading Coach is its localized experience, which supports 81 locales for the user interface, and learners can read and create content in multiple languages. Reading Coach recognizes the language of manually added passages. This feature is important for making reading practice accessible and effective for a diverse, global audience.

Reading Coach automatically adapts its user interface language to match the language settings of your device or operating system. This seamless integration ensures that the app is immediately accessible and user-friendly, providing a personalized experience right from the start.

Screenshot of the home page of Reading Coach with the interface set to Spanish.

When learners use Reading Coach, the app uses the language preferences already set on the device or operating system. If a device is set to Spanish, for example, Reading Coach displays its interface in Spanish. This feature helps create a consistent and comfortable reading environment without requiring any extra setup.

Importance of multilingual support

In an increasingly interconnected world, the ability to read and comprehend text in various languages is a valuable skill. Reading Coach supports this skill by offering features like the ability to create stories in 14 languages, including:

  • Spanish
  • French
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Japanese
  • Italian
  • German
  • Chinese

This extensive language support ensures that learners can practice reading in their native language, or another language they're learning, making the experience more relevant and engaging.

The ability to add and practice passages in over 81 languages and create stories in 14 languages ensures that learners can engage with content that's culturally and linguistically relevant to them. This feature not only enhances their reading skills but also fosters a love for reading by making it a more personalized and enjoyable experience.

Reading Coach is helpful for many different learning scenarios:

  • A young learner getting ready to build reading fluency in their native language
  • A teen reader learning English or another new language
  • An adult, proficient in their own language, deciding to practice reading in a new language
  • An adult learning to read in their native language for the first time

Screenshot of the 'Good job!' prompt box that appears after a reader finishes a chapter with choices for what happens next in Spanish.

Support for English dialects

Including 14 English dialects in reading fluency practice helps learners practice reading in a way that's most familiar and relevant to them. English is spoken in various forms around the world, each with its own unique pronunciation, vocabulary, and nuances.

By accommodating dialects, Reading Coach can provide a more personalized and effective learning experience and help learners improve their reading skills in a context that mirrors their everyday language use. This inclusivity enhances comprehension and retention. It also fosters a sense of belonging and confidence among learners by reflecting their own linguistic and cultural backgrounds in their reading practice.

Screenshot of the reading language and dialect options for creating a story with AI.

The localized experience of Reading Coach demonstrates Microsoft's commitment to making reading practice accessible and effective for learners worldwide. With its multilingual and dialect support, Reading Coach helps to close learning gaps and promote literacy in a way that's inclusive and empowering.