Learn to Read with Google App
Read Along is a free reading app for Android that helps children have fun while they learn to read.
Read Along has an in-app reading buddy that listens to your young learner read aloud, offers assistance when they struggle and rewards them with stars when they do well – guiding them along as they progress. It works best for children who already have some basic knowledge of the alphabet.
After the initial download, the app works securely offline.
With many students currently at home due to school closures, families around the globe are looking for ways to help children grow their reading skills. To support families, today we’re sharing early access to Read Along by Google. It’s an Android app for children 5+ years old that helps them learn to read by giving verbal and visual feedback as they read stories out loud.
Read Along uses Google’s speech recognition technology to help develop literacy skills, and first launched in India (where it is available as “Bolo”). After receiving encouraging feedback from parents, we’re excited to share this app with more young learners around the globe.
Read Along is now available in over 180 countries and in nine languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese and Hindi. Read Along will continue to improve as we receive feedback from families, expanding the selection of books and adding more features.
How Read Along works:
Read Along helps kids independently learn and build their reading skills with the help of an in-app reading buddy named Diya. As kids read out loud, Diya uses Google’s text-to-speech and speech recognition technology to detect if a student is struggling or successfully reading the passage. She gives them positive and reinforcing feedback along the way, just as a parent or teacher would. Children can also tap Diya at any time for help pronouncing a word or a sentence.
Read Along keeps young minds engaged with a collection of diverse and interesting stories from around the world, and games sprinkled into those stories. Kids can collect stars and badges as they learn, which motivates them to keep playing and reading.
Parents can create profiles for multiple readers, who tap on their photo to learn at their own pace and to track their individual progress. Read Along will personalize the experience by recommending the right difficulty level of stories and games based on their reading level performance.
Safety and connectivity
Read Along was built with childrens’ safety and privacy in mind, and has no ads or in-app purchases. And after the initial download of the app and stories, Read Along works offline without Wi-Fi or data—helping with worries about unsupervised access to the Internet. Parents can simply connect to Wi-Fi periodically to download additional stories.
Read Along is also easy to start and doesn’t require sign in. Even the voice data is analyzed in real time on the device—so that it works offline—and is not sent to any Google servers.
Inspire a love of reading in young learners
• Fun game-like experience: Keep young minds engaged with hundreds of stories and word games available in nine languages, including English and Spanish. Build confidence reading out loud with instant rewards of stars and badges
• Independent learning: Encourage all young learners to learn at their own pace and track their individual progress. Learners have unique profiles, and each advances on their own reading journey with recommended stories based on their reading level. If needed, they can tap on any word to hear it pronounced
Foster learning with confidence
• Zero cost with no ads or upsells: Keep them focused on what’s important – reading – and relax knowing there are no in-app purchases
• No Wi-Fi or data required: Once downloaded, provide a rich learning experience while relieving worries about unsupervised access to the Internet
• Private and secure: No name, age, specific location, contact, email address or phone number is required to use Read Along. Additionally, voice data is analyzed in real time on the device, but not stored or sent to Google servers
Languages available:
With Read Along, children can read a variety of fun and engaging stories in different languages including:
• English
• Spanish (Español)
• Portuguese (Português)
• Hindi (हिंदी)
• Bangla (বাংলা)
• Urdu (اردو)
• Telugu (తెలుగు)
• Marathi (मराठी)
• Tamil (தமிழ்)
With Read Along, children can practice, gain confidence, and grow a lifelong love for reading.
Download Read Along by Google Android App: Click Here