Discover how Iceland’s Transport Authority uses ReadSpeaker TTS to make driving exams accessible to diverse, multilingual candidates.
Candidates taking the Icelandic driving exam are mostly young people applying for their first license at 16 or 17 years old. However, there are a growing number of diverse candidates, of all ages, from different countries, and speaking many languages, taking the exam to change their driving licence to an Icelandic one.
For many years, examinees with difficulties reading have been offered the option of having the exams read out loud in Icelandic. Despite making exam translations a priority so more people could take the exam in their own languages, a read-aloud service could not be offered outside of the Icelandic languages.
Exams have been digitized, creating an opportunity to add a text-to-speech technology. The test system used for the driving exams had some standard functions in place, but because ReadSpeaker can be customised and integrated with any platform, the integration was adjusted to accommodate the functionalities of the system.
All driving instructors are now encouraged to promote the use of ReadSpeaker to their students. The examiners who supervise the exams are also important in encouraging the examinees to use the tool. They have given very good feedback and are happy with the solution.
“The experience was overall very good. The ReadSpeaker team was always happy to help. They were quick to reply to requests and were thorough in their follow-ups. The result is a successful one that has been very useful for our examinees.”
Margrét Birna Björnsdóttir
1. What learners do you work with?
The Icelandic Transport Authority is responsible for all driving exams in Iceland. We work closely with a test centre that executes the exams, but all exams are composed by us.
The candidates that take our exams are mostly young people at the age of 16 to 17, taking the exams for the first driving licence. However, we have a growing group of people from all over the world and of all ages that are changing their licence to an Icelandic one and need to take the driving exams to do so. That means we have a very diverse group of candidates who speak different languages and come from different backgrounds. The diverse background of our exam candidates has proven to be very challenging. We want to be able to meet every candidate as best as possible when they come to take our exams.
2. Why have you invested in text-to-speech technology?
For a long time, we have offered examinees the possibility of reading the exams out loud in Icelandic. For people with difficulties reading, this has been very helpful. However, we could not provide as good a service to those who do not speak Icelandic, as all our examiners are native Icelandic speakers.
We have made it a priority to translate our exams to languages that are common in the community so more people have been able to take the driving exams in their language, but in those instances, we could not offer a reading of the exams. When we transferred our exams to digital form, we saw that as an opportunity to add a text-to-speech technology to our exams, so all examinees have the same options when it comes to listening to the exams.
3. Why did you choose ReadSpeaker?
The Icelandic government has used ReadSpeaker for other projects. This made it easy for us to get reviews and contacts with the company.
4. How was the integration with your learning platform? Did you encounter any challenges?
We had some challenges when it came to adding the text-to-speech application from ReadSpeaker to our test system. Because the test system had some standard functions of its own, the integration had to be adjusted to the already in-place function.
When we had tested the end results, we needed to make some changes that proved to be challenging. Our examinees had difficulties using the first option, which involved highlighting text that they wished to be read out loud. Our partners at the test system and the ReadSpeaker team successfully changed the function so that all text on the page is read automatically when examinees press play in the exam. This has proven to be a good change and works better for our candidates and the examiners.
All support from ReadSpeaker was excellent, and we felt that they were always ready to help and support both us and our partners who handle the test system.
5. How did you encourage or promote the use of ReadSpeaker tools among learners?
We have encouraged all driving instructors to promote the use of ReadSpeaker to their students. The examiners who supervise the exams are also important in encouraging the examinees to use the tool.
6. Have you received any feedback?
Our test centre and examiners are happy with the solution, and their feedback has been very good.
7. How would you summarise your experience collaborating with ReadSpeaker?
The experience was overall very good. Very good communication with the ReadSpeaker team and a quality product in the end. The ReadSpeaker team was always happy to help. They were quick to reply to requests and were thorough in their follow-ups. The result is a successful one that has been very useful for our examinees.
The Icelandic Transport Authority is responsible for the administration and supervision of aviation, maritime and road traffic safety and the safety and supervision of transport infrastructure and navigation systems.
As the authority responsible for road traffic safety, the Icelandic Transport Authority composes all driving exams in Iceland, working closely with the test centre that executes the exams.