aria-label not being read in IE 11 or less using JAWS 17 in Select

I have this matching game and the key is to the right and the questions are to the left on the page. To add additional usability I want the screen reader to be able to read additional information that the visual user cannot see. The code works in Firefox, Chrome and Edge but not in IE 11 or less. Does anyone know a work around that would work? Placing the text off screen does not work.

Here is the code:

<select><optionid="question1_item0">Select</option><optionid="question1_item1"aria-label="1 an actor">1</option><optionid="question1_item2"aria-label="2 a country">2</option><optionid="question1_item3"aria-label="3 a color">3</option><optionid="question1_item4"aria-label="4 a web site">4</option></select>