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Audio Books – Learning Tool Or Entertainment?

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Article by Kwan H Lo

Audio Books – Learning Tool Or Entertainment? – Entertainment

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An audio book is a recording of the contents of a book read aloud. In the old times, audio books were usually recorded on tape and were only available in public libraries and bookstores. They were expensive and many popular books simply did not have audio recording. Audio books have traditionally been used as an educational tool to help children to develop their listening skill and vocabulary, and to stimulate their interest in reading. They have also been used for those who have difficulty in reading due to language skill or physical disability.

But things have changed in the past few years. Audio books are now available in many formats. Some are recorded on tape or CD and some as digital downloadable files. Most of the new book titles are now available in audio format. The popularity of portable media devices such as Apple iPod and best selling titles such as the Harry Potter series also help to increase public awareness and boost the sales of audio titles considerably in recent years.

Audio books have become more affordable these days. Many audio book clubs offer different membership plans for casual to avid readers / listeners. Like DVD / game rental, audio book rental service allows you to rent unlimited number of audio books per month for a monthly fee. For international listeners, you can download audio books directly into your computer and then upload them to your portable device. Many audio book clubs also offer free audio book download with free trial.

Today, audio book is no longer used as a teaching tool, it provides hours of entertainment to average people. You can listen to a memoir with the author reading out his/her own writing to you. Listen to a thriller with added intensity and emotion, or let your children listen to audio books as bedtime stories. When you are exhausted after a whole day work, you can relax on your sofa and listen to your favourite novels. Or, while you are traveling on a train, shopping in the mall, or waiting in the doctor’s clinic, audio books can become your source of enjoyment in many different occasions.

If you are not keen on reading because of a busy lifestyle, or not being able to read due to some other reasons, an audio book would be a good choice for you. It provides an entertainment that is suitable for people of all ages, reading abilities and lifestyles. And better still, it is more affordable than ever before.

About the Author

Kwan H Lo is the owner of http://top10books.4reviews.net, an online review site providing information on audio book download / rental services and listings of best selling audio titles.

Use and distribution of this article is subject to our Publisher Guidelines
whereby the original author’s information and copyright must be included.

Kwan H Lo


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Kwan H Lo is the owner of http://top10books.4reviews.net, an online review site providing information on audio book download / rental services and listings of best selling audio titles.












Use and distribution of this article is subject to our Publisher Guidelines
whereby the original author’s information and copyright must be included.

Related Educational Tools Articles

Professional Development Tools: How to Effectively Use Inspirational Books, Audios and Videos

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Article by Lynn Pierce

What books are you currently reading? What audios are in your car? One of the quickest ways to master anything is to read books, listen to audios and watch videos on the subject. These are your tools for professional development and business success.

If you’re spending free time reading novels or listening to music, you’re missing a major key to personal and business success. People who achieve high levels of abundance generally read two or three inspirational books every week. They aren’t parked in front of the TV all night.

With today’s technology you have many choices of how to best receive personal growth information. There is no longer an excuse for not having time to be educated.

Look at this partial list of delivery methods for getting professional development information to you:

Read online or listen to PDFs online• • “software can read text to you!

Listen to audio or watch streaming video online

Download audio or video to your iPod

Download print, audio or video to your cell phone or PDA

Print out a PDF to take with you in a folder

Read a print book

Listen to CDs or watch DVDs • • ” in your car, on a plane, on your TV or computer

You’re probably thinking, “I barely have time to complete all my tasks now. How could I add anything else?” But, we all have the same 24 hours each day.

Since you can’t add hours, it’s up to you to decide how to spend the ones you have. The advent of the iPod makes it easier to access professional development tools. Now you can listen discreetly while standing in line or waiting for an appointment. iPods aren’t just for kids. They’re important tools for business success and personal growth.

To create the life of your dreams, you must make new choices about how to spend your time. If it were possible to achieve your personal development goals by doing what you’re doing now, you would already have everything you want.

I’m sure you’ve heard the adage that you can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it. It’s the same with any personal growth change you want to make in your life. You can’t create a new life with the old habits that produced the life you have now.

Just as when you were a child and books magically took you to places you’d never been, inspirational books will guide you to become the person you want to be and will help build the business success of which you dream.

Every multi-millionaire I’ve met had many personal growth obstacles to overcome in their lives. Not one of them was born into a life of ease. They dealt with circumstances ranging from total poverty, abandonment as a child, abuse, depression, life-threatening illness, divorce, business loss and bankruptcy.

This reality shatters all the excuses you’ve been using throughout your life for why you can’t succeed. For many, inspirational educational tools were the beginning of their road to personal and business success. These professional development tools will start you on the road to your dreams, too.

Let me give you some examples of abundant people who are big readers. Robert Allen, real-estate guru and author of best-selling books including my favorite, Multiple Streams of Income, reads several books at once by leaving them in various rooms throughout his home so a book is always available.

Cynthia Brian, co-author of the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul and author of Be the Star You Are, finds it easy to read several books a week because she carries a book everywhere and spends at least two hours nightly reading instead of watching TV.

David Anderson of Famous Dave’s really raises the bar. He’s a self-proclaimed night owl, sleeping an average of five hours. He not only reads two or three books a week, but 20-30 magazines a month! He reads continually for personal development and to stay current on business trends.

You say you want more from life, but will you move outside your comfort zone to make it happen? Maybe reading a book every week seems unfeasible. Commit to reading one book this month, or in the next two weeks. When you find it’s not so difficult, up your quota.

The key to effective use of inspirational books, audios and videos is that you implement what you learn. Put your new knowledge into practice; don’t just read, listen or watch for the sake of spending time doing it.

Lynn Pierce, the Success Architect, has taught people how to combine business and personal development to reach the pinnacle of success and live the life of their dreams for over 25 years. In addition, she is also the founder of one of the most exciting annual events for women entrepreneurs, “Women’s Business Empowerment Summit”. Now she shares her keys to success and life mastery with you. You can get the first five lessons of “Chang










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Literacy and Education — How Can Audio Books Help?

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Article by Bou Allem

The arrival of multimedia initially pushed the use of audio books as an educational tool into the background. Seen against the backdrop of a generation of young television addicts, it is hardly surprising that the already beleaguered literacy-related abilities of children were subject to yet another setback when audio books disappeared from the scene.

Several educators soon started adding two and two together, and came to the conclusion that in order to address the myriad of challenges associated with the decline in literacy, the underlying problem of listening skills needed to be addressed. As a result, audio books have yet again stepped to the fore and have regained recognition as valuable contributors in educational terms.

Many educators are downloading audio books from the web to address this issue. All the latest titles ranging from Narnia to Harry Potter are available as audio book downloads today. Because of the popularity of these stories, children need not be coerced into listening to these audio books. They look forward to story time – regardless of whether it is a part of the curriculum or whether it is the reward for a day’s work well done!

What is the educational value of audio books to children?

The very first value that comes to mind is listening skills. The first contact an unborn babe makes with the outside world while she is still in her mother’s womb is through hearing. After her birth, she uses hearing to acquire the skill to verbally communicate with others. This language skill she develops over the first few years in her life is her first step towards literacy.

The second contribution made by audio books, revolves around language ability. Children are bombarded with visual stimuli. Television, movies and the majority of educational toys available today, are all visual. In the absence of aural stimuli, such as those offered by audio books, listening skills become under-developed, impacting both language and literacy.

Audio books impose the need on the child to listen to the spoken word (language). In addition to improving the child’s grammar, it also improves vocabulary and elocution all of which underpin literacy. Audio books allow children the opportunity to create images in their mind’s eye. By stimulating a child’s ability to imagine, her ability for lateral thinking is also greatly enhanced.

The third benefit of audio books as an educational tool falls within the ambit of reading and comprehension. These are critical learning skills. Reading centers and laboratories report that as many as 80% of all students tested not only read at speeds 2 years or more below the levels required for their specific age groups, but also show a comprehension / retention of 65% and less. There are many different methods employed to assist enrolled students with recovering the ‘lost years’. Of note is the fact that some of these centers make use of audio books in conjunction with the readers they provide.

The students follow the written text in time with the audio books being played back to them. A visual / aural link is forged between the written word and the spoken word. Once this divide is crossed, tangible progress is made both in terms of reading speeds and comprehension. In addition to the hour or two spent at these centers per week, twenty minutes’ supplemental reading is required per day. Instead of issuing a student on the read-along program with a CD, many centers offer the student access to the appropriate audio book online.

How can parents help?

The answer is simple: Get them listening to audio books – sooner rather than later. Opportunities for listening to audio books abound. For smaller children, parents can play audio books in the car. For teens, consider allowing audio book downloads to their iPods and other Media Players. Compared against the printed medium, audio books procured in this way are relatively cheap. The range of titles available means that there is something for anybody. Even for the most ‘difficult’ of teens!

Although buying audio books may not be the biggest investment a parent can make in money terms, investing in audio books may well turn out to be the biggest in terms of value.

Bou Allem is a former teacher, now a successful internet marketer and published, owner of the sites: http://www.spoken-books.com and http://www.planet3000.info