VoiceBook – Understanding English

VoiceBook is really great. It really help you to enhance your understanding of english. It’s a usefull tools, it’s not a method, so it’s flexible, easy to use, it’s not restraining you. You don’t have to follow what the program wants ! You can use it while being on windows, and if you use to do works like reading english out loud, using microphone to hear your own voice, imitating english/american accent, then this software is for you because it goes in the same direction of improving your inner skills. Enjoy ! What is Understanding English made for?It is for improve your understanding of English people’s speech.If you would like to understand english speeches better, this learning material is made for you!I tried it and it is really usable to improve your understanding  (you can hear the speaker’s voice and you have to type it and the computer checks if your typing is correct or not) and pronunciation (using a microphone you can compare your voice with the original speaker’s).Understanding English is a 10 CDs package. I splitted it into two packages (Vol.01-05 and Vol.06-10) for faster downloading. The ISO files had been RAR-ed in both package. The uncompressed size of the five ISO files will be approximately 3 GB at both package.This product contains the second 5 CDs. First 5 CDs can be found under name “Understanding English Speech(learning_CDs)(10_CD)_(Vol_01-05)”. There are tasks for different language knowledge levels in the package. Every of the 10 CDs is separated totally from the others. (I think, the only commonly used thing by the CDs is the  EEARWIN.INI in your C:WINDOWS directory).You have to install each of them before you use that one.After installing a CD, an entry will disappear in your StartMenu for that CD, and you will be able to reach the content of the CD from the CD’s entry.User interface is available on six languages (can be set at File menu / Options). Presentation for using the program is also available on these languages. Presentations are available on each CDs, and can be started from the CD’s Start Menu entry, or can be started manually from the CD’s by executing the lesson1.exe and lesson2.exe in the ENG or FRA or ESP or ITA or POR or HUN root-directory of the CD.Help is available on eight languages (the plus languages compared to the previous ones are: german and “PTG”). Help files can be found in the root of each CD.———————————————————————————————Here is some descriptions of the program from the program’s english help:Information about VOICEbooks.Each VOICEbook contains digitalised and remastered sound taken from real sources. So English VOICEbooks are spoken by Americans, by British people, and by people from everywhere in the world. French VOICEbooks are spoken by French, Swiss, Belgian and Canadian people. Spanish VOICEbooks are spoken by Spaniards and Latin Americans. German VOICEbooks are spoken by Austrians and Swiss as well as by the very different accents within Germany itself.Each VOICEbook contains an average of about 350 different words, many of which are repeated so that your ears get as much training as possible.The VOICEbooks are divided into Categories, which are listed below. The world of VOICEbooks is constantly being updated! children’s business language & literature arts computers world & ecology economics Europe fiction & adventure finance medical travel & entertainment politics science & technology humour sport On the screen, the VOICEbook name is shown bottom left, between the Category icon and the VOICEbook icon  and a little frame which containes the total number of VOICEquotes in the VOICEbook.VOICEbooks are also classified according to the difficulty level (see Livelli di difficoltr)——————VOICEbooks – Technology and understanding.An inevitable step in the evolution of language learningTo acquire competence in any language, you have to master four distinct skills: reading and writing, listening and speaking.The first two (reading and writing) can be taught more or less successfully by a variety of different methods, and are intellectual skills.Children learn the other two (listening and speaking) in their mother tongue, both through necessity and because only up to the age of about five a portion of their brain is dedicated exclusively to acquiring oral language skills. After this age, they generally lose this ability, at about the time when they begin to approach reading and writing (which are intellectual skills). Listening and speaking become much more difficult as time passes; for any language learner. Listening and speaking are above all physiological skills, which are made all the more difficult by the fact that in language learning they are necessarily based on intellectual skills such as reading and writing.Listening and speaking can of course be learnt, but they are particularly difficult areas to teach (some would say impossible!). All the real work has to be done by the learner.In a foreign language, listening seems to be much more difficult than speaking for most people! In fact, when we speak, we can make ourselves understood even though we might make a number of grammatical mistakes, or use an extremely limited number of words, or commit stylistic blunders in a dreadful accent. On the other hand, when we are listening, it’s the speaker who chooses what type of words, syntax, rhythm, accent, speed and idioms to use.In short, whereas you can get away with speaking badly, you can’t afford to listen badly.What’s needed is as much practice in listening to the language in as many different conditions as possible.This was the premise for the technology of a powerful software tool called the VOICEbook Reader and a huge and varied catalogue of VOICEbooks which give the language learner unlimited opportunities to practise listening and pronunciation. Progress is fast, and quickly brings the learner up to a level where he can understand and speak acceptably in the language he needs or wants to master.VOICEbooks are digitalised recordings which work with the VOICEbook Reader, and are split up into VOICEquotes, which in turn have been fragmented into shorter extracts.In Listening Mode, you have to work out exactly what the speaker is saying. You type in what you think you have heard, and the program gives you immediate feedback. You can slow down or speed up the original sound at any time. You can listen as many times as you want to the VOICEbook, to the VOICEquote or even to a short fragment of sound until you have finally understood it! Any spelling or typing mistakes will be highlighted by the program and can be corrected at the touch of a button. Various levels of help allow you to complete the task successfully whatever your difficulties. Full on-line dictionary definitions are available for every word in the spoken text. Grammatical, cultural and contextual comments allow you to follow and analyse the text clearly. Three different speeds are available for the learner to choose from.In Pronunciation Mode, you record your voice, choosing what part you wish to repeat. You then compare it to the original, either visually or simply by listening. The SpeechView® program allows you to get a graphic image of the original voice (and of your imitation if you have done one) and enables you to make swift progress. You can practise your lines as if you were an actor at a rehearsal – it is always a useful thing to do.The contents of the VOICEbooks are wide-ranging, taken from real-life situations in one of the countries where the language you wish to study is spoken. They are not artificially slowed down or made more clear, and all the background noises are left in, so that what you listen to is a genuine form of language.The VOICEbook catalog is divided up into languages, subjects of interest (from professional needs to leisure activities) and according to their difficulty. There are currently well over 100 different VOICEbook titles available, in English, Spanish, German, French and Italian.———–Who uses VOICEbooks ?If you can read and understand an article in a foreign language, but you often don’t understand the same words when you listen to a conversation;If you are tired of being a “second-class citizen” because you always have to ask people to talk slowly or repeat what they say;If people don’t understand your accent, even though you are using the correct words;If you get frustrated at work and on holiday, because other people think you are “stupid”, but the only problem is perhaps one simple word which you don’t understand;If people think that you are deaf and start to shout when they speak to you in a foreign language;If you can’t understand why people laugh at jokes in a foreign language, because you always miss the punch-line, but you would love to tell a joke in a foreign language… YOU ARE A VOICEbook USER!