Audio books can improve literacy

Il Narratore is a wonderful source of Italian audio books. It is headquartered in Zovencedo, a quaint village on the hillside, overlooking Vicenza. Maurizio Fulghera is the voice of Il Narratore and is passionate about Italian literature and the many ways in which audio can be used for enjoyment and for learning. I spent Saturday with the Il Narratore family, Maurizio, Cristiana, Emma and Sol.

Maurizio, Cristiana and I share many views on the power of audio books, and their use in the cause of raising literacy levels.

Here is our discussion about audio books.

Comments

[Jason]

Hi Steve,

I am new to Lingq and am so far thoroughly enjoying it. I have some proficiency in Brazilian Portuguese and now need to absorb as much content as possible, and your site is great for this.

I have a suggestion that I think could help boost the efficacy and profitability of Lingq (perhaps even one day allow it to be free to all users). Another great method of language learning is music. I have personally greatly enhanced my vocabulary by translating and listening to Brazilian artists, it is a great way to learn new words/phrases and also practice pronunciation (if you like the music enough to sing along!). People also get repetition by listening to music that they enjoy while exercising, driving, etc.

I think that a great content addition would be music along with lyrics. You could basically have a music store like Itunes and charge points, or money directly, for people who would like to buy a song with the lyrics. You'd have to decide on your business model, but I think that it could increase use of the Lingq site (especially if it becomes known as a place to buy music worldwide, for any language) and increase your profits (perhaps to the point where the regular content can be free).

In any event, I wish Lingq great success, and will continue using it as part of my language learning strategy, supplemented by my favorite brazilian music. Thanks!

Jason