1. Who is your favourite voice in your language/English? What do you like about their voice?
2. Do you listen to audiobooks? Why/why not? Which have been your favourites/least liked? What advantages do they have over traditional reading?
3. Are there some types of text that don't lend themselves to audio versions?
4. Are there any voice actors that have cornered the audiobook market for literature in your country? Do you know of any famous audiobook readers for anglophone literature?
5. Have you ever taken part in a spoken event/recorded your own voice? What was it for?
6. Did you ever read aloud while you were at school? Did you enjoy it or dread it? Does reading aloud enhance understanding or does it hinder it?
Read the article here: Audiobook Reading
7. What surprised you most about the work of an audiobook narrator? Is it something you would consider doing yourself?
8.From the three following steps, which would you find the hardest to do?
a) Read the book in a short space of time.
b) Visualisation of characters and events.
c) Spending 4 to 6 hours per day in a recording booth.
9. If you could choose a novel to narrate, which one would it be? Would it be your favourite book of all time, or would you worry that the recording process might make you resent your favourite work? What makes a text easy to read? What authors would you avoid reading?
10. Look at the following sentences describing voices; in your own words, describe how these voices sound.
a) I could hear Brian’s booming voice drawing ever closer.
b) ' I’ve got something for you,’ he said in his low husky voice.
c) She put on a squeaky voice and did an impression of Michael Jackson.
d) “I’ll look after you”, she said in a sweet voice.
e) She delivered her dialogue in a monotone voice.
11. What types of voice would you expect in the narration of a thriller, a children's story, or a classic tale?
..........
Situation
You work for a large translation company that specialises in translating classics from your language into English audiobooks. You are recruiting a native-English speaker for your latest project (your choice of book).
At the interview, inform the candidate (your teacher) of your project requirements - including your policy on dress code, voice type, soundproofing requirements, hours worked, 'transparency' etc.
..........
Discuss quotes
“Dad used to read aloud to us from Dickens and Kipling. My tastes were omnivorous. I read anything I could lay my hands on, but the memory that stays with me is that of my father reading the Jungle Books to us when we were young. Beautiful stories!”
― A. B. Guthrie, Jr.
"Books are mute as far as sound is concerned. It follows that reading aloud is a combination of two distinct operations, of two 'languages.' It is something far more complex than speaking and reading taken separately by themselves."
--- Maria Montessori
"It is not the voice that commands the story; it is the ear."
--- Italo Calvino
“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.”
― Lisa See
"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of reading it."
--- P. J. O'Rourke
Student Handout PDF: Audiobook
Photo: Karolina Grabowska
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