VOICEbooks are multimedia listening materials for language learners. They are the fruit of a radically new approach to language learning. The novelty lies in the fact that VOICEbooks use computer technology to help learners to understand English in a way which would be impossible using traditional technologies such as tape recorders etc. This allows us to use genuine English from a very early instead of the carefully-scripted listening materials which most courses have.

How language learners use VOICEbooks

The most immediate way of using a VOICEbook is to listen to what the speaker is saying and try to write it down. If you have ever tried this in a foreign language you will know that there is nearly always something missing or something you don't understand even if you have written it down correctly - and that is where the VOICEbook technology comes into action -

• click on word to get the definition (even if you haven't guessed the word yet!)
• listen to a "fragment" which includes that word and probably two or three others
• click on grammar links for the words you are listening to and navigate through a grammar browser (currently only in English)
• complete the word letter by letter

Gradually you will start to hear words more easily and start to have much more confidence when listening in a foreign language.

If you're starting to get an idea what VOICEbooks are try out this great technology and/or seewhat other people have said about VOICEbooks.

Take a look at what VOICEbooks are NOT.

For teachers

A product which addresses the single most problematic learning difficulty faced by a huge majority of language learners (i.e. listening skills) in an enjoyable and academically sound way is the ideal web product for all teachers on the web.

The VOICEbook learning system is success-oriented, as it is so highly motivating. If the student is in trouble, the system helps him in up to five different ways, according to the choices made by the student. (All traditional exercise-based language courses reject him – they are failure-oriented). The student also benefits from the immediate feedback he gets from the VOICEbook Reader. See also the academic feedback from IBM & Berlitz.