Native speakers wanted!

[Torsten]

Hi everybody,

If you are a native speaker of English you might be interested in working with us. We are looking for people who want to create audio versions of our written materials. Maybe you are not a native speaker of English but you know somebody who is? Then you should ask them what you they think of this.

Many thanks,
Torsten

TOEIC listening, talks: Motivational speech

[Stew.t.]

hi Torsten

I am kind of interested but it is not clear form your link, what text, or am I missing something?

cheer stew.t.
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Please meet Stewart Tunncilff

[Torsten]

Hi Stew,

Thanks a lot for your interest in recording our texts. The one I posted was just a paragraph you might want to record as a sample. The rest of the texts are here.

Let me know what you think.
Regards,
Torsten

TOEIC short conversations: Talking about being self-employed.

[Torsten]

Hi,

What do you make of this recording by Brandee Sweesy? I like a lot -- the only thing is that Brandee was using the integrated mic that came with her laptop. She is now trying to get a decent microphone from her local store and we hope the background noise will be gone. Unfortunately, the mic we discussed here is not available in the States. However, I'm quite sure she'll find something similar.

Please let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Torsten

TOEIC short conversations: Trying to reach a co-worker on the phone

[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

Brandee has a nice, friendly voice and her accent is basically general American (though I thought I caught a touch of the South here and there).

She spoke clearly, but also seemed to be speaking much more slowly than normal. That's perhaps good for beginners and the sort of text she recorded. For higher level texts, I'd say she should speak at normal conversational speed.

One thing stuck out in this sentence:

[Martino]

Hi Torsten.

I'm interested. I have some audio recording software installed on my computer and I think they're good enough. How can I send you a clip?

*Edit: My bad, I didn't see the email address when I skimmed the page. Will record and email :)

[Stew.t.]

Hi guys

Would agree with Amy´s point concerning delivery of speech. But maybe Brandee was being considerate with her recording.
But then that brings up the issue of something sounding forced versus being comprehensible for the level of the listener. An issue I often have with a lot of material. Maybe a balance of a slower speed for explanations and then a natural voice for dialogues or monologues is better. But I am still undecided on this.

Another point that came up when I recorded the text, the phrase "on the weekend" is not natural for a speaker of BrE. But this is a pretty complex issue, as the text needs to have uniformity. However will the learner assume that this form is BrE when listening to an Englishman like me? Something to consider.
On the other hand the learner may see it purely as a learning tool for grammar and form.
_________________
Please meet Stewart Tunncilff

[Yankee]

Hi Stew

ESLers will have direct access to the texts, so if they have trouble understanding what they hear, they can choose to read along while they're listening. That's one reason I don't see much need for overly slow speech in the recordings here.

What I have found is that unnaturally slow speaking can give ESLers the wrong impression in a couple of ways.

- They attempt to always pronounce words just as they have heard them. When a recording is unnaturally slow, the words will of course be pronounced more clearly, but also tend to sound unconnected. Students often get frustrated that they cannot reproduce the sounds when they try to speak at a normal speed.

- If the recordings are to be used to help students with their listening skills, then extremely slow speech will not help them too much in the "real" world. They need to practice listening to and understanding what is natural, not what is artificial and non-existent.

- When a native speaker attempts to speak overly slowly, they may end up pronouncing certain words completely differently than what they would otherwise use in "normal" speech. An example of what I mean is Brandee's pronunciation of the indefinite article "a" in the sentence "What do you do for a living?" Although that pronunciation might be used in certain situations for emphasis, it is unlikely to be used in that sentence "in real life".
.
.
Brandee, if you are reading along here, please don't misunderstand me. I liked your recording very much and think your recordings would be a great asset. My comments are intended as hopefully helpful input, and reflect the opinions I've formed after having taught ESL for a very long time.
.
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"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln

[Stew.t.]

Hi Amy

I agree with you that slowing speech down gives learners (or ESLers to coin your phrase :)) the wrong benchmark. However I would also say that I alter my delivery dependant on the function.
If reciting a dialogue then I become more natural than in explanations in the classroom or on this section of recordings. I think this is normal, well as normal as a teacher´s trait can be.

There is some adjustment in my and other people´s speech dependant on function, don´t you think?

stew.t.
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Please meet Stewart Tunncilff

[Ralf]

Hi Stew,

You're right there. You only need to listen to my recordings here to hear the difference (I hope) :).

But Amy's points are quite valid as well - you need to find a good balance of intelligible speech and natural speed.
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Test of English as a Foreign Language
TOEFL Preparation & TOEFL Vocabulary
Learn more: How to Become an English Teacher

[Molly]

[Torsten]

Hello everyone,

Thank you for all your feedback and support regarding our audio recording project. Stew and Martin have submitted their recording samples and it would be great to get your feedback on them too (sound quality, voice, intonation, pronunciation, etc.) You can listen to them here.

Regards,
Torsten

TOEIC short conversations: Choosing the right seminars and workshops

[Alan]

Hi,

I thought Stew delivered the introduction in such a way that it sounded interesting. So often information like this read out aloud can sound painfully boring but Stew avoided that trap.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Ralf]

Hi,

The sound quality of all three clips can easily be improved by using software filters, but I think the only suitable recording (for learners) so far was Brandee's. I also think that Stew hasn't yet exploited his full auditory phonetics potential since I know for a fact that he doesn't usually mumble all that much :).
_________________
Test of English as a Foreign Language
TOEFL Preparation & TOEFL Vocabulary
Learn more: How to Become an English Teacher

[Stew.t.]

Hi

Thks Alan for your compliments, flattery gets you everywhere.

As for mumbling Ralf, care to point out the mumbling that causes incomprehension?
You know my speech is not unaccented or clear as a bell, but I don´t fake a stronger accent for effect either. :shock:
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Please meet Stewart Tunncilff