Audio books benefits and provide a bridge to important topics of discussion for parents and children : Did you know that a woman by the name of Pura Belpre was New York City’s first Puerto Rican librarian? She came to the U.S. in 1921, carrying the cuentos folkloricos (folktales) of her homeland. She found work as a bilingual assistant, where she retold those stories from Puerto Rico. Today, generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate her legacy. In honor of this new story, we’ve put together a few reasons why we think it’s beneficial to read bilingual stories and diverse voices to your children.

Bilingual books are typically formatted so one page or passage of foreign language reading is paired up with the corresponding English language translation of that material, and e-books can make bilingual formatting even more practical. For example, sometimes the translation is accessible on a paragraph-by-paragraph or even line-by-line format and appears when the reader clicks or taps on what needs to be translated. Other times, pages are divided into columns with both languages represented. And some books present translations following the foreign text, so you can swipe or click back and forth between the two languages.

The street epistemology teaches us how to do so. It consists partly in pushing the interlocutor to ask himself questions. The questions we ask ourselves do not meet the defensive stubbornness that questions asked by a third party meet. This audio guide is bilingual: that is, it presents itself as a language learning tool. The title indicates that it is a parody of the practical guides. A “serious” guide would not be concerned about helping the guru to build his enterprise. Because this bilingual audio book is often fun, offering it to a member-of-a-cult friend, or relative, is not perceived as a threat, or as a criticism of his choices.

Turn the Young Generation from Useless Stuff to Useful Literature. The young generation has become addicted to headphones. They are listening to favorite songs, jokes, TV Shows, etc. which do not give them anything productive except temporary entertainment. Audiobooks are fine temptation to divert their attention and habits. Now, some schools have understood the importance of audiobooks. They have made it compulsory for students to listen to the audiobooks. See more info on Bilingual audio books English/Hindi.

Audiobooks have traditionally been used in schools by teachers of second-language learners, learning-disabled students, and struggling readers or nonreaders. In many cases, audiobooks have proven successful in providing a way for these students to access literature and enjoy books. But they have not been widely used with average, avid, or gifted readers. Varley (2002) writes, “Uncertain whether audiobooks belong to the respectable world of books or the more dubious world of entertainment, elementary and high-school teachers have often cast a fishy eye at them, and many have opted for the safe course of avoidance.”

Builds background knowledge. Students in grades 3-8 come to the classroom with differing experiences for sure, but those who’ve also struggled with reading arrive even less prepared. Human-read audiobooks expose students to academic vocabulary and the language of books. This exposure helps build their background knowledge, an essential component to an evolving student. It also helps develop higher-order thinking skills. The ability to build background quickly through audiobooks cannot be underestimated. If students are left to read only materials at their reading level, they lose out. They lose opportunities to get access to content and information that represents their capabilities and intellect. This is not only frustrating and causes emotional stress, but also limits learning experiences.

Learning Foreign Languages The Way You Learned Your Mother Tongue (aka: easy). When I was teaching French to foreign students I was always trying to smooth their learning path. In my on-going effort I ended up with the Bilingual Audio Book « BABook ». At last something new in the learning world, specially designed to make learning a foreign language a breeze. With Pierre (my husband and best supporter) we decided to run a test: from a podcast I had made we prepared a version that alternates English and French sentences, and invited friends’ children to listen to it. Read extra details at Language Learning for the Blind.