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Geophon - German audio guidebooks | ||
Tags: German | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Speakeasy Senior Member Canada Joined 3841 days ago 507 posts - 1098 votes  Studies: German | Message 1 of 4 23 May 2014 at 1:23am | IP Logged |
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I received an unsolicited Email today and, rather than clicking on the links imbedded therein, I began searching the Internet for possible source information. Not surprisingly, I went further and further astray from my initial search and eventually stumbled upon the website of the following German publisher (whose site was not part of the unsollicated Email): http://www.geophon.de/
Their products are, essentially, AUDIO GUIDEBOOKS (cds or mp3 downloads plus the accompanying texts) covering many tourist destinations. By continuing my search, I quickly located an online vendor that offers these same products as Intermediate Level Readers for language learners. These products are also available through Amazon.DE. I even found sample material on Youtube under "geophon". The audio tracks are clear and very professionally delivered. So, they're not likely to help me with my street German. Nevertheless, I expect that they will help me build my vocabulary and give me a break from the usual 19th classical literature or tales for adolescents that permeate much of the graded readers. If other students of German find these audio guidebooks useful, so much the better! Edited by Speakeasy on 23 May 2014 at 3:58am 5 persons have voted this message useful | |
| taqseem Newbie Switzerland Joined 5483 days ago 34 posts - 47 votes Studies: English | Message 2 of 4 25 May 2014 at 5:40pm | IP Logged |
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i wonder if it comes with the full transcript of the audio or a sort of abridged version of it?
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| Speakeasy Senior Member Canada Joined 3841 days ago 507 posts - 1098 votes Studies: German | Message 3 of 4 30 May 2014 at 1:34am | IP Logged |
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@taqseem et al,
I am sorry for the slight delay in replying. A couple of days ago, I ordered 7 Geophon audio-guides as mp3 downloads and I have been communicating by Email with a representant of the publisher. Here is my "status report". THE AUDIO-GUIDES The audio-guides are designed for native German speakers. The narrators speak very clearly and can be considered as voice-trained professionals. The narration speed, vocabulary, and sentence structure are what a native speaker would expect from, say, an equivalent National Geographic, BBC, or PBS documentary; that is, somewhere around the B1/C1 level. Not surpisingly, the audio is delivered as narrative speech, not in mock dialogue form. The audio files are spread across about 12 individual tracks for a total of approximately 60 minutes. The CD versions included text files, maps, and pictures. THE MP3 DOWNLOADS The downloading process went quite smoothly. Users can access samples of each of the audio-guides directly on the publisher's website. THE TRANSCRIPTS The publisher's representant advises me that, given that the target audience is native German speakers in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, transcripts are not normally provided with the audio-guides. However, he is attempting to dig something up for me. I am going to suggest to him that there is marketing opportunity for his company in the self-study language field; that is, offering B1/C1 level audio-guides plus transcripts as Intermediate Level Graded Readers. So then, the description of the CDs as "Readers" on the "Languages Direct.com" is not quite accurate! THE ORDERING PROCESS The Order Form on the company's website is presently set up for confirming orders from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria only. As a result, I could not complete my order directly. However, since I was particularly interested in trying a few of the audio-guides, I simply sent them an Email via their website advising them that I would like to purchase some of the mp3 downloads. They responded immediately with an Email advising that they'd be pleased to accept my order. So, you can order the CDs or MP3 Downloads via the Geophon website, but you will have to be a little patient with their current procedures. You can also order the CDs either from "Amazon.DE" or from "Languages Direct.com" in the U.K. 'Talk t'y'all later! Edited by Speakeasy on 30 May 2014 at 4:16am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| taqseem Newbie Switzerland Joined 5483 days ago 34 posts - 47 votes Studies: English | Message 4 of 4 31 May 2014 at 9:23am | IP Logged |
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thank you very much for such a detailed reply!
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