A while back,”I hate that teachers always tell students to write but very few teachers actually do it themselves. For pleasure that is.”While I would and did argue against the idea it happens as infrequently as he contended, I do enjoy doing the work I ask my students to complete.A few weeks ago, somewhere in my network, someone mentioned. A nifty little site, DailyLit will send contiguous passages of a selected book to your e-mail account or RSS feed on a schedule you set. While some of the books require a minimal fee, many of them can be read for free.After nosing around for a bit, I told my students to browse the “Classics” section and subscribe to books that piqued their fancies.The assignment was simple – for each passage that popped up in a student’s inbox or feed reader, that student would then take about 5 minutes to write their thoughts on what they’d read. The responses lived as a journal on Moodle which allowed me to keep track of their thinking and comment along the way.Now, I don’t know if anyone else has this problem, but I sometimes run into assignments I feel as though I’ve explained perfectly and come to find out it might not necessarily be the case.Such was it with the journals.
Pray out loud: practical tips. Carmelina Read. 13 December 2013; I wrote last time about how it's good for people to pray out loud in our small groups: for encouragement, modelling, and sharing our struggles. What I want to do here is outline a few ideas to help draw people out a little, and help them gain the skills to pray out loud. Learn Out Loud is free to use web-based application that offers audio and video learning content. It is a simple and easy to understand application that has thousands of users around the world who can use to enhance their learning process.
Students were copying and pasting key quotations, writing summaries of the passages, responding with one-sentence posts such as, “Boring.” Not the literary exploration I had planned.This brings us back to Jabiz, that intrepid teacher.When I first started looking around DailyLit, I’d tested out the site and signed up to receive Henry David Thoreau’s Walden.May I get real for a second?Not to malign my qualifications as one who teaches words and letters to younger generations, but I’ve tried to read that friggin’ book 4 times and failed miserably each time. Horribly, really. I mean, had a better go of it than I did when wrestling with H.D.I created a forum in each class’s Moodle course entitled “Mr. Chase’s DailyLit.” Each day, I do what I ask my kids to do as I muddle through this classic of American literature.Somedays, it’s not pretty:021/114Thoreau continues to go on and on about how he got his food. This section concerns itself mostly with bread and how he made it. One particularly grating passage reads.
Yet I find it not to be an essential ingredient, and after going without it for a year am still in the land of the living; and I am glad to escape the trivialness of carrying a bottleful in my pocket, which would sometimes pop and discharge its contents to my discomfiture. It is simpler and more respectable to omit it.Yup, that’s all about yeast. I’ll not lie, I had to force myself to stay focused whilst reading this. It’s far from the philosophical tone Thoreau first used when beginning the book. Still, every once in a while, he’ll throw out a sentence like, “Man is an animal who more than any other can adapt himself to all climates and circumstances,” and I’ll think, “You needed to go on about making bread for paragraph after paragraph to figure that one out?”I still marvel at Thoreau’s use of words, but I’m increasingly frustrated by the content he’s wasting them on.
If I had to guess, I’d say this is about the spot I stopped reading this book the last time I tried.Then, though, there are days like today, when I get so excited by what I read that I have to run next door and find someone else who’s read Walden so I can have a discussion – days when my journal looks like this:026/114I’ve got to hand it to H.D. He’s certainly not afraid to throw down some truth. From today’s passage: Often the poor man is not so cold and hungry as he is dirty and ragged and gross. It is partly his taste, and not merely his misfortune.
If you give him money, he will perhaps buy more rags with it.I feel as though he wrote that and then stood from his desk and yelled, “There, I’ve said it, consequences be damned.”Thoreau is arguing that by being charitable toward the poor, we are truly harming them by furthering poverty. “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root, and it may be that he who bestows the largest amount of time and money on the needy is doing the most by his mode of life to produce that misery which he strives in vain to relieve.”Damn.Lest his readers think he’s only interested in condemnation, he follows it up with this:I do not value chiefly a man’s uprightness and benevolence, which are, as it were, his stem and leaves. Those plants of whose greenness withered we make herb tea for the sick serve but a humble use, and are most employed by quacks.
I want the flower and fruit of a man; that some fragrance be wafted over from him to me, and some ripeness flavor our intercourse.I love that imagery, “I want the flower and fruit of a man; that some fragrance be wafted over from him to me, and some ripeness flavor our intercourse.” It takes me back to any great lecture I’ve ever attended or any conversation with people who were my intellectual superiors. There is something to be said for being in the presence of those who completely grasp the richness of their lives, who see nothing but potential and then work to achieve it. I understand what Thoreau’s saying here, though I don’t know how it fits with my own belief structure. Does this mean I don’t continue the habit of giving the money in my pocket to the guy on the street on the off chance he will use it for good?
Arrrgh, damn you H.D. For making me think.The more I read of this book, the more I think I would like to have known him.I do enjoy learning out loud with my kids. Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pablosanchez//.
SubscribeSubmit ×How can reading aloud improve your life and also make you a better?When you read aloud, you’re employing a great number of your faculties, and more often than not, the very act of reading aloud is a revelation in itself. However, for voice actors, reading aloud is the very basis of your craft.Here are 7 benefits of reading aloud to motivate you to get started. This wonderful practice will help you build up your voice skills and become (more) successful as a voice actor. Reading Aloud:.
Sharpens Your Focus. Increases Your Vocabulary. Results in Greater Comprehension. Gives you an Opportunity to Play.
Exercises Your Body. Challenges Your Use of Intonation. Improves Listening and Reading Skills1. Sharpens FocusWhen you’re reading aloud, you will find that it becomes easier to put all of your energy into the task at hand without the temptation of distractions. You are so focused that you likely won’t even notice that you are strengthening your mental and verbal skills.If you think about it, your mind is akin to a muscle.
When it works out, you tone it and build up strength. When you read aloud, you are exercising the connection between your mind and your voice to the full extent which results in greater focus and cohesiveness.This resulting focus and cohesiveness can help you when you are reading a longer piece of narration for a job and want to nail the read in as few takes as possible. Increases VocabularyEver come across a word in a script that you are unsure of how to pronounce? Reading aloud more often, can help you become familiar with more unfamiliar word. Saying something in context aloud is very powerful.When you are reading in your head, you only hear the words internally and their effect on you is limited to or other words during that very private experience.If you choose to read them aloud, you may find deeper layers of meaning in the words because when they are spoken, they take on a life of their own and become a part of you. And inevitably through comprehension, become part of your vocabulary and influence your use of language. Greater ComprehensionPeople learn in a variety of ways – visual, aural, tactile and so on.
By reading aloud, you’ll stand a better chance of internalizing the words and making them your own before you perform.Of course, this approach helps others who are not reading aloud as an actor, but for the sake of learning in general.If you are an auditory learner, reading aloud will help the material to sink in and become ingrained, making it easier to draw on the information you’ve just ingested for when you need to reference it in the future. Opportunity to PlayWhen is the last time you read something aloud just for the sheer pleasure of doing so? Don’t worry about being in the recording booth or turning on your mic. Reading aloud should be fun.
Otherwise, why would you feel drawn to voice acting? Take a nice break to read out loud just for fun.If you are looking for an opportunity to stretch your imagination and explore the capabilities that may be hidden in your voice, read a children’s book aloud to someone you love. Read anything you can find! From cereal boxes, to instruction manuals to – breathe life into every piece of copy you come across.Audiobook narrator, Ilyana Kadushin shares her and endure the challenges of reading long-form narration aloud. “Go to a senior citizen’s home or a place for the blind, or a place for children and read to people out loud and really feel what that’s like to have to sustain narration and to feel that someone’s listening,” Ilyana says. “Just feel that in your body.
That, to me, is very important – to understand that someone’s listening and that what you’re doing with the language is landing in their ear.” 5. Exercises Your BodyWhen people speak, we often involve more than just our voice in the projection process. In fact, many of us, attributable to culture or otherwise, make use of our entire body when speaking to get a point across. Adds or supports what we are saying and can also help your voice sound more and – this is especially important if you are putting on a character voice.Watch how the cast of Zootopia utilizes their hands when they speak as they step into their respective characters. Challenges Your Use of IntonationWhen you read aloud, sounding dull isn’t an option, especially if you have an audience.
Make use of the full range of your voice. By speaking the words as though you have full intention of them being heard, you’ll be able to discover and explore your range more deeply.If you’re wondering how you sound, try recording yourself and then playing it back, noting where your voice goes up, down, starts, stops, fluctuates and even surprises you.Use a pencil and paper to mark your scripts to help direct your tone and vocal interpretation of the story or piece of ad copy.
You’ll be amazed by how some forethought and attention to detail can make an enormous impact on your delivery. Improves Listening and Reading SkillsLastly, reading aloud will make you more aware of things that you read, hear, and also help you to identify proper grammar, sentence structure, and so forth. Reading aloud also does much for shaping your interpretation of what is being said.You’ll be able to read with more efficiency and richness, expand your literary horizons and also experiment with the many ways you could interpret the written word, then translate your findings through spoken word expression. Reading Aloud as a Key to Voice Actor SuccessReading aloud can help you gain valuable skills that can be applied to your personal life (think of reading aloud for leisure and pleasure) as well as your professional life (help you become more familiar with the pronunciation of words and can help you develop better enunciation skills).Take some time out of your day or week to read aloud to a willing audience, or even yourself! There are many voice over sample scripts online that can help you, including samples of, and more! And see what improvements this new habit can have on your voice over performances. Love Reading Aloud so Much You Want to Make it Your Career?No profession delves as deep into the craft of reading aloud as voice acting.today!
Hi Stephanie,I can add to your list of the joys of reading aloud. I was a speech major in college with an emphasis on the “Oral Interpretation of Literature”–STORYTELLING! Did you know you could MAJOR in that? Oh, well, it was the Seventies.
I joined the university’s Forensics team (that’s competitive speaking, folks, not medicine)and traveled to other colleges around the country performing stories, cuttings from novels and plays and reading poetry. It wasn’t memorized, but it was “performed” with all of the accompanying characterizations and body language. Some of my favorite pieces were a play called “Where Are You Going, Hollis Jay?”, a very dark short story called “Silent Snow, Secret Snow,” a hilarious JOHN STEINBECK short story that he wrote in the style of Edgar Allan Poe called “The Affair at 7, Rue de M–” (you can find this online, I think), and just for fun, “McElligot’s Pool” by Dr.
These are all pieces MADE for reading aloud. My husband also competed on his Forensics team in college (we met in a production studio doing commercials together), so naturally our daughter benefitted greatly when it came time for bedtime stories!!!Thanks for letting me share. Obama and I have something in common–we both read the Harry Potter books aloud to our kids.
Well, he made it through all of them and I made it through four, but he obviously has greater determination than I.Now my kids are teenagers and we all remember those readings as a great part of childhood. Of course it’s a good workout for voice actors! You have to keep yourself interested, focused, and performing well in one take.And all the science on early childhood development points to the importance of verbal intelligence–meaning use a good vocabulary with kids and read aloud them!
It will change their brains, and probably yours, for the better. Reading aloud is something I tell my students to do to improve VO skill. It dramatically increases the Eye-mouth-brain coordination that enables you to be able to cold read copy as if you’ve read it 100 times!This skill is essential if you want to get into longform narration or audiobooks.I suggest that my student read a book –any book– to tape for Christmas present for mom just to get the practice.Ooops! Stephanie, does that violate copyright law? ? Good article the other day on that, by the way!JulieSign up for the FREE VoiceOver Insider at. Thank you for this response John, I agree with you and all my students would attest the same.
What I tell my language students is to read the material aloud and for comprehension separately. I teach Esl and put reading (literature and stories for language and conversation development and articles for English knowledge development, it actually a system I have devised) as the core of the program.
Reading aloud is a way that they ‘fool’ their mind into believing that they are actually speaking the language (mimicking native speech through reading) and this transforms into speech (learning language as separate components turns into mechanical speech). So long story short – do the two separately (reading for comprehension and reading aloud for the sake of sensual stimulus and acting).
Hi StephI am 38. All my life I have always struggled at learning in school. I always wondered why I simply cannot remember or comprehend what I am read. When I read quiety my mind seems to get distracted easily.
I also feel sleepy. I am realizing that I enjoy reading out loud. I have to keep assuring myself that “I am OK” when I am doing this. I found I remember things better. My self confidence also improves. Do feel to give me suggestions how I can improve my learning experience.
Thank you for writing this article. I have been thinking about trying to start up a group for adults reading to adults at our newly built local branch of the Chicago Public Library.
An interest in history would provide an initial common thread. We would come together with our digital devices and/or hard copy books, magazines, etc. With the expressed intent to simply relax in the presence of others and to read aloud whenever we come across a particularly interesting paragraph from our non-assigned materials. Hopefully, the evolving format would also encourage spontaneous shared discussion and surfing.I’d love to hear your constructive comments about this idea and if you know of any similar adult reading aloud groups. For me, “Internet Elbows Out Loud” as a group name would convey the combination of person-to-person interaction in conjunction with digital exploring.
I loved this article. I have learned a lot since signing up with Voices.com. Thank you so much. My original and main language is Spanish and sometimes words, that might be used incorrectly just jump at me, particularly when reading out loud. This was the case with the following paragraph:2. Increases VocabularySaying something in context aloud is very powerful.
When you are reading in your head, you only hear the words internally and their affect on you is limited to how you interpret the words during that very private experience.The question is: In this case, shouldn’t the word be, EFFECT?Just wondering. My son was told by his teacher that he is so good in all his subjects (awarded for top student) because of the reading aloud I did to him when he was a child. He would be playing and I would be reading to him thinking that he was not paying attention, when I asked him (age 4) what I read to him he could replay the entire book to me (this particular book I speak of “I see the moon and the moon sees me) verbatim ( I followed the words of the book with my eyes in disbelief). He became an avid and voracious reader.
Now I tell everyone to read to their children from the time they are born because it is learning they will not have to do later (in the bag education – what you read to them when they are young ‘is in the bag’). In Islam there is a tradition that says what a child learns is like carving in a stone but what an adult learns is like writing on water”. I hope this supports your current beliefs on reading aloud.