VOA Special English Listening① (Cassette)

Author: Chen Jinchi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Authentic pronunciation, natural and idiomatic English; rich content; expands knowledge and trains skills; enhances listening and improves English. An ideal textbook for improving English listening and speaking skills and enhancing English proficiency. The five most important skills for English learning are listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation, with listening and speaking being the most challenging. These two skills are crucial indicators of English proficiency. Among listening and speaking, listening is language input and the foundation for the other four skills. Therefore, training and improving English listening skills is vital for enhancing the overall English proficiency of learners.
"Voice of America" (VOA) English programs have long been a must-listen for Chinese English learners. Listeners can not only imitate pronunciation and intonation but also learn language knowledge, while also broadening their horizons and enriching their knowledge. It can be said that the vast majority of Chinese English learners regard it as a valuable guide for English learning, especially the "VOA Slow English" program. However, for many English learners, due to time and geographical constraints, it is difficult to consistently listen to the program from start to finish. Moreover, there is a lack of targeted exercises to help learners self-assess and improve their listening skills while listening.
To address this, we have published the "VOA Slow English Listening" series, divided into two volumes: "Health & Education Reports" and "Development & Science Reports." In selecting and organizing the materials, we considered the following factors:
1. Each piece of material should not be too long, generally around 5 minutes;
2. The selected materials should be as recent as possible;
3. Recordings should use authentic voices;
4. The exercises provided are appropriately moderate in quantity, with varied formats that focus on assessing and cultivating learners' listening skills;
5. Each exercise has a reference answer, and every piece of material includes a reference translation to help learners deepen their understanding.
Overall, this book is suitable for both beginners, who can use it to imitate pronunciation and intonation, correct their own accents, and expand their vocabulary, as well as learners with some English foundation, who can use it to improve their listening skills and gain more language knowledge.