List of audio File Format What is audio file format or how a music file is stored in audio format. The audio file format provides container to store audio data on device, the device can be computer, music player etc. The audio data can be stored in device in compressed or uncompressed format. The decompressed format is used to reduce the file size on device. One want to have more and more music files on music players by compressing their file size.  Types of formats The current format for music audio files includes wide variety of formats with advantages and disadvantages. The current list of audio file formats are categorized into three major groups List of “Uncompressed audio formats”1. WAV 2. AIFF 3. AU List of “lossless compression format”1. FLAC 2. APE 3. WV 4. TAK 5. TTA 6. WMA List of “lossy compression format”1. MP3 2. Vorbis 3. Musepack 4. WMA 5. AAC 1. Uncompressed Audio Formats  The well known uncompressed audio format (PCM) is stored as WAV on Windows system and AIFF format on MAC operating system. The PCM stands for “Pulse-code modulation”, which is a digital representation of an analog signal. The PCM has been used in digital phone systems and in computer as digital audio format. Because of its digital sampling WAV format is very flexible and can store recording in original format.  
2. Lossless audio formats Many Music audio formats compress the audio data so that more and more songs can fit on device. The audio compression comes in two forms, one is “lossless compression” and other is “lossy compression”. The lossless audio format retains every bit of information of original recording ad nothing is lost. Since no data is lost during conversion that is why “lossless audio format” can not make converted or compressed file as small as file compressed during “lossy compression” method.  3. Lossy audio format Under lossy compression method some of the audio information is lost as compared to the original, this makes converted file much smaller. The information which is lost during “lossy compression” is not very vital and is least vital to the file. One of the format which uses this method of compressions MP3 file format.  Audio File Formats MP3: The most well loved music format is MPEG Layer-3 format. This is well loved for downloading and storing music. Because of Lossy compression the download file is much smaller then the original. WMA: – The Windows Media audio format is well loved with windows system, it was designed by Microsoft. WAV: To open files with these formats you need ATRAC3 drivers. RA: This format is “Real Audio format” and is used to stream audio over the internet. RAM: This is used to store a link to the internet address where actual audio file is stored. DSS: Digital Speech Standard files. MSV: – Memory Stick compressed voice files. DVF: This file is commonly used by Sony dictation recorders. MP4: Apple uses this format for downloading music from their iTune store with digital right management. iKlax – Multi-track digital audio format, allows mixing and volumes arrangements. GSM: This file format was designed for telephone use. DCT: This audio format is used for dictation, it’s header part can be encrypted. VOX: This audio format uses the “Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation”. AAC: This audio format is based on MPEG2 and MPEG4 standards.
 

An 11 Session Step-by-Step Audio/Video E-Course Teaching How To Speak And Present With Confidence. Includes Workbook And Bonus Camtasia Videos.

Step Up And Speak – Presentation Secrets.

Proven Formula To Making, Compiling, And Marketing EBooks, Audios, Or Video InfoProducts – On A Budget! 5% Conversions. 30% Upsell!

Quick & Simple Infoproduct Creation Guide.

Stephen King, one of the most recognized authors on this planet, has written more than seventy works of written terror, suspense, and a bit of humor just for excellent measure. His works encompass not only novels, but novellas, epic novels, and screenplays. But of all the traditional printed material, none of them come close to the sheer enjoyment of listening to his tales being shared by professional narrators! Stephen King audio books can take you to an entirely different dimension, where your imagination is helped along by a professional tale teller. What’s The Huge Deal Behind Audio Books? Simply place: TIME. It’s something that seems to grow shorter as each year passes. Each spare minute is filled with jobs, chores, and responsibilities that rarely allow us any time to simply sit back and delight in ourselves anymore. The unfortunate casualty of our day and age is traditional reading. Honestly, question yourself this: when was the last time you sat down with a excellent book (maybe by that cozy fireplace, with a cup o’ joe) and just read? Has it been a while? For me, it’s some distant dream. Everything is about multi-tasking these days, and so why shouldn’t we upgrade reading to the next best thing? Enter audio books. Audio books (in this case of this article, Stephen King audio books) allows us to do two things, to kill two birds with one stone. Do you have to walk your dog? Maybe start your exercise routine? Do you have to commute two hours to work everyday? And finally, have you tried reading an actual book while doing these things? Of course not (or at least you shouldn’t!). But audio books give you the freedom to delight in the reading that you’ve missed, by providing a way to include the leisure activity in your multi-tasked, rat-raced world. In other words: walk your dog, listen to Stephen King audio books. Driving to work? Throw in the Dark Tower series on your way to work – and not only delight in it, but make travel time go by quicker!Who Narrates Stephen King Audio Books and Are They Any Excellent? I will say one thing, and anyone who has ever listened to audio books can attest to this: the narrator can make or break a tale hands down. Just imagine Ben Stein’s deadpan voice reading Stephen King audio books. Sounds dull doesn’t it? That’s where talents like Frank Muller, George Guidall, and even Stephen King himself come to the rescue. If you’re really lucky, you’ll not only get one narrator, but a fully dramatized cast for your audio book (even better). Stephen King confessed that when he writes, he sometimes hears a voice. Not that of his own, but of Frank Muller. Frank Muller’s career spanned some 25 years, with many of his works devoted to Stephen King audio books. He was also my personal favorite, especially when listening to the Dark Tower series (the first few installments), before he passed away. Stephen King has spoken of his loss in a deeply impacted way – for they were excellent friends. But still, George Guidall was chosen to take over the series, and although his style took some getting used to, his introduction to Stephen King audio books worked out well in the end. So, simply place, Stephen King audio books are taken to an entirely different level when they are read aloud by gifted narrators like the ones mentioned above. Otherwise, there is no purpose, and you might as well try to let your own “imaginative voice” read to you. Get Stephen King Audio Books While They’re Hot! Downloading and listening to Stephen King audio books is simpler than you might reckon. In fact, it’s far simpler to simply hop online these days, browse the Stephen King audio books that you want, download it to your iPod (for instance), and be on your way. In my case, I can usually download a Stephen King audio book to my iPod within 10 to 15 minutes before heading out the door! For those of you who haven’t yet had the opportunity to delight in Stephen King audio books, then you might be missing out on one of the century’s most prolific authors. Do you like long, epic tales? Do you want to get lost into an entirely different (yet somehow eerily similar) world? Then of the Stephen King audio books available, the Dark Tower series should be first on your list! The Dark Tower series encompasses seven separate novels that span thousands of pages, and was written over the course of nearly three-and-a-half decades (yes, DECADES). It is Stephen King’s magnum opus – THE ultimate epic tale woven from past, present, and future, with our hero Roland of Gilead – the last right Gunslinger, and his intrepid entourage. The Dark Tower audio books last over 130 hours. Grasp that for a bit and reckon about how lost in a world you can get, with that kind of time. Of the selection of Stephen King audio books available, this one will take you for a ride that you won’t forget. I myself will never do such a thing, as I’ve already listened to the series three times now – with each time getting better, and better – catching things that I somehow missed through the first pass. Stephen King is Certainly One of a Kind Stephen King audio books may not necessarily be literary classics, and some even argue that he simply hacks his way to huge bucks, but regardless, he is still a huge part of our culture. Many people who happen across their first Stephen King novel become keen fans, and nervously await new installments or novels to come out. Now, instead of the classic paperback culture, he is fascinating an entirely new tech-savvy generation with downloadable Stephen King audio books. Those people who might never have picked up a book are entering his world with the magic of Stephen King audio books, which can be downloaded and listened to on MP3 players such as the infamous iPod, or other personal listening devices. If you haven’t had the opportunity to experience the magic that Stephen King audio books can cast, then now is the time to make sure you do so. If anything, it is now just about the simplest, and most convenient way to delight in a tale, rather than running to the bookstore to buy one of the “ancient fashioned” paperbacks. And if you’ve fallen out of touch with the magic of tales, believe me when I say you’ll once again learn to like them, especially if they are Stephen King audio books!

2-3% Conversion! + 75% Comm. + 1039$ Value Product = Sick Cash In Your Pocket. Has Went Up 4 Pages In 2 Days. Test It And See For Yourself! Over $1039 Ebooks, Audios And Videos On Weight Loss & Fitness For Under $5 Trail. Its Designed To Convert.

($35/ Sale) Ultimate Fitness Pack – ($35/ Sale) Groundbreaking New ***

For centuries, people have considered books to be dear friends and fascinating companions that are capable of opening up doors of knowledge and expanding their understanding of the world on many levels. For a number of years, audio book versions have been a well loved alternative for people who can’t always find the time to read everything they wanted to read and so audio books online are the ultimate in convenience for audio book lovers.
One of the best things about audio books in general is that they give people the chance to avail themselves of the knowledge that is contained within the covers of a treasured tome without having to crack open the cover. In today’s quick-paced world, people often don’t have the luxury of being able to carve out enough time to read a lengthy novel, no matter how fantastic a masterpiece it might be. But the same busy person can download audio books, load them onto their audio book player, such as an iPod, and listen to the MP3 audio book while they are engaged in other activities.
There are many activities that people can engage in that lend themselves very nicely to being able to take advantage of the audio books online. One of the best ways that people make use of an MP3 audio book that they have downloaded is during the time when they are in their cars, either running errands, commuting, or when stuck in a grid lock of traffic.
Driving, commuting on a bus or train, or even commuting on foot or bike, gives people a block of time on a regular basis that is perfect for listening to audio book downloads. At the same time, these same activities do not lend themselves to reading because it is hard to hold a book and read. But, with audio books that are available on the internet, which are so plentiful and widely available, the commuter can download a new audio book as soon as they end one and have an unending supply of wonderful material to listen to and delight in.
There is a vast array of audio books these days and there seems to be more and more websites cropping up with each passing month, which continues to expand the selection that people have. No matter if you want to learn a new language, brush up on negation skills, learn history, or just want to be entertained by a best selling book that has been made available in audio format, the choice is wide open and you can find audio books on virtually any topic.
While many of the audio books online are available from audio book clubs, audio book rental services, or audio book retailers, there are also many free audio books that you can find on various websites. Public libraries and sites that have collected public domain titles have a huge number of audio book downloads that you can get without paying a penny.

International Bestseller ::: Pays 75%! ::: Proven Sales Copy ::: Terrific Upsell Stats ::: Personalized Solo Blasts Written By Top Copywriter For Affs! ::: Brandable/Reprintable Articles, Audios, Videos & E-books.

Maximize Your Metabolism.

It is quite clear that more than ever people are enjoying audio books on CD and MP3 audio book downloads. These “books on tape,” as they used to be called, are fantastic tools for helping people to make better use of their time. No matter what format they are looking for during their audio book shopping, some people might do a double take when they see two listing for the book they are interested in and learn they can choose from an abridged version or an unabridged audio book version.
There are many people who don’t realized that they might want to look for the unabridged audio book version when they were buying a new audio book, but had simply bought whatever was featured or listed as the most well loved for that particular title. In fact, a very excellent percentage of all audio books on the shelves of bookstores or available as audio book downloads are really the abridged version and many people buy them without even realizing that fact. Still, the question remains, what is the real difference between the two types of audio books on sale?
An unabridged audio book will contain a word for word recording of the whole book, as published by the author. Abridged audio book volumes, but, have been edited. Sometimes these edited, or abridged versions, are done by the author, or with their guidance, while in other instances the publisher who bought the rights to the work will edit it as they please.
What this means is that an abridged work, whether in the form of a printed book, an electronic ebook, or an audio book on CD or MP3, does not contain the complete and original work of the author. An unabridged audio book, on the other hand, will be read by the author or by a voice-over artist and every single word in the volume will be recorded as the audio book. Therefore, the unabridged version will be as close to the original message and intent of the author as one can possibly get without inviting the author over for a personal reading.
This may bring up the question, why would anyone buy anything except an unabridged audio book? There are many reasons for this, but the primary reason is to make the recording shorter. This allows the listener to listen to the audio book in less time and when dealing with very long tomes, this can be a fantastic benefit if time is small and if the listener simply wants to be able to get the gist or the highlights of the book by listening to a shortened audio version.
One reason people seek out the shorter, abridged versions of audio books on CD is so that they can use them as a review of material that they have already read. This can be helpful to students preparing for exams, or to a business man preparing for a presentation based on a certain book, or even just to delight in a quick refresher of a favorite novel.
But, there are a lot of people who simply feel that they are going to miss an element of the original that is vital to understanding the full tale, if they get the abridged recording. In that case, the unabridged audio book will be the better choice and will help the listener to relax and simply soak in the recording with the assurance that they are not missing a thing.

All those people who listen to the MP3 audio books have an edge over others. Though the audio books have come into the picture just recently, many people (in millions) are already regular in listening to audio books. What’s more, some of the new books are simultaneously being released in the paperback and the audio edition. The main reason behind the success of audio books is that it saves people the time which is required for reading the book. While people can’t find time to read books due to their busy schedule, they certainly can listen to audio books while doing their everyday work like working, driving, cleaning, jogging, etc. It wouldn’t be incorrect to state that audio books are the future of books.   Before commenting on the price of audio books, and stating whether they are cheap or expensive, we need to look into some other aspects. The first question is which audio books are being considered? The downloaded ones, the ones on a CD, on a tape, or any other form? If we call it cheap or expensive, with whom are we making the comparison? First, let us consider the prices of audio books, and then discuss various determinants of those prices. After that, we shall comment on the cheap, discount audio books.   Audio books can come for free, or they may be charged for about $100. Generally, whenever we make a comparison of audio book titles, we conclude that books on CD’s or cassettes are more expensive as compared to the MP3 audio books, which are available at a very cheap price.   Now let’s discuss about the determinants of prices of the books. There are basically three factors which determine the audio book prices, which are:  1. Production costs: The producers will obviously cover the material, labor and overhead expenses incurred for production of the audio book. The labor here includes payment to the reader who reads the book in a manner which would arrest the attention off the listener. The materials required include the cassette or CD cover, printing, and other such things. The overhead comprise of selling and distribution expenses and other such related items. It is found that materials are not required for production of MP3 books!  2. Publishing costs: The publishing costs for audio books on cassettes and CD’s are nearly of the same type. Space is always required for the storage of the ancient-fashioned books. Again, it must be said that in case of an MP3 audio book, no such storage space is required at all!  3. Copyrights: The author always gets a part of the revenue earned by the sale of the book as commission. This holds for audio books as well.   From the above points, it is very much clear that for discount audio books, MP3 audio books are available at a very cheap price and can be considered. Also, if you already possess an MP3 player, and want to take advantage of discount audio books, then the MP3 versions are always beneficial. In fact, free audio books are available for download in many cases.

Product creation takes a lot of time. Most people find that time spent making a product is simply not time that’s well spent. Instead, most people would rather be spending their time marketing their website and really making money. One fantastic way to bypass the product creation phase is to use Public Mark Rights audios. Read on to learn more about how you can make money using PLR audios. What Are PLR Audios? PLR audios are audio files whose rights you can buy. Someone else makes the audio, but for a small fee you can buy the rights to republish the audios as your own. For example, someone might publish an audio on weight lifting. You can pay a small fee to buy the PLR rights and then claim the product as your own and market it as such. You save a lot of time and can make a lot of money doing this. Combining PLR Audios into a Product Often times PLR audios will be small. Instead of trying to find a full length PLR audio book, you can find a bunch of shorter PLR audios and combine them into a PLR audio book. Building a PLR audio book this way is a fantastic way to make a full scale product with very small work. Every PLR audio you use can simply be one chapter in the PLR audio book. Leverage Audio’s High Perceived Value Audios have a very high perceived value, especially online. An eBook or even a physical book has very small perceived value. Few people will pay over $97 for an eBook. After all, it’s “just an eBook. “ On the other hand, a step by step audio book has much more value. You can hear the other person’s voice, the other people seems like much more of an expert, etc. You can even take it one step further. If you take your PLR audio book and burn them onto CDs, your perceived value will skyrocket. Instead of just selling an eBook for $20 or audio downloads for $40, you can now sell a completely CD Set for $197. That’s nearly ten times the perceived value of an eBook and the content could be exactly the same! An Simple to Use Technique One fantastic thing about using PLR audios is how simple it is. There are many reasons to use PLR audio. Saving time is one very common reason. Saving money is another common reason. But, you can also buy expertise using this method. For example, you might know nothing about body building. But, if you have a profitable way to market a product, you might want to get in that market anyway. Rather than trying to make a product yourself with no knowledge of the market, you can just buy the rights from someone who already knows what they’re doing. All you do then is repackage and market the product. You do what you do best; they do what they do best. Using PLR audios is a fantastic way to make money. It’s a fantastic way to save time and increase your credibility. Very few marketers are taking advantage of this incredible resource. Now that you know about using PLR audios, don’t let that knowledge go to waste! Get out there and make some money today.

If you are interested in shaping a successful career with the music industry, you might be overwhelmed with countless number of choices. With lots of career opportunities in music and audio production, many training schools have emerged lately. Like any other career training school, the audio production training also has regular classes and online training programs. There some audio production training schools that promise to make you learn the technologies of sound by relaxing in your home itself. With all these options, choosing the best audio production training school will be very much confusing. So if you have chose to get into a career in the music industry, sparing some time reading this article will be of much help to you to identify the best audio production training that is available today. Learn everything from the Basics to Sophisticated concepts
You can see that most of the audio production training schools available today offer some courses which will only help you to get into entry level careers in audio production. They just teach the basic principles of audio production and will convince you that the training provided by them is sufficient to get into higher level careers. You should always remember the fact that audio production is a highly competitive filed and that only the students who are trained the best will be able to survive in the industry. The audio production training school of your choice must teach you the basic principles of sound all the way up to the most sophisticated concepts of audio engineering. Getting as many certifications as possible
As already said, music/ audio production is a highly competitive field and getting into a career will be challenging unless you have enough certifications attached to your resume. Most of the employers looking for the audio production professionals will prefer the candidates who own the certifications related to the music/ audio production industry. Only a very few Audio Production Training schools in Arizona provide the opportunity to attend the special training sessions to obtain the extra certifications in audio production. The Equipment provided
The audio production training schools in Arizona provide some of the gear required for training while you enroll for the courses. There are some audio production training schools which provide the students with the best tools for audio production such as an Apple MacBook 13” laptop with all interfaces to the sophisticated audio production instruments. Signing up with such Audio Production Training will help you get hands on experience on operating the sophisticated audio production systems. Bottom Line
When it comes to selecting the best Audio Production Training, you should consider all the above mentioned factors. Choosing the best Audio Production Training school will help you to get into aspiring careers in music production instantly.
 

What is an Audio Book?
Educators are constantly innovating and modifying the way lessons are taught to children. The challenges of physical handicap like blindness is now overcome with the emergence of new education strategies.
An audio book is an alternative form of books. From the word ‘audio’, you could nearly instantly tell that audio books involve the task of listening. Indeed, it is right.
Audio books are really books that are read aloud and recorded. Through audio book, a person who is not literate can also delight in the content and the knowledge contained in a given book.
Authors and publishers now recognize the advantage of translating published books into audio books. Published works are intended to reach the audience and impart knowledge.
Audio books facilitate for the rolling out of such content and knowledge contained in a book to a wider scope of audience.
Unabridged and abridged
Audio books can be abridged or unabridged. In publishing, you know that unabridged books are published word for word, according to how the author exactly place words and sentences.
Same goes for unabridged audio books. Unabridged audio books are read word for word from a published book. No word or sentence has been omitted or altered.
Meanwhile, abridged audio books are the opposite. When an audio book does not contain the exact words used by the author in a book, or when some parts are omitted or revised, it is certainly an abridged audio book.
CDs, cassettes and downloadable audio books
Since audio books are recorded content, publishers and makers can make use of the compact discs, the cassette tapes, or the online portal for Web downloading.
Currently, CDs dominate the audio book format. It can be because CDs are now the ‘in thing’ when it comes to audio technology. Nearly all music listeners now listen to CDs played through CD players.
Audio in CD format also can be easily stored or carried along everywhere the owner goes. CDs also have greater capacity and can be recorded with significantly longer duration, meaning more content can be contained in a single CD.
The cassette tape format for audio books currently take about 40% of the audio books sold and bought through the market, according to estimates.
Some people still cannot let go of their ancient cassette tape players. For some people, cassette tapes are more convenient and are less stressful to play. That is because cassette tape players are far more simple in structure and function than CD players.
Cassette tapes are also more durable because they do not easily break even if dropped to the floor.
The fastest growing segment of format typse for audio books is the downloadable type. Downloadable audio books are the most convenient of them all, because the book is stored virtually or online. But, many people still find it hard to download contents from the Internet, because they are not familiar using the online media.
Downloadable audio books make up about 6% of the overall global audio market. But the popularity of the downloadable audio book is rapidly rising because people form around the world can easily download contents from a Web site. The modern age is also becoming more and more inclined to the use if computers.
Dramatization and know hows
Since audio books are heard, several producers have been employing voice talents to give life to the reading of book contents. Thus, a novel can now be listened to, and can somehow be a form of entertainment with the dramatic effect of the recording.
Sometimes, audio book producers also hire well-known celebrities to read out the contents of the audio book. This is based on thinking that several people would appreciate it more and would be more interested if an audio book features the voice of their favorite celebrity.
Audio books, aside from being academically useful, can also be used to teach people with the procedures and processes recommended for the execution of a task.
Thus, simple know hows are better taught to the target audience if the contents are read aloud than read.
Audio books are certainly useful because they make learning simpler and more fun. The eyes won’t be stressed and the listener can still perform other activities while learning and listening to the content of a book.

Yes, audio books demand is growing very rapidly and the industry has a hard time delivering what consumers demand. And the increased demand means for consumers that prices are coming down as quantities increase.
One has to distinguish between the physical product audio book, that is delivered on cassettes and CD’s and the digital audio book that can ‘only’ be downloaded from the Internet. But let’s first look why the demand has increased that much:
The hectic lifestyle most of us are forced to lead leaves small time to sit down and read a book. Commuting, heavy work schedules, the kids, different daily chores use up a lot of time. There is simply not enough time left to pick up a book and sit down to delight in it. . . .
On the other hand we all have time in the day when we are not really busy mentally, where the brain is in ‘idle’ or has at least a lot of spare capacity. Whilst you are occupied with work that demands that you use your eyes (and hands), the mind would be glad to get decent and stimulating input. Just reckon traffic jam, weeding or cutting the grass, or any other manual chore and housework that use up hours every day, or jogging, working out – any type of sport that mostly occupies the muscles.
An audio book, read by a professional narrator who is telling you the tale, is an ideal way to ‘read’ books that you wanted to read for a long time, but that lack of time did not permit. Tale telling has a very long tradition and with the new technology, it is gaining popularity again.
“For many people, listening to an audio book is an opportunity to hear an author firsthand,” says Mary Beth Roche, president of the Audio Publishers Association (APA) and president of Audio Renaissance, a New York-based audio book company. “It’s like having the very best lecture series, not just in your own town, but in your own car or home. ” – and at your command, they’ll read when YOU are ready to listen.
Audio books used to be thought of as limited special products for only the blind and sight impaired or for kids and bone idle people who either can not or do not want to read themselves. This has dramatically changed over the last few years. A survey of the Audio Publisher’s Association has found that the average listener to audio books is about 45 years of age and has an average yearly income of more than $50′000, at least a college education and often more advanced degrees. And these people are very Internet savvy.
In small: These affluent middle aged internauts are the ideal customers for on line audio book shops. Downloading an audio book is like picking up their email for these customers and they appreciate the ease of purchasing a new novel in form of a down loadable audio book, be it for their iPod, Zune or other MP3 player.
“Middle-class, well educated, and smart, that’s a fantastic demographic to have,” says Eileen Hutton, vice president of editorial for Brilliance Audio, one of the oldest publishers of audio books.
Roche says there is no data on sales for the industry as a whole. “We are just beginning to send out surveys to compile sales information, but individually, members of the Association boast of annual sales increases in the double digits,” Roche adds.
Audio book sales are increasing so quick that the audio book industry is not able to keep up with the demand. Making an audio version of a book is more costly and time intensive than printing. More often than not, an actor or a professional narrator has to be hired to narrate the book, and there’s the cost of the recording studio, a production crew, post production and packaging ( that applies to conventional audio books on CD – Down loadable audio books don’t have that cost attached. ). A large saving can be made by making the audio books available as down-loadable audio file. This is also reflected in the cheaper prices for audio books that are down loadable directly from an on-line audio book store.
The peak sales season for audio publishers are in the spring as Americans prepare for those long driving vacations or basking on the beach, and before the Christmas season, when people are shopping for holiday gifts. Sales start to be a lot more even though, as people routinely pick up audio books to feed their MP3 players.
Audio books are especially excellent for children who despise to read because of problems in school. That way they are familiarized with the adventure of using their own imagination to paint their mental pictures of what they hear, rather than just staring on the TV screen. Also, if they have the book and the audio, reading along can help to overcome reading problems:
“Librarians and teachers have been using audio books for years in the classroom, but parents aren’t making the logical connection at home,” says Amanda D’Acierno, director of audio publishing at Random House. “It’s been proven that listening and reading go hand and hand. If children can hear the spoken word and follow along with the book that helps them. Listening is much more in tune with the way humans learn than sitting down and reading a book. “
People who for some reason or other don’t have the reading skills they should have, but are intellectually fit can listen to audio books to continue their education and listen to self help audiobooks, language course audios etc.

howtoconvert. net( http://www. howtoconvert. net )Audio Editor enables you to make, edit, filter, apply effects, and convert audio files. You can combine, copy, mix, insert, and do audio operations easily. The Year 2006 Award of Audio Editors. 1. Cool Audio EditorA powerful audio editing software that enables you to make, edit, filter, apply effects, and convert audio files. You can combine, copy, mix, insert, and do audio operations easily. 2. ALO Audio EditorALO Audio Editor supports audio format of uncompressed WAV PCM,compressed WAV (ADPCM, GSM, DSP and others),MP2 (MPEG 1/2 Layer-2),MP3 (MPEG 1/2 Layer-3),VOX (Dialogic ADPCM),WMA (Windows Media Audio 9),RAW audio (PCM, A-LAW, U-LAW),MPC (MusicPack),AVI (audio track),Ogg Vorbis (Version 1. 0),G. 721, G. 723, G. 726,AIFF (Apple audio format) and AU (UNIX audio format). 3. Fx Audio EditorSupported file type include: WAV PCM, Compressed WAV (ADPCM, GSM, DSP, A-LAW, U-LAW, ALF2 and others), MP2, MP3 (MPEG Layer-3), VOX (Dialogic ADPCM), WMA Windows Media Audio), RAW (PCM, A-LAW, U-LAW), CDA (Audio CD Tracks), OGG (Ogg Vorbis), G. 721, G. 723, G. 726. 4. Okoker Audio Recorder&EditorIt is a powerful audio editor for home studio recording and for people who are just getting started with audio editing. You can open, make, save, play, and record from any available source. 5. MP3TagEditorMP3TagEditor is an intuitive audio utility that helps you to manage your mp3. By means of MP3TagEditor you can easily edit ID3 tags, make mp3 filenames and mp3 directories from ID3 tag, retrieve album information using FreeDB function. 6. Power ID3 EditorA full featured and ease-to-use tag editor for MP3, WMA and OGG files. Using Power ID3 Editor you can easily edit, add or delete ID3 TAGs data for your audio files. Single file and batch editing are both supported. 7. Mp3 Frame EditorEdit your mp3’s without having to decode them and then encode to mp3 again (loss of quality). Edit (copy, paste, delete, etc), volume/balance change, fade in/out, and insert silence functions. Tag and other info show. 8. FlexiMusic Wave EditorIt can read and write “Mp3″ files with the help of an external command line encoder. You can save part of the wave to a new file. FlexiMusic Wave Editor can open and save these audio formats, “wav”, “au”, “snd” and “raw”. 9. Audio Mp3 EditorIt provides an simple-to-use interface and is designed for the everyday user with incredible audio effects, audio filters and tools for converting audio files into different. . . 10. Simple Audio EditorA visual multifunctional audio files editor which allow you to perform various operations with audio file such as visual editing, making, recording, and playing audio files, applying various audio effects, filtering, format conversion, extracting. . . Source:http://www. howtoconvert. net/article/Best-Audio-Editor-Software-of-The-Year-2006. html

Introduction

It is sometimes time-consuming and/or exhausting to make second/foreign language materials (either newly constructed or adapted) suitable and acceptable to the learner because he/she may feel uninterested in and even disappointed with them as he/she finds them unfamiliar, hard, problematic, mechanical, unattractive and so forth. Besides, the teaching methods and techniques the teacher employs may not be in consonance with the learner’s needs, interests, level and aptitude. Hence, as opposed to the traditional approach to L2 teaching including the chalk and talk method, the communicative language teaching approach encourages the teacher to act as a facilitator by helping the learner become an interested, active and efficient participant in the whole learning process (Richards and Rodgers 2002). To carry out his/her job successfully and ensure the learner’s maximal benefit, the teacher has to use his/her teaching methods, techniques as well as materials in a manner that is consistent with the learner’s needs and interest. And the appropriate use of audio aids can be substantially helpful in this respect (Kamal and Afteb 1993) since such learning aids and teaching machines stimulate, motivate and arrest the learner’s attention during the instructional process.

Audio-aids can be defined as models and devices that can be heard and give an image of something, somebody and some situations. They include recorded materials, radios, cassette players, cassettes and the like which are relatively cheap and available and which the language teacher with a small training can use in the L2 class so as to make the teaching methods, techniques and materials considerably effective and fascinating, and to help the learner have maximum benefit (Akanbi 1988). Unlike most other types of aids and means used in the language class, on the one hand, this type of aid enables the teacher to modify the teaching method and technique, and change the classroom situation quickly and immediately as necessary; and on the other, it attracts the learner’s attention, stirs his/her imagination, reduces his/her exhaustion, motivates him/her to be engaged in the learning process, and thus helps him/her to buy expected proficiency in the language skills especially listening and speaking.

Different teaching aids devised and recommended by language experts are intended to make the learner interested and motivated. The native speaker’s voice and accent through the audio tape make the learner enthusiastic and excited. This greatly facilitates the learner’s understanding of the linguistic as well as the communicative aspects. Audio aids add a life-like effect to the text book and other printed materials used to teach the target language. For example, as soon as a cassette player is played and the material is presented, the learner is immediately drawn to it. He/she feels the presence of another teacher in the classroom. With the help of audio aids, the teacher can, moreover, successfully deal with the weak and indifferent learner. These aids are seen to reduce the teacher talk and the chalk method, and reversely increase the learner’s interaction and active participation. The teacher can also provide as much practice as is necessary by using audio tapes; but it is to be remembered that audio aids should be purpose oriented as well. Pike (1997) identifies some significant reasons for carefully designing and using audio aids: motivating the learner, attracting and maintaining the learner’s attention, reinforcing the main thoughts of the lesson, illustrating and supporting the spoken literature, minimizing misunderstanding of the learner, increasing retention, adding a touch of realism, saving both class time and expenses, helping the teacher to communicate more dearly and quickly so that the learner can know the content clearly and easily, and helping the teacher clarify the thinking and provide a logical path for communication.

Though audio aids are found to be greatly helpful in teaching an L2 and continually expanding their scope with the availability and development of technology, their use in the EFL class especially at the tertiary level in Bangladesh is still limited. Therefore, the present study was designed to address and explore the following questions:

a. Are audio aids used in the class?

b. If yes, how much are they useful?

c. If no, why are they not used?

d. What does the teacher reckon of using audio aids?

e. What does the student reckon of using audio aids?

Research design and methodology

Subjects

This study was conducted with 32 university teachers and 120 tertiary level students randomly selected from two public universities ?University of Dhaka and Jahangirnagar University, and eight private universities ? Daffodil International University, Stamford University, State University, Northern University, Darul Ihsan University, Northern University, Eastern University and University of Development Alternative (UODA) in Dhaka. The teachers being Bangla speaking had at least a postgraduate degree in English language and/or literature. And all the students possessed the same mother tongue Bangla, and were learning English as a foreign language.

Instruments

To address and explore the research questions, a quantitative method including two questionnaires, one for the teachers (see Appendix-I) and the other for the students (see Appendix-II), was exploited. The present researchers designed the questionnaires on the basis of their first-hand experience of using audio aids for teaching EFL especially EFL listening and speaking skills at the tertiary level in Bangladesh.

Each of the questionnaires consisted of eight items related to the research problems stated in the introduction. The first items in both the questionnaires were related to the question ‘Are audio aids used in the class?’. The second and the fourth items in both the questionnaires were concerned with ‘If yes, how much are they useful?’. The fifth and the eighth items in both the questionnaires were linked to ‘If no, why are they not used?’. The third, sixth and seventh items in Teacher Questionnaire had relations to the question ‘What does the teacher reckon of using audio aids?’. And, the third, sixth and seventh items in Student Questionnaire were connected to ‘What does the student reckon of using audio aids?’. It is worth mentioning that the questionnaires contained nearly identical items chosen with a view to comparing and contrasting the opinions of the two groups of respondents.

Data collection and analysis

The data for the study were collected from 32 English teachers as well as from 120 students learning English as a foreign language at the tertiary level. To tap the teachers’ responses to the use of audio aids in the EFL class, the second researcher personally contacted each of the teachers and requested them to respond to the items in the questionnaire. And to collect the students’ responses to the use of audio aids in their EFL class, the researchers received cooperation of the teachers who administered the questionnaire after an explanation of the purposes of the study and some preliminary instructions. The data collected from the teachers and the students were then scored by hand.

Presentation and interpretation of findings

Teacher questionnaire

The teacher questionnaire contained eight items which were concerned with the teachers’ opinions on the different aspects of the use of audio aids in their EFL classes. The responses of the 32 English teachers to the questionnaire are recorded and discussed itemwise as follows:

The first question to the teachers was posed as ‘Do you use audio aids in your English classes?’

Teacher Table: 1

Question Choices Scores Percentage

Do you use audio aids in your English classes? Yes 32 100%

No 0 00%

N=32

Teacher Table: 1 above indicates that all the teachers answered the question in the affirmative. That is, 100% of the subjects used audio aids in their EFL classes.

This finding indicates the acquaintance of the teachers at the tertiary level in Bangladesh with modern language teaching equipment and aids which make EFL teaching and learning relatively more scientific as well as more effective. It also shows that the teachers have expertise in using audio aids for teaching EFL, which the students find attractive and useful. Further, this phenomenon is consistent with the widely prevailing and well loved communicative language teaching approach (Richards and Rodgers 2002).

The second question to the teachers was place as ‘Do you reckon that audio aids are useful for teaching English?’

Teacher Table: 2

Question Choices Scores Percentage

Do you reckon that audio aids are useful for teaching English? Yes 28 87. 5%

No 4 12. 5%

N=32

As Teacher Table: 2 shows, 28 out of 32 teachers ticked ‘Yes’ while 4 teachers ticked ‘No’. In other words, 87. 5% teachers thought that audio aids were useful for teaching English as a foreign language; but only 12. 5% found that it was not useful to use audio aids in their English classes.

The result clearly uncovers that a fantastic majority of the teachers find it useful to use audio aids for teaching EFL at the tertiary level in Bangladesh as is seen in other settings, for example, Nigeria (Agun and Okunrotifa 1977).

The third question to the teachers was framed as ‘Are you satisfied with the use of audio aids in your English classes?

Teacher Table: 3

Question Choices Scores Percentage

Are you satisfied with the use of audio aids in your English classes?

Strongly satisfied 8 25%

Slightly satisfied 24 75%

Dissatisfied 0 00%

N=32

As showed in Teacher Table: 3, Out of 32 teachers, 8 teachers ticked ‘Strongly satisfied’, 24 ticked ‘Slightly satisfied’, and none marked ‘Dissatisfied’. That is, only 25% teachers were found that they were strongly satisfied with the use of audio aids in their English classes whereas 75% appeared to be slightly satisfactory in this respect.

The finding conspicuously reveals that all the EFL teachers at the tertiary level in Bangladesh are more or less satisfied with the use of audio aids for their teaching. Notwithstanding, a fantastic majority of the subjects (75%) have slight satisfaction which is indicative of the lack of teacher training, teacher motivation and administrative support.

The fourth question in the Teacher Questionnaire was ‘Which English classes are more effective and fascinating to the student?’

Teacher Table: 4

Question Choices Scores Percentage

Which English classes are more effective and fascinating to the student? Classes with audio aids 28 87. 5%

Classes without audio aids 4 12. 5%

N=32

Teacher Table: 4 demonstrates that 28 out of 32 teachers marked ‘Classes with audio aids’ and the remaining 4 teachers marked ‘Classes without audio aids”. That is, 87. 5% teachers supported that English classes with audio aids were more effective and fascinating to their students while only 12. 5% opined that English classes without audio aids were more effective and fascinating.

Lending support to Adeyanju (1988), this finding clearly discloses that language classes with audio aids are more effective and fascinating to the learner than those without audio aids.

The fifth question to the teacher was constructed as ‘Are you satisfied with the audio facilities provided by the institution?’

Teacher Table: 5

Question Choices Scores Percentage

Are you satisfied with the audio facilities provided by the institution? Strongly satisfied 0 00%

Slightly satisfied 32 100%

Dissatisfied 0 00%

N=32

As Teacher Table: 5 exhibits, all the teachers ticked ‘Slightly satisfied’, and none marked ‘Strongly satisfied’ or ‘Dissatisfied’. That is to say, 100% teachers were slightly satisfied with the audio facilities provided by their institutions.

This result of the study unfolds that all the teachers have a small satisfaction with the audio facilities provided by their respective institutions as the facilities are not sufficient.

The sixth question in the Teacher Questionnaire was ‘How is the performance of the students in the classes without audio aids?’

Teacher Table: 6

Question Choices Scores Percentage

How is the performance of the students in the classes without audio aids? Strongly satisfied 0 00%

Slightly satisfied 20 62. 5%

Dissatisfied 12 37. 5%

N=32

According to the statistics in Teacher Table: 6, 20 out of 32 teachers marked ‘Slightly satisfied’, 12 teachers marked ‘Dissatisfied’, and none marked ‘Strongly satisfied’. That is, 62. 5% teachers were slightly satisfied with the performance of their students in the classes without audio aids while 37. 5% were dissatisfied with the performance of their students in the class with same condition.

This finding can be attributed to the fact that the performance of the students fails to reach the teachers’ expectation and the programme target because of the lack of audio facilities.

The seventh question to the teachers was designed as ‘How is the performance of the students in the classes with audio aids?’

Teacher Table: 7

Question Choices Scores Percentage

How is the performance of the students in the classes with audio aids?

Strongly satisfied 12 37. 5%

Slightly satisfied 16 50%

Dissatisfied 4 12. 5%

N=32

Teacher Table: 7 exhibits that out of 32 teachers 12 ticked ‘Strongly satisfied’, 16 ticked ‘Slightly satisfied’, and 4 ticked ‘Dissatisfied’. In other words, 37. 5% teachers were strongly satisfied with the performance of their students in the classes with audio aids, and 50% teachers were slightly satisfied with their students’ performance in the same condition; but 12. 5% teachers were dissatisfied with the performance of their students in the classes with audio aids.

This finding obviously reveals that the performance of the students reaches the teachers’ expectation and the programme target because of the use of audio aids for teaching EFL.

The eighth question in the Teacher Questionnaire was ‘What limitations do you face in using audio aids in your English classes?’

Teacher Table: 8

Question Choices Scores Percentage

What limitations do you face in using audio aids in your English classes?

Lack of audio aids 16 50%

Lack of teacher training 12 37. 5%

Lack of administrative support 4 12. 5%

N=32

As per the results in Teacher Table: 8, 16 teachers ticked ‘Lack of audio aids’, 12 teachers ticked ‘Lack of teacher training’, and 4 teachers ticked ‘Lack of administrative support’. That is, 50% teachers thought that the lack of audio aids was their main limitation; 37. 5% thought that the lack of teacher training was their main limitation; and 12. 5% considered the lack of administrative support as their main limitation on the use of audio aids in their English classes.

The finding discloses that the lack of audio aids and teacher training tremendously hampers the audio facilities in the EFL class at the tertiary level in Bangladesh. Besides, the lack of administrative support is to some extent responsible for the insufficient use of audio aids in the class.

Student questionnaire

The student questionnaire consisted of eight items that were related to the students’ views on the varied aspects of the use of audio aids in their English classes. The responses of the 120 students to the questionnaire are place forward item wise as follows:

The first question to the students was formulated as ‘Does your English teacher use audio aids in your classes?’

Student Table: 1

Question Options Scores Percentage

Does your English teacher use audio aids in your classes? Yes 81 67. 5%

No 39 32. 5%

N=120

As showed in Student Table: 1, 81 out of 120 students answered the question in the affirmative while the remaining 39 students did in the negative. That is to say, 67. 5% respondents found their English teacher using audio aids in their classes; but 32. 5% did not find their teacher using audio aids.

Though majority students admit that their teachers use audio aids in their EFL classes, it is in contradiction with the teachers’ views since one hundred percent teachers claim to use audio aids in their classes. But, it is here clear that audio aids are used in most of the EFL classes at the tertiary level in Bangladesh, which is in harmony with the communicative language teaching approach (Richards and Rodgers 2002).

The next question in the student questionnaire was framed as ‘Do you reckon that audio aids are useful for learning English?’

Student Table: 2

Question Options Scores Percentage

Do you reckon that audio aids are useful for learning English? Yes 117 97. 5%

No 03 2. 5%

N=120

Student Table: 2 shows that 117 out of 120 students responded to the question positively whereas the rest did negatively. That is, 97. 5% students thought that audio aids were useful for learning English; but only 2. 5% students did not consider audio aids to be useful.

The finding is in a very close correlation with that which is related to the teachers since a fantastic majority of the students (97. 5%) and the teachers (87. 5%) feel that audio aids are useful for teaching and learning EFL.

The third question to the students was posed as ‘Are you satisfied with the use of audio aids in the English classes?’

Student Table: 3

Question Options Scores Percentage

Are you satisfied with the use of audio aids in the English classes? Strongly satisfied 06 5%

Slightly satisfied 63 52. 5%

Dissatisfied 51 42. 5%

N=120

According to the statistics in Student Table: 3, out of 120 students, only 6 students ticked ‘Strongly satisfied’, and 63 ticked ‘Slightly satisfied’; but 51 students ticked ‘Dissatisfied’. In other words, only 5% were strongly satisfied and 52. 5% slightly satisfied with the use of audio aids in their English classes whereas 42. 5% students were found to be dissatisfied.

As this finding discloses, unlike all the teachers being satisfied, a excellent number of students (42. 5%) are dissatisfied with the use of audio aids although majority students are more or less satisfied with the use of audio aids in their English classes. The finding can be attributed to the lack of teacher training, inadequacy of audio facilities and limitation of administrative support.

The fourth question to the students was place as ‘Which English classes are more effective and fascinating to you?’

Student Table: 4

Question Options Scores Percentage

Which English classes are more effective and fascinating to you? Classes with audio aids 105 87. 5%

Classes without audio aids 15 12. 5%

N=120

Student Table: 4 demonstrates that 105 out of 120 students ticked ‘Classes with audio aids’ and the remaining 15 students ticked ‘Classes without audio aids”. That is, 87. 5% students supported that English classes with audio aids were more effective and fascinating to them while only 12. 5% opined that English classes without audio aids were more effective and fascinating.

This result lends complete support to the teachers’ views, and demands sufficient use if audio aids in the EFL class at the tertiary level in Bangladesh.

The fifth question in the student questionnaire was designed as ‘Are you satisfied with the audio facilities provided by the institution?’

Student Table: 5

Question Options Scores Percentage

Are you satisfied with the audio facilities provided by the institution? Strongly satisfied 06 5%

Slightly satisfied 48 40%

Dissatisfied 66 55%

N=120

As per the statistics in Student Table: 4, out of 120 students, only 6 students marked ‘Strongly satisfied’, and 48 students marked ‘Slightly satisfied’; but 66 ticked ‘Dissatisfied’. That is, only 5% were strongly satisfied and 40% slightly satisfied with the audio facilities provided by the institution whereas majority students (55%) were found to be dissatisfied.

Here, majority students (55%) are dissatisfied and a excellent number of them (40%) slightly satisfied with the audio facilities provided by the institution though all the teachers are slightly satisfied. But, it is clear that the present audio facilities are inadequate, most probably, due to the lack of teacher training and administrative support.

The sixth question in the student questionnaire was designed as ‘How is your performance in the English classes without audio aids?’

Student Table: 6

Question Options Scores Percentage

How is your performance in the English classes without audio aids? Strongly satisfied 24 20%

Slightly satisfied 42 35%

Dissatisfied 54 45%

N=120

As exhibited in Student Table: 6, 24 out of 120 students marked ‘Strongly satisfied’, 42 students marked ‘Slightly satisfied’, and 54 marked ‘Dissatisfied’. That is, 20% students were strongly satisfied and 35% were slightly satisfied with their performance in the classes without audio aids while 45% were dissatisfied with their performance in the class with same condition.

Though majority students (55%) are more or less satisfied with their performance in the English classes without audio aids, a considerable number of students (45%) being in a very close association with the teachers (37. 5%) are dissatisfied.

The seventh question in the student questionnaire was set as ‘How is your performance in the English classes with audio aids?’

Student Table: 7

Question Options Scores Percentage

How is your performance in the English classes with audio aids? Strongly satisfied 36 30%

Slightly satisfied 57 47. 5%

Dissatisfied 27 22. 5%

N=120

Student Table: 7 demonstrates that out of 120 students 36 ticked ‘Strongly satisfied’, 57 ticked ‘Slightly satisfied’, and 27 ticked ‘Dissatisfied’. That is to say, 30% students were strongly satisfied with their performance in the classes with audio aids, and 47. 5% students were slightly satisfied with their performance in the same condition; but 22. 5% students were dissatisfied with their performance in the classes with audio aids.

Like the teachers (87. 5%), a large number of students (77%) feel the need of audio facilities for improving their performance in the EFL class.

The eighth question to the students was posed as ‘What limitations do you find in the use of audio aids in your English classes?’

Student Table: 8

Question Options Scores Percentage

What limitations do you find in the use of audio aids in your English classes?

Lack of audio aids 75 62. 5%

Lack of teacher training 12 10%

Lack of administrative support 33 27. 5%

N=120

According to the statistics in Student Table: 8, 75 students ticked ‘Lack of audio aids’, 12 students ticked ‘Lack of teacher training’, and 33 students ticked ‘Lack of administrative support’. In other words, 62. 5% students thought that the lack of audio aids was their main limitation; 10% thought that the lack of teacher training was their main limitation; and 27. 5% considered the lack of administrative support as their main limitation on the use of audio aids.

Resembling the finding concerned with the teachers, this finding discovers that the lack of audio aids, teacher training and administrative support all reduces the audio facilities in the EFL class at the tertiary level in Bangladesh.

Inferences

The presentation and interpretation of the findings of the study above lead to the following inferences:

As to the first research question ‘Are audio aids used in the class?’, it could be concluded that audio aids are more or less used in most of the EFL classes at the tertiary level in Bangladesh, which is in consonance with the contemporary communicative language teaching mode (Richards and Rodgers 2002).

Regarding the second research problem ‘If yes, how much are they useful?’, it could be considered that audio aids in the EFL class at the tertiary level in Bangladesh are substantially useful since the use of such aids makes teaching attractive and effective, and reinforces learning by stimulating and motivating the learner and arresting his/her attention during the instructional process.

To answer the third question ‘If no, why are they not used?’, it might be thought that the lack of teacher training, audio aids and administrative support is responsible for the insufficient use of audio aids though the use of audio aids considerably adds to EFL learning at the tertiary level in Bangladesh.

To respond to the fourth question ‘What does the teacher reckon of using audio aids?’, it is evident that the teachers do not have sufficient training and motivation as well as adequate audio equipment and administrative support required for using audio aids in the EFL class.

And, to address the fifth question ‘What does the student reckon of using audio aids?’, it is noticeable that the students find audio aids much useful for leaning EFL but suffer from the lack of trained teachers, insufficient audio facilities and limited administrative support as well.

Hence, it could briefly be concluded that the use of audio aids in the EFL class at the tertiary level in Bangladesh is a plus, not a minus, but it is seriously hampered due to the lack of teacher training, the insufficiency of audio equipment and material, and the indifference of the administration.

Suggestions

Based on the aforementioned findings and inferences, a number of suggestions can be place forward.

Firstly, it is already found that audio aids are used in the EFL class at the tertiary level in Bangladesh to some extent. But, it should be ensured that every teacher would maximally use audio aids including audio equipment and material in each and every class to develop the learner’s oral communication skills encompassing speaking and listening. In this connection, King and Womack (1983) maintain that listening provides the aural input that serves as the basis for language acquisition and enables the learner to interact in spoken communication; and audio aids could be the most useful and exciting means of teaching the learner this communicative English.

Secondly, though the use of audio aids proves to be substantially useful for both teaching and learning EFL, the limitations of this means, such as the lack of teacher training, the inadequacy of audio aids and the indifference of the administration should be reduced considerably. That is, the arrangement of adequate and proper teacher training, availability of appropriate audio equipment and material, and necessary administrative support and monitoring can ensure the optimal use of audio aids in the EFL class, and thus guarantee the learner’s maximum benefit.

Thirdly, the teacher should have expertise as well as interest to use audio aids in his/her EFL class so as to make his/her teaching effective and facilitate learning to a considerable extent.

Las but not least, there should a well equipped language lab having sufficient and suitable audio facilities which the learner can use any time to practise EFL skills and improve his/her linguistic as well as communicative ability.

References

Adeyanju, J. L. (1988). The application of educational technology in pre-primary education. Journal of Educational Media and Technology (JEMT), 2(1), 73-79.

Agun, I. and Okunrotifa, P. O. A. (1977). Educational technology in Nigeria teacher education. Education for Development: International Perspective on Expanding Role of Teachers’ Education (ICET), 75.

Akanbi, K. (1988). Selection, utilization and evaluation of instruction. In I. Agun & I. Imogie (eds. ), Fundamental of Educational Technology. Ibadan: Y-Books, 91-92.

Kamal, K. and Afteb, M. (1993). English Teaching. Secondary Education Development Project, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, Dhaka.

King, D. R. and Womack, S. T. (1983). Strategies for teaching listening skills. Clearing House, 56(7), 310-311.

Pike, Bob (1997). Creative Training Techniques. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Richards, Jack C. and Rodgers, T. S. (2002). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching: a Description and analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Appendix-I

[Teacher Questionnaire on the Use of Audio Aids in the EFL Class]

The questionnaire is designed to find out your opinions on the use of audio aids in your English classes. Your responses will be used for research purposes only. Thank you for your cooperation!

1. Do you use audio aids in your English classes?

Yes No

2. Do you reckon that audio aids are useful for teaching English?

Yes No

3. Are you satisfied with the use of audio aids in your English classes?

Strongly satisfied Slightly satisfied Dissatisfied

4. Which English classes are more effective and fascinating to the student?

Classes with audio aids Classes without audio aids

5. Are you satisfied with the audio facilities provided by the institution?

Strongly satisfied Slightly satisfied Dissatisfied

6. How is the performance of the students in the classes without audio aids?

Strongly satisfied Slightly satisfied Dissatisfied

7. How is the performance of the students in the classes with audio aids?

Strongly satisfied Slightly satisfied Dissatisfied

8. What limitations do you face in using audio aids in your English classes?

Lack of audio aids Lack of teacher training Lack of administrative support

Appendix-II

[Student Questionnaire on the Use of Audio Aids in the EFL Class]

The questionnaire is designed to find out your reaction to the use of audio aids in your English classes. Your responses will be used for research purposes only. Thank you for your nice cooperation!

1. Does your English teacher use audio aids in your classes?

Yes No

2. Do you reckon that audio aids are useful for learning English?

Yes No

3. Are you satisfied with the use of audio aids in the English classes?

Strongly satisfied Slightly satisfied Dissatisfied

4. Which English classes are more effective and fascinating to you?

Classes with audio aids Classes without audio aids

5. Are you satisfied with the audio facilities provided by the institution?

Strongly satisfied Slightly satisfied Dissatisfied

6. How is your performance in the English classes without audio aids?

Strongly satisfied Slightly satisfied Dissatisfied

7. How is your performance in the English classes with audio aids?

Strongly satisfied Slightly satisfied Dissatisfied

8. What limitations do you find in the use of audio aids in your English classes?

Lack of audio aids Lack of teacher training Lack of administrative support