Audio
The issue of non-readers is an issue for all countries, as we see reading declining even in countries with high literacy rates. It has been estimated that in some African countries printed scripture only reaches around ten percent of the population. The challenge is therefore to develop translations that are relevant to the media, productions that are appropriate, and distribution systems for scripture that reach the non-reading population.
Viggo Søgaard argues for the kinds of Bible translation needed for non-reading populations, conforming to "the rules and requirements of spoken rather than written language". He describes the differences between oral and written communication and highlights some of the areas translators need to pay attention to when producing translations for audio media (emphasis, direct speech, intonation, context information). [more...]
"Make a big effort to understand the full meaning of the text... Try to put yourself in the shoes of your character. Think of their character, their temperament, their behaviour. What do they like? What don’t they like?"
This is a list of advice for narrators and actors working on audio products for promoting Scripture Engagement. These could be dramatised Bible portions or Scripture relevance dramas.
The advice comes from a drama team with many years of experience in producing radio programmes in West Africa. [more...]
"Good News" is an evangelistic Bible teaching audio-visual. It presents a quick Bible overview from Creation to Christ's resurrection in 20 pictures, with a further 20 pictures of basic teaching on the Christian Life.
The "Look, Listen and Live" series of 8 audio-visuals gives studies of Old Testament characters, the life of Jesus, and the young Church. There are 24 pictures in each book.
"The Living Christ" series of Bible pictures illustrates the Life of Christ, from Creation to His second coming. [more...]
This video from Theovision, Ghana, tells of how they set up a Bible listening programme for school children and the effects they have seen coming from it.
The children are split into three age groups. After prayers, the youngest listen to Bible audio cassettes in Akan, the local language, while the older groups listen in English. This is then followed by a time when the pupils can ask questions about what they have heard. Finally, at the end of the hour, there is prayer focussing on what has been learned. [more...]
What excites us most is that people who have never before led a Bible study are now having regular studies in their homes.
This article relates how Bible study cassettes on Genesis 1-11 and James have had a big impact on the Central Bontoc people of the Philippines. It outlines the format of the Bible studies and the ways they have been used both within churches and in evangelism, and how they support the development of literacy. [more...]
The cassette dramas were very effective and listened to repeatedly.
The Ese Ejjas are a nomadic river people group of Bolivia. Joyce Prettol describes how no one was able to read Scripture with expression, as reading is a personal skill and not for entertaining others. So they decided to record dramatized Scripture. The cast spent time talking together about the story and then developed their dialogue. Prettol explains and gives examples of how they dramatized parables, miracles, and New Testament incidents. She also covers technical factors. [more...]
Faith Comes By Hearing is committed to reaching the nations with the Word of God in audio. Their strategy includes setting up listening groups which meet weekly to listen to the Scriptures in the local language. In 40 weeks such groups can hear the whole New Testament from start to finish. This is done with the help of the solar-powered Proclaimer audio player. [more...]
The Vision of GRN is that people might hear and understand God's word in their heart language - especially those who are oral communicators and those who do not have Scriptures in a form they can access. They do this by producing culturally appropriate audio and audio-visual materials.
They have recently launched the Saber audio player.
Recordings are now available in over 5,700 different languages.
 | The 80-minute video, God's Story: From Creation To Eternity, presents the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, this panorama of the Scriptures highlights God's plan to rescue fallen mankind. |
In seeking to free ourselves from the biases of a print-oriented culture, we need to consider, not only the kinds of media and discourse genre (e.g. narrative) that are most appropriate for oral cultures, but also the most effective ways to use those genres and media. What do non-readers like to see and hear? What do they enjoy listening to? Their choices will not necessarily be the same as those of print communicators. If the styles of presentation are ones which oral communicators prefer, then they will be more likely to listen, to understand, and to remember what they hear.
In this paper, Rick Brown argues that oral cultures have their own preferences for ways to communicate truth, and that these are often different from what print-oriented people prefer. In order to share the message most effectively, we need to find out what media and methods work best for them. In most cases this will include a multi-media approach with an emphasis on memorizing the Scriptures with the aid of high-quality recordings from skilled actors or voicers. [more...]
