Kinds of Media

Author: Leah Walter

One of the first questions translation teams ask when determining program strategy is: Are there people who are literate or semi-literate in the national language? If so, how can we get them reading in their own language?

In Columbia, where Spanish is spoken widely, very few Desano people had made the transition to reading in their own mother tongue. Leah Walter helped to develop a transition primer to be distributed along with the New Testament. The article includes a step-by-step description of how she and the team developed this primer to teach themselves how to read their mother tongue. It was suitable for both literates and semi-literates. Sample pages from the primers are included. They include lots of pictures, which aid the reader.  [more...]

Author: Viggo Søgaard
Published by: Lausanne World Pulse, September 2009

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...]

A guide for narrators and actors
Author: Mark Datson

"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...]

Preparing and presenting Bible stories for evangelism, discipleship, training and ministry
Author: J. O. Terry
Published by: Church Starting Network, 2008

Bible Storying is the intentional and uninterrupted sharing of God's Word primarily as stories. These stories are usually supplemented with culturally appropriate learning exercises that are listener sensitive. The stories may be told as part of a strategy of telling many stories leading to an invitation to believe, or may be only a few stories during an evangelistic encounter or a ministry opportunity.

This book is a manual for those wanting to get into Bible storying, including chapters on topics like: rationale for Bible storying, considering worldview, choosing Bible stories, crafting Bible stories for telling, pre-story dialog time, post-story dialog time.

The author describes the many options for presenting a Bible story and describes a model storying session.  [more...]

A training manual for planning, producing, and presenting radio programs
Author: Al Shannon
Published by: SPARK, www.vernacularmedia.org

The listener controls the radio. He can turn it on or off. That is why you not only need to acquire an audience, but also know how to maintain one. Radio is one-time communication. The message needs to be clear, simple and precise for a one-time hearing. Don’t be afraid to repeat the information in different ways.

There are increasing opportunities for Scripture to be broadcast on local radio stations. But how can we produce interesting programs that people will want to listen to and hence engage with God's Word?

This manual was developed to explain how to plan, present and produce radio programs.

The material presented here is basic and fundamental. It is designed to train indigenous speakers. It will teach them how to reach their people through the medium of radio. An experienced media trainer should present the material to them. Anything new can then be fully explained to the student.  [more...]