Dramatic Voices brings literature to life by creating audio extracts from set texts for use by learners and educators. The recordings can be downloaded and used free of charge. The voices are all professional South African performers.
The material is particularly aimed at those teaching and studying English literature whose first language is not English. It is also intended for learners who live far away from theatres and who therefore might not get to see a performance of the text they are studying.
To give learners extra insight, Dramatic Voices talks to writers and artists about their inspiration and their work.
How do I use this material?
The material is separated into four categories – Shakespeare, poetry, prose and interviews. You can access it from our Listening Room or from our Free Download Library.
You can play the recordings from your computer right now. Click on The Listening Room tab at the top of this page and follow the instructions. Make sure your speakers are connected and turned on.
We’ve included some notes on each extract to give it some context.
You can also download and save the recordings to your computer for later use or for transfer onto a CD or an MP3 player. This makes it easy to use the material with a study group or in a classroom. Visit the Free Download Library by clicking on the tab at the top of this page.
You can share your downloads with anyone else who would like to use them.
We are testing this material. We would love to hear any comments you might have. Did you find the extracts useful? What did you use them for? Were they easy to access? Tell us in the comments box at the bottom of the page.
Dramatic Voices is a collaboration between Podcart and Adam Neill Productions.
#1 by Jayne Morgan on October 23, 2009 - 1:41 pm
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We would particularly like to know if you found it easy to access the material, what response you got from learners and if there’s anything that you would like us to do differently. For instance, were these the most useful extracts, what would have been more useful, do you need more context?
Jayne
#2 by Damaria Senne on October 24, 2009 - 7:01 pm
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I wish we’d had something like this when I was in chool. Really good resource. Well done.
I’m also trying to figure out if there is synergy between Dramatic Voices and READ South Africa, a campaign by South African writers to encourage South Africans to read. Check out the Facebook group ( which has gathered over 220 writers across the country in a month).
#3 by Carol Treussard on October 30, 2009 - 12:04 pm
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As a teacher with many years experience teaching in Africa to disadvantaged pupils for whom English is a second language this is quite simply a brilliant idea. It brings the material to the student easily and efficiently and in a manner that is likely to appeal to a young generation. I am now living in the UK where this would also be an effective learning tool as people here are so time poor and this gives a resource which is right at one’s fingertips.
#4 by Sarah Healy on November 5, 2009 - 10:21 am
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Firstly the website looks really great and will more than likely become a wonderful teaching tool! It would be great to see excerpts from the Novels included, such as Gatsby and perhaps something with the Jazz age element embedded. To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies would be nice additions as the dialect is sometimes lost to the readers when trying to decipher it on the page.