Califone Variable Speed Playback helps not only Language Learners

Califone's Variable Speed Playback helps not only Language Learners.

The adage “the slower you do it, the faster you get it” is most readily understood when one looks into an ESL or ELD class. Language teachers and reading coaches have long known that students of all ages can more readily grasp the proper pronunciation, accent, and other basic concepts when recordings are played back more slowly.

Because of its ability to slow down (or speed up) the playback on CDs and cassettes, the Performer Plus™ has been a longstanding favorite of teaching professionals. The variable playback affords the ability to vary the speed in increments of 3% up to +/- 15% with CDs by pressing either the “SPEED-“ or “SPEED+” buttons, or by using the variable pitch control knob when using a cassette. “We use the Performer Plus multimedia player/recorder in our Kindergarten classes to help students with their phonics, reading and listening skills,” said Ann Taylor, of the Pirehill First School, in Staffordshire, England.

Left photo showing the tape pitch and speed+/- features

Uses of this technology are not limited however to the language arts. Dance & clogging instructors, band, orchestra, and choral directors also rely on this feature to develop their students’ skills. Carol Wegner, who is the Physical Education Coordinator for Willmar Public School Dist 347, in Willmar, MN shared, “I sought out the Performer Plus for its variable speed playback feature, which we use for dance classes. I also use it as a PA system because it has enough power to be clearly heard during gym classes. The external microphone jack is a good feature that you don’t find on many other boomboxes.”

Applications for this technology also thrive within PA products. The PowerPro PA919 also features the variable speed playback capability for its cassette mechanism, which cheer and song leaders rely on during practices to help them learn their intricate choreography.

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