Here at W.F. Howes we have been searching, for some considerable length of time, for a series of books that we could record unabridged audio editions of and release in the UK as an adult literacy aid. The reasons behind this search have been twofold: firstly feedback from our major customers, the UK libraries, tells us there is a dearth of material available for emergent adult readers, particularly spoken word or audio books; secondly, a recently published survey by our sister company (Recorded Books) has shown the benefits for adult literacy learners of using a combination of an original printed book alongside an unabridged audio recording.

The Recorded Books survey was carried out in summer 2003 in an attempt to establish the impact of audiobook support on the reading performance of struggling readers. Existing research told us that effective fluency instruction begins with modelled reading. While having a tutor read texts aloud to students provides limited experience of the characteristics of fluent reading, tape-assisted readings can provide unlimited practice for students. This fact has led researchers to speculate that the instructional use of recordings of fluent readings is, in fact, the most efficient way to meet this first requirement of effective fluency instruction.

To establish the validity of the previous research, a group of 80 students were chosen and randomly assigned to one of two groups; one group read independently from a print text with simultaneous audiobook support, while the other group read from print text alone. During a six-week programme, members of each group read independently for 45 minutes, on a daily basis. Improvements in each participant's reading fluency were measured using pre and post-intervention tests.

By the end of the six-week period, the students using the simultaneous model (audiobook alongside the print book) had increased their fluency by 32.67 CWPM (Correct Words Per Minute), compared with a 20.35 CWPM gain for the control group reading print texts alone. In summary, the use of this combined teaching method made the student, 1) grow more confident in their readings of a text, 2) increase their reading rates, 3) make more successful attempts to identify new words, 4) improve their listening skills, and 5) take more pleasure in their reading.

Armed with this evidence we decided that it was time to make a true "adult literacy aid" featuring an unabridged recording. After a considerable length of time deciding on which series of books would best suit the format, an approach was made to Edwin Higel of New Island Publishing regarding their "Open Door" series.

The "Open Door" series appealed to us for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the series was already recognised by libraries and, with the imminent release of series four, we had a collection of 24 titles ready to record. In addition, titles in the series are written by some of Ireland's best selling authors (including Patricia Scanlan, Marian Keyes and Roddy Doyle) and it was important to us that any series we were to release should not immediately look like a teaching aid.

While we were researching this product it became immediately apparent (particularly after meetings with the National Literacy Trust) that any new literacy aid would have to be widely accessible and not stigmatise the end user. It appears that one of the major reasons literacy material does not get used is that the student feels the product actually draws attention to their lack of reading ability. For this reason, our "Clipper/Open Door" titles will be packaged in the same way our standard audiobooks; the cases and covers will contain no reference to adult literacy, dyslexia, or any other reading difficulty, and no indication of "course" or "level".

After negotiations with Open Door, W.F. Howes secured the rights to all of the books in the series, allowing planning of the recording schedule and release dates to begin in earnest. As with all of our audio recordings, the narration of the product is a key factor. The first task was to match the appropriate voice with each title. We also had to ensure that the producer for each of the titles was aware of the intended market for this product, and that the books were to be read at a slower pace than we would normally use for an audio recording. It is intended that each audio copy of the book will be accompanied with the printed version; this means that the narration has to be at a suitable pace for the listener to be able to read along from the printed book.

Recording is now well underway and the launch of all six titles in series four is planned for 1 October 2004. These will be followed by the other three series (a further 18 titles) at quarterly intervals. At W.F. Howes we firmly believe that the "Open Door" series, with the accompanying audio format, will give real choice to people wanting to improve their literacy skills.

Full details and prices for the series will be available once the first series of six titles is available. Visit www.wfhowes.co.uk

A full copy of the research described is available from info@wfhowes.co.uk.