Hellobee Boards

i've had this debate with my friend before because we both have always loved to read. But I got into listening to audiobooks during the one year i had long distance with DH years ago. I was doing a lot of driving to visit him and discovered how much better the drive was while listening to a captivating book as opposed to music.

My friend says it's "cheating" to listen to the audiobook, and I think I would have agreed in the past, but now that I've done it, I realize it really is no different. You are getting the same language and content. If you think about the purpose of reading (IMO) that is to enrich your language and learning, an audiobook meets those purposes.

And if you think about special needs students (e.g., sight-impaired), who get special accommodations to listen to audiobooks, then is it fair that their reading doesn't "count" as reading?

I think it will depend on LOs age. When she's learning to read I wouldn't count audiobooks as reading. As she gets older, say in high school, I wouldn't mind her listening to audiobooks since it would be for comprehension.

I would agree it doesn't count for a child who is still mastering reading. I belong to a book club through the public library and they get a couple copies of the audiobook for every book in case someone would rather listen instead of read so I guess they don't consider it cheating!

I'm a second grade teacher and this has definitely come up. I think that listening to reading is an extremely valuable activity that should be done daily. It is enjoyable, fosters a love of reading, models fluent reading, and students still have the opportunity to comprehend/think about what they are reading. On the other hand, readers--especially elementary school readers-- need ample practice decoding words and practice fluent verbal and silent reading. There is a place for both; it's all about balance! Also agree with @Mrs Green Grass about following along in the text.

Our school library recently invested in a large number of books called "play aways" that are essentially digital audiobooks with the headphones attached (kind of like an ipod per book). The problem we ran into was that students were checking out books that were too hard or that they were not interested in just because having headphones was cool. Students were either not even listening to the books or were listening to books way too hard for them (1st grader listening to 6 grade) without any support. We've had a lot of issues with these! @Anagram Have you tried these out?

@mrs. 64: Yup! At my last school, we had probably over 100 Playaways. At my new school, no one had heard of them till I started this year, so I bought about 20 to get us started.

My general literacy philosophy is that, more than any other single "technique" to raise literacy rates, the best method for making a good reader (and a student who naturally tests high on standardized tests) is to create a child/student who reads for pleasure on a regular basis. Kids really don't need a lot of the other programs--the tests, the circling, the notes in the margins---IF they are reading, regularly, just for fun. The trick is getting kids to like reading...it isn't easy. Especially if the child is a struggling or reluctant reader already--they already associate reading with work, and therefore, as something negative. Teaching the kid to circle hard words, or to write notes in the margins is really just having them do more "work", and making reading less fun for them.

And this is where Playaways or audio books come in. I firmly believe that it just takes 1 amazing book to make a reader. If you get a kid to really connect to 1 book, they will want to read others. So getting kids who maybe don't love reading hooked on a book (especially a series) using an audiobook means they are more likely to read an actual book (and like it) later.

In grad school, I did a lot of research on stats that show audiobooks raise general literacy rates (and no, students don't need a paper book to "read along"--just listening works best. Just as you don't tell an adult that listens to audio books in the car that it doesn't count unless they are following along in a paper book, the same applies to kids).

There's a lot of research out there (if you have access to LISTA or other databases) that you can look at for more information.

Basically, I'm really into audio books.

And graphic novels, too! Nothing chaps my hide more than teachers who don't "let" students check out graphic novels because they aren't "real books". I'm like...are you TRYInG to kill this kid's love of reading??

Haha...I could write a 10 pager on this topic.

I love audiobooks, but I lean toward them not 'counting' for purposes of a 'books read this summer' list. They're great for comprehension, because children clearly understand books way above their reading level, and some of them are out-of-this-world amazing productions (the version of 'Winnie the Pooh' with Judi Dench comes to mind, and pretty much all of Jim Dale's readings), but they don't teach a child to read directly. You have to actually read to become a fluent reader. The good audiobooks are bit like going to a play: you get someone else's interpretation of the material, which is great (Judi Dench is welcome to come read to us anytime she likes!), but reading it yourself gives you carte blanche in the creativity department.

@Anagram: I truly did not know that it raises literacy rates just by listening. I guess it makes sense since talking to babies also raises literacy rates. Does it still allow then to read independently more easily?

It still engages my imagination so I think it's still considered reading and I do enjoy "listening to a book" every now and then.

I love listening to audio books. I get so bored listening to music on long drives. Audio books really make a drive feel shorter.

I feel like I am an anxious reader, so when a book is suspenseful I rush through the paragraphs. An audio books forces you to listen to every sentence. I really love when authors reads their own book because I feel like I get a deeper understanding of their intent.

I've also found that I learn new vocabulary better because I don't have to guess how an unfamiliar word is pronounced. When Harry Potter first came out, I pronounced Hermione
Her-me-o-nee in my head.

I've never thought of it in the context of children "reading". It is definitely food for thought!