Reading Versus Listening – Can Audiobooks Really Help to Build Readers?
Top 3 Takeaways on How Audiobooks Help to Build Readers
Audiobooks are a great way to engage the reluctant reader and help them to discover how fun and entertaining books can be.
Audiobooks can help struggling learners overcome the hurdle of decoding so that they can focus on comprehension and engage with the text in a meaningful way.
While audiobooks are a wonderful way to support struggling readers, they are not a replacement for physical books.
I love being able to hold a physical book in my hand and always encourage my kids to do the same, instead of reading from a Kindle or their iPad. There is something about holding a physical book that helps me to connect with the words and transports me to the world the author creates. This is why I had never considered audio books until I came across Booktuber Merphn Napier who opened me to the idea of this.
Hearing words spoken aloud can expose children to a range of new vocabulary and phrases that they may not have heard otherwise. - Merphn Napier
How can audiobooks help children become readers?
I turned to an expert, Natalia, who is a teacher with a master’s degree in education and more than 13 years of experience as a public school English and special education teacher. She is also a self-confessed book addict who reads 100 to 300 books each year. Her insights helped to provide the perspective (and confidence!) as an educator on the value of audiobooks
Everyone can agree that reading aloud to young learners is beneficial – it’s one of the best things parents can do for their children! Reading aloud every day is a way to model fluency as they can see how the parent pauses for punctuation marks or emphases italicized words and to normalize a love of books. Even strong readers can benefit from being read to!
One common question I hear a lot from parents is how to help a child with reading difficulties. While audiobooks are not a substitute for parent read alouds, they can serve a similar purpose. Audiobooks can help to take away some of the trepidation that children might feel when they approach more challenging books. It can remove the decoding barrier that struggling readers face if they come across passages with unfamiliar words or complex sentence structures.
Many struggling readers can spend much of their energy decoding unfamiliar words, that they are unable to focus on actually comprehending the text. Audio books remove that obstacle and allow the readers to focus on the narrative and character development. Children are able to better appreciate the author’s style as the reader’s voice can convey literary elements such as the author’s tone, characters’ voices, and humorous dialogue.
Audiobooks can also make books fun and accessible for learners and to engage reluctant readers. Many young readers will give up on books they believe are above their reading levels. They come across challenging words and decide that the book is not for them. Audiobooks help to provide an entry point for those readers. As they hear the book being read aloud, they are able to enjoy stories they might not have read on their own.
With the help of audiobooks, children are able to grow and challenge themselves as readers. In the process, they are picking up new vocabulary words, grappling with complex narrative structures, and analyzing texts they would not have been able to access on their own.
Tips for using audiobooks to enhance your child’s reading experience
1. Make sure the audiobook is paired with a printed book.
The purpose of using audiobooks is to help students become strong readers who love physical books. They are a tool to help children decode challenging texts. Children need to see the passage and actively read along in order to fully benefit from the use of audiobooks. If they are simply listening to the audiobook without seeing the text in print, they are basically participating in storytime. This can be entertaining but will not help them to grow as a reader.
2. Audio books are a great addition to parents' read-alouds, not a replacement.
While audiobooks can help to make books more accessible to children, there is no substitute for the time that parents spend reading aloud to their children. Read alouds help to create a bond between parents and their children. When parents read to their children they are creating positive memories that help their children to associate reading with joy and family.
Reading aloud to children helps to reinforce the idea that reading is fun and that literature is a gift that should be shared and discussed with others. Audiobooks have their place, but reading aloud to children is the best way to foster a lifelong love of books and learning.
3. Be selective with your audiobooks.
All audiobooks are not created equal. While many audiobooks have strong narrators who can bring the story to life and make reading fun for children, others have monotone narrators who seem bored with the text, ignore punctuation, and fail to convey the author’s intended tone. These audiobooks can actually do more harm than good. Instead of helping students to understand the story, they can make reading seem dull while promoting poor reading habits. Parents should always preview audiobooks to ensure they are high quality before giving them to their children.
While I still believe it is best to hold a physical book in my hands, I can see the benefits of audiobooks. If you have a reader who struggles with comprehension or who is reluctant to try more challenging books, consider pairing a physical book with an audiobook. This combination might be just what they need to grow as readers and discover a new love of literature.
Here are five free online resources to get you started!
1. Read-Along with PBS Kids
To encourage family engagement and a love of reading at home, PBS KIDS offers families a place to come together and read along with fan-favorites on YouTube. Along with story-time of a beloved book, each PBS KIDS Read-Along is designed to encourage engagement among families who tune in, with activity ideas and questions that spark conversation.
2. Spotify
Spotify has a whole Spoken Word section dedicated to audiobooks, poems, and other non-musical resources. Simply create a free Spotify account to access them. Here you can find free audiobooks including many beloved classics in the public domain:
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
3. HarperKids
HarperKids is a resource from HarperCollins Publishers to help parents, teachers, and librarians discover great books for kids, find age-specific & topical book lists, reading tips, and crafts & activities for young readers. They are home to the likes of Shel Silverstein, C. S. Lewis, Maurice Sendak, Pete the Cat, Neil Gaiman, Fancy Nancy, and many more. Subscribe to HarperKids for a glimpse inside pages of your child's next read by way of book trailers, author interviews, and original content.
4. Lit2Go
Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems available on iTunes U. Many also have a related reading strategy. Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along. Here you can find many classics such as:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
5. Kiddie Records Weekly
The YouTube channel for Kiddie Records Weekly are classic recordings from the 50s made by popular stars of the day. There are more than 98 free audiobooks for children available.
