Reading vs. Audio Books

[HollyVanH]

I love Audio books, but too often homeschooling parents use these in place of reading. I've written a blog post about this: http://www.knittedthoughts.com/2011/11/reading-versus-audio-books.html because as a writing teacher who regularly tutors and works with homeschoolers in Writing Enrichment classes, I see this as a trend that can have some unfortunate consequences (especially when it comes to grammar, mechanics and spelling). A good balance between eye-on-the-page reading and audio books is what works best!

[Mom-ninja.]

I honestly do not know of any homeschoolers who replace actual reading time with audio books. :001_huh:

[aggieamy]

I honestly do not know of any homeschoolers who replace actual reading time with audio books. :001_huh:

 

I agree. We love audiobooks here but we also still do a lot of reading aloud and quiet reading. If audiobooks have replaced anything it would be TV. Mostly we listen to audiobooks while in bed, at quiet time, or when Little is playing by herself.

[Night Elf]

I am under the impression that audio books are used when a book is generally too much for a child to read alone but the parents aren't reading it aloud. But I agree with PP, I don't think I've ever gotten the impression that the audio books are replacing regular reading. That would be sad.

 

Now, an exception would be for kids who have trouble reading. I would rather my child hear good books then be stuck reading only beginner books, kwim?

[HollyVanH]

That's the thing Amy -- I find we have very little time for tv -- we don't even have cable. Audio books are my substitute for TV most of the time. And I agree, my kids love to be hearing an audio book and playing quietly or somehow doing something busy with their hands.

[HollyVanH]

You'd be surprised Kleine Hexe -- I see it more than you'd think -- especially around ages 9-11.

[TravelingChris]

My daughter listens to some of her literature on tape. She reads plenty and has read plenty over the years. I could see a problem if someone used books on tape for all reading but never met anyone who did that. Previously we only used it occasionally. With this last daughter in high school, she will use it somewhat more but as she is in high school, she has plenty of other reading to do.

[DawnM]

For special needs kids who struggle with dyslexia and/or other reading issues, audio books are a God-send.

 

My 13 year old can't read books like Johnny Tremain on his own because he gets tripped up on the more difficult words and/or semantics. He will then not understand the meaning behind the writing.

 

However, if he can HEAR it, he not only gets it, but has excellent comprehension.

 

I was thrilled to hear Andrew Padua confirm this when talking about his son with dyslexia. He said his 14 year old has listened to books l like Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde and can discuss them with intelligence with his college sister. However, if he were to have had to read the actual book, he would not have gained the understanding because of his disability.

 

So, for many, audiobooks are valuable.

[Lady Florida.]

For special needs kids who struggle with dyslexia and/or other reading issues, audio books are a God-send.

 

 

We know a hs family in which everyone, including the parents, has some level of dyslexia. They are extremely thankful for audio-books. Audio-books opened a world which would normally be closed to them.

[TravelingChris]

Yes, my youngest has mild dyslexia which didn't make that big of a problem when she was younger, but as a high schooler, with more difficult works and difficult vocabulary, the tapes are really good. She does read her history but those are short segments and on a topic so she can more easily keep track.

[Mom-ninja.]

You'd be surprised Kleine Hexe -- I see it more than you'd think -- especially around ages 9-11.

 

I am surprised. How do you know that the parents are replacing actual reading time with audio books? Do they tell you that if you ask? Do you ask?

 

 

I agree with DawnM, and I know you are not down playing the value of audio books. You're just saying there should be a balance. :)

 

I thought I was cheating some how by allowing my ds to listen to audio books. When I had him tested and diagnosed with dyslexia, the evaluator assured me that audio books help him and not hurt him.

 

So I keep his actual reading focused on reading instruction. Everything else like increasing his vocabulary, exposure to how language flows, literary comprehension, and so forth is done with audio books.

[momto2Cs]

We try to keep a good balance. We listen to audio books in the car, almost everywhere we go - keeps the kids entertained, which means they are not arguing in the backseat! And dd8 has a couple of sets of audio books that she reads along with as practice reading, which is helping her reading skills.

 

The rest of the time, I read out loud, or the kids do. Ds10 also reads voraciously to himself.

[nono]

I love Audio books, but too often homeschooling parents use these in place of reading. <snip> because as a writing teacher who regularly tutors and works with homeschoolers in Writing Enrichment classes, I see this as a trend that can have some unfortunate consequences (especially when it comes to grammar, mechanics and spelling). A good balance between eye-on-the-page reading and audio books is what works best!

 

How do you know it isn't because a child hasn't been taught grammar, mechanics and spelling?

 

Or, perhaps the kids gravitate to the audiobooks because of undiagnosed issues and want access to the information. So, a child's writing would have been worse at the same point in time without audiobooks in the mix...

 

I don't think you're operating in a pure enough environment to control all the factors and therefore shouldn't attempt to draw definitive conclusions.

[mktkcb]

agree with this. my 15 yo ds read at age 3, but he has some visual processing issues that make comprehension difficult, not to mention that his silent reading is really slow. He is extremely auditory. Hearing it makes all the difference. I've not let him use audiobooks for the most part, up to this point, but having spent the last 2 or more years teasing out all his quirks, and knowing a lot more about his issues makes me plan on much more audio going forward. Interestingly, he has been an impeccable speller since birth, and does fine with grammar. Haven't had him officially evaluated, but am pretty sure he has some unique combo of giftedness, and mild adhd/aspergers. It's a deadly mix ;o), but it's hard when it can take 1-2 hrs to read through 1 chapter in Lord of the Rings. Oy.

Kayleen (waving to Holly, and Ben says Hi to C)

[Jenny in Florida]

I honestly do not know of any homeschoolers who replace actual reading time with audio books. :001_huh:

 

Ditto.

 

We listen to lots of audiobooks, usually when we're in the car on long trips. Both of my kids are big readers, but we enjoy the shared experience of listening together under those circumstances. We also read aloud together well into my kids' teen years.

 

The only homeschool family (or, in fact, any kind of family) I know who "replaced" books with audio was the one whose daughter had an undiagnosed reading challenge. Her mom read aloud to her, but she listened to audiobooks for pleasure reading. She got some help with her issues and is now a big reader, too. Audiobooks kept her love of literature alive while she coped with the challenge.

 

We don't know many people who listen to audiobooks at all, but those who do listen in addition to reading, not as a substitute.

[linguistmama]

I don't know anyone who uses audiobooks in place of a child reading either. :confused: I thought that part of the point of an audiobook was that a child can listen to a story that they wouldn't be up for reading on their own yet. For example, we have some of the Narnia audiobooks checked out from the library for dd6 to listen too since she isn't up to reading them by herself.

 

I do use audiobooks right now as a substitute for me reading alot because of a difficult pregnancy. Once I feel better though we'll go back to me reading aloud and listening to audiobooks.

[Halftime Hope]

We have three (known) generations of dyslexia in the family. In my household of five, three have dyslexia.

 

During jr. high, I let my competent readers listen to books on tape, but they can only do so if they are reading along with the audio. The same goes for readalouds--we only read aloud if they have their own copy.

 

In high school, my students who might listen to books for pleasure can do so, but if it is a book for school, they must read along with the audio.

 

My guinea pig (ahem, I meant eldest) was the focal point of countless hours of readalouds, but I didn't knwo what he was missing not seing the words as I read. When he was diagnosed with dyslexia and written expression disorder, his vocab and comprehension were in the 99 percentile while his ability to compose was near the bottom of the range. I think some of that was made worse by not seeing stories on a page, but it's a chicken or egg question. Ds and dh both are strongly auditory: is that because of the LDs or a compensation for the LDs. ??

 

I didn't make that same mistake with the others. When we read aloud, we get copies for everyone.

[Mommyof4ks]

For special needs kids who struggle with dyslexia and/or other reading issues, audio books are a God-send.

 

My 13 year old can't read books like Johnny Tremain on his own because he gets tripped up on the more difficult words and/or semantics. He will then not understand the meaning behind the writing.

 

However, if he can HEAR it, he not only gets it, but has excellent comprehension.

 

I was thrilled to hear Andrew Padua confirm this when talking about his son with dyslexia. He said his 14 year old has listened to books l like Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde and can discuss them with intelligence with his college sister. However, if he were to have had to read the actual book, he would not have gained the understanding because of his disability.

 

So, for many, audiobooks are valuable.

 

This has been true for us too. My middle son has some learning issues, and audiobooks keep him engaged in literature while I am working with another child. We read aloud, the kids take turns reading, and of course we read our lessons out loud when we do them as a group, but audiobooks give my middle child some independence that he would not have if he had to read on his own. They are great for the car too! I don't think it is an either or situation, but more of a 'it works for some but is not right for everyone' thing.

[Just Kate]

Well, I struggle with my 7 year old ds and audio books. This kid can read...he really just picked it up this year. But he doesn't like to read. Instead, he wants to listen to audio books. His favorite thing to do is to listen to books while building with his Legos. He says that reading a book is boring because he can't do something else while he reads.

 

So, I agree with the premise of this post. While I do encourage ds to read to me during "school time", I am sad to say that he never just reads on his own for pleasure (although he does love books!). I want to try to start pulling away from the audio books some to encourage more reading. Suggestions?

[Mom-ninja.]

I'm still curious as to how the OP came to the conclusion that children poor writing skills is due to replacing actual reading with audio books.

 

 

Making a blanket statement like that reminds me of my OB who said that home birth is dangerous for every woman because she has seen "train wreck" transfers. Well, of course she only sees the bad cases. That's when her skill as a surgeon is needed. All the women who have great home births don't show up at her practice just to say hi.

 

My BIL says repeatedly that "homeschooled kids are behind and messed up in math." Why has he come to this conclusion? He works as a math tutor and he says, "I see lots and lots of messed up homeschool kids." Really? How many? Give me the percentage of homeschool kids you tutor in comparison to the public school kids? I also asked him if he's ever considered how many homeschooled kids who exist who don't need math tutoring. I told him for someone with a math degree he should be smarter about statistics.

 

So I guess this thread reminds me of these situations as well.

[pageta]

If it comes down to a choice between me reading aloud and our listening to an audiobook, the audiobook wins, hands down. DS8 has to do oral reading every day (one lesson from the McGuffey's reader) - when I was in school, I read aloud once a week. If it's available on audiobook, we have it and listen to it. We also listen to audiobooks regularly in the car (we have a nice long drive to town in addition to long trips to see family). We also have ongoing read-alouds with each of our children.

 

SWB strongly recommends in Writing With Ease that children listen to audiobooks so they can hear stories ABOVE their reading level and become better writers because of their wider exposure to good literature. She even gives a detailed reading list in the back of the book, which I have found to be an invaluable resource. To quote:

 

Using Audiobooks to Develop Language Skills

 

Play audiobooks (unabridged) for the child in the car, around the house, and during rest time. Even toddlers can enjoy listening to children's books on tape or CD.

 

Written language is different than spoken language. Allowing a child to listen to audiobooks begins to get the structure of written language into the child's mind. It also familiarizes the child with written language which is on a more difficult level than the child is able to read. When the child encounters written language, it will resonate; he's already been exposed to it. When he begins to write, his mind and ear will be well stocked with the structures of phrases, verbs, nouns, and so on. Audiobooks prepare a child both to read and to write.

 

--Susan Wise Bauer from Writing with Ease, pp 33, 34

 

If a child doesn't know that a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark, then they haven't been doing the copywork and dictation that SWB recommends, using literature as sources for those exercises. A good grammar course would also help with things such as basic sentence structure.

 

Other than that, I am not sure what a child would be missing that would be caused by using audiobooks rather than sticking to only books that the child is able to read himself/herself.

[HollyVanH]

I agree with all of you - a nice mix is best. Audio books are fantastic for learning disabilities and I think if you listen with the book in front of you -- you get the best of both worlds!!

[Xanadu]

For the longest time I didn't use audio books. (My son's language therapist requested we not use them so he wouldn't use them as a crutch)

 

After hitting yet another wall with my 12 yo dyslexic/dysgraphic DS who after years of therapy can "decode" anything with regard to reading, (even college level) but couldn't comprehend it, I decided to do something different.

 

I started assigning grade level literature and allowing him to listen to the audio book while following along with the text. (We did the same with his textbooks, utilizing Learningally.com) The key here is he can't just listen while doing something else, he has to read along with the voice.

 

After about 2 months of all reading being done with auditory support he started picking up books to read on his own during "free time". (To encourage this we only allow TV/Video Games on the weekends, and that is limited to 2 hours each on Sat & Sun) Prior to this breakthrough Legos won, hands down, for entertainment during free time. A few months ago this changed, and now I wake up in the middle of the night to find him reading because he's so enthralled with a story.

 

I asked him what had changed. He said he now "sees the story in his head" when he reads, its not just a jumble of words to be decoded.

 

Reading the text while listening to audio books consistently and for several hours each day was the key to this. It created the environment for reading to "click" for him...He gets it now. (And this was a child I was sure might never get it....)

 

He still listens to audio books for school books (textbooks), and depending on the difficulty of the assigned "great book" he may read 1 chapter, listen to 1, read 1 and so on. But for pleasure reading he now reads the whole book himself and if he really likes it he'll ask me to get a copy to listen too for fun.

 

In the last month he discovered the Percy Jackson books we've had sitting on the shelf for over a year and read all of them, then he started in on Rick Riordan's other 2 series and read all 4 of those books.

 

Audio book support was more successful for us than 8 years of therapy. The therapy gave him the decoding skills he needed to read, but he had that mastered by 2nd grade. Comprehension never happened with therapy. After finally stopping therapy last year and starting using audio book we had a breakthrough. YMMV

[choirfarm]

What I do is have her read on her level and get audiobooks that are above her level.

[QuirkyKapers]

We have a reading time and than usually in the car we listen to audiobooks.

[Canadianmumof5]

I'm a little confused about your statement on your blog:

 

The vast majority of what we learn about grammar (and spelling), we absorb from reading -- from seeing them in practice on the printed page.

 

I get that reading helps to improve vocab, and can help to inform their writing but reading is a separate exercise from grammar. I would never expect my kids to absorb good grammar skills just by reading.

 

So if these kids that you are seeing are having trouble with spelling & grammar - it is very likely because they haven't been taught those subjects. Not because they don't read enough or only listen to audio books.

 

I know lots of public school kids who are voracious readers. Their spelling is pretty good but their grammar is awful. Why? Because they don't teach it at our schools anymore.

[HollyVanH]

Hi Canadianmumof4 -- I see your point, but I've also seen kids that do lots of grammar drills, but without the reading -- it doesn't "stick." I don't think you can do one without the other. They need to understand the rules of grammar, but also see them applied on a regular -- daily basis.

[Canadianmumof5]

Hi Canadianmumof4 -- I see your point, but I've also seen kids that do lots of grammar drills, but without the reading -- it doesn't "stick." I don't think you can do one without the other. They need to understand the rules of grammar, but also see them applied on a regular -- daily basis.

 

Couldn't agree more - you need both.

[RootAnn]

My kids don't have good visual memories, so even if they see something thousands of times, it won't necessarily stick. (The autumn after my oldest finished reading all the Trixie Belden books multiple times but still couldn't spell "honey" (Trixie's best friend's name) would be a prime example.)

 

I agree with the OP that kids still need to read for themselves every day and that audiobooks are a great resource in addition to the kids reading for themselves.

 

We don't watch TV. We listen to audiobooks - in the car & around the house. But, we still read books. Oldest reads lots of books for fun. DD#2 has just started reading books for fun. She's my audiobook fiend. She has to read to me every school day (McGuffey + historical fiction, usually). My (younger) kids have been exposed to much higher reading level books through audiobooks than I could get through reading them aloud.

 

I don't know of any families that completely substitute audiobooks for their kids having to read FOR SCHOOL. DD#2 will listen to some books (as audiobooks) that her older sister is reading this year because I'd like to be able to discuss them with both.

 

I do wish more families took advantage of (free) audiobooks (from the library) vs. having their dcs watch TV & play videogames. :)

[HollyVanH]

RootAnn -- you may already know about this, but we enjoy lots of free audiobooks from LibriVox.org too!