Schools and Education, Audio Learning and Literacy Teaching Aids

Proven Research and Results

Reading Comprehension1

Audiobooks bridge the gap for students attempting to read text above their independent reading level. Audiobooks maximise reading time for students who have difficulty finding materials at their interest level that they can understand comfortably.

Vocabulary Development2

Listening to oral modelled readings is a proven way to acquire new vocabulary. Stimulate vocabulary development by allowing opportunities for students to hear and see words multiple times, to use them actively in their own speech, and to encounter them in compelling contexts, such as audiobooks.

Fluency3

Research tells us that effective fluency instruction begins with modelled reading. Audio-assisted reading provides unlimited practice for students, while silent independent reading alone does not increase fluency.

Reading Readiness4

Children who are read to often before beginning formal education exhibit much stronger emergent reading skills. By listening to audiobooks with young students, teachers can share their enthusiasm for books and get children excited about reading.

Motivation5

Audio support enables choice and variety in reading material for struggling readers and permits sharing, collaboration, and a feeling of social inclusion - all identified as key elements for motivating young readers.

Research shows that audiobooks improve students' reading achievement in the classroom, on tests, and beyond. - Anne Cobb, Reading Specialist

Footnotes

  1. Reading Comprehension:
    Boyle, Elizabeth, et al. 2002. Reading's SLiCK with New Audio Texts and Strategies. Teaching Exceptional Children, pp. 50-55, Nov/Dec 2002.
    Cipielewski, J., & Stanovich K. 1992. Predicting Growth in Reading Ability from Children's Exposure to Print. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 54, 74-89.
    The Report of the Commission on Reading. Becoming a Nation of Readers, 1985.
  2. Vocabulary Development:
    Hayes, Donald P., & Ahrens, Margaret G. (1988). "Vocabulary simplification for children: a special case for 'motherese'. " Journal of Child Language, Vol. 15, 1988, pp. 395-410.
    Robbins, C., & Ehri, L. (1994). Reading storybooks to kindergarteners helps them learn new vocabulary words. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86 (1), 54-64.
    Stahl, S. A., Richeck, M. A., and Vandivier, R. J. 1991. Learning meaning vocabulary through listening: A sixth-grade replication. In J. Zutell, S. McCormick, with the editorial assistance of L. L. A. Caton, & O. O'Keefe (Eds. ) Learner Factors/Teacher Factors: Issues in Literacy Research and Instruction (Fortieth yearbook of the National Reading
    Conference). Chicago: National Reading Conferece: 185-92.
  3. Fluency:
    Hoskisson, K., & Krohm, B. 1974. Reading by immersion: Assisted reading. Elementary English, 51 (6), 832-36.
    Kuhn, M. and Stahl, S. 2000. Fluency: A Review of Developmental and Remedial Practices. CIERA Report #R2-008. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement.
    Pinnell, G. S., Pikulski, J., Wixson, K. K., Campbell, J. R., Gough, P. B., and Beatty, A. S. 1995. Listening to children read aloud. U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington DC.
    Rasinski, T. V. 1990. Effects of repeated reding and listening-while-reading on reading fluency. Journal of Educational Research, 83 (3), 147-50.
  4. Reading Readiness:
    Bus, A. G., van Ijzendoorn, M. H., & Pellegrini, A. D. 1995. Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: A meta-analysis on intergeneraltional transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research, 65 (1), 1-21.
    Denton, Kristen and GerryWest. 2002. Children's Reading and Mathematics Acheivement in Kindergartedn and First Grade, U. S. Department of Education, NCES, Washington, DC.
    Dickinson, D. K., & Smith, M. W. 1994. Long-term effects of pre-school teachers' books readings on low-income children's vocabulary and story comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 29, 104-22.
  5. Motivation:
    Alvermann, D. E. 2002. Effective literacy instruction for adolescents. Journal of Literacy Research, 34 (2), 189-208.
    Board on Children, Youth, and Families. 2003. Engaging Schools: Fostering High School Students' Motivation to Learn.
    Guthrie, J. T. and N. M. Humenick. 2004. Motivating students to read: Evidence for classroom practices that increase reading motivation and achievement. The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research, eds. P. McCardle and V. Chhabra, 329-54.