Audiobooks
Overview
Audiobooks allow learners to hear fluent reading and experience books in a flexible format. Learners can listen to books above their reading level and may benefit from using audiobooks, as they are able to focus on their comprehension rather than decoding the text. Using audiobooks along with printed texts has been shown to greatly benefit literacy outcomes, especially for those with dyslexia and for multilingual learners.
Use It In Your Learning Environment
Audiobooks allow adults to expand their Literacy Environment and engage with texts where and when they have time, supporting "mobile reading". Encouraging greater exposure to academic and leisure content through audiobooks can support many literacy skills including vocabulary, syntax, and comprehension. To support increased comprehension, instructors can provide listening challenges or guiding questions to focus Attention when listening. Listening to audiobooks can also support Oral Communication Skills, including pronunciation and intonation, from hearing a model of fluent reading.
There are many apps available with large digital libraries of audiobooks for adults, which create more inclusive learning platforms for learners with low literacy skills or low Vision. By allowing learners to listen to texts, readers can have greater access to content to engage in discussion and analysis with peers. Developers can also include prompts for learners to respond to while listening to a text that can encourage deeper engagement.
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Multisensory Supports Strategies
Making space and time for physical activity, through brief movement breaks in the classroom or workplace and incorporating it into daily life, has benefits for the body and mind.
Speech-to-text takes the input from voice recognition and produces text.
Text-to-speech technology reads the words on a screen aloud.
