Technology has changed the world of reading, just like everything else. But it might not have changed reading as much as you might have thought.
Today, the humble printed book has competition. The e-book, where text is digitised and displayed not on the printed page but on a screen, is accessible on many devices and from anywhere. Meanwhile the audio book – where the reader listens to someone else read a book to them – is no longer restricted by physical media. Gone are the days when a single book might take up a huge set of tapes or a pile of CDs. Like e-books, audio books are now downloadable or streamable to devices small enough to be kept in a pocket.
So it might surprise you to learn that printed books are still more popular than both e-books and audio books in 2021. It seems that the printed book is here to stay. Like with everything to do with reading, people have their preferences.
But is listening to a book as an audio book the same as reading the book yourself? Once people thought this was a way of avoiding the “work” of reading, but current research shows that listening to text can also be important – and that doing both can be important for developing readers.
Recent studies show that while individual people might prefer to read or listen to text differently, most students can learn well by either method when it really comes down to it. An academic study published in 2018 states that students are capable of learning through both reading and listening – if they give each a chance.
In contrast to those who thought listening to a book was cheating, many experts now believe that reading helps us improve our listening skills and listening can help us improve our reading skills. To become a fully rounded reader, it seems, one must be able to do both. It’s not surprising, then, that making meaning from listening to text can be just as important as being able to read it aloud or silently. Some learners may have a preference – or be better at one, at times, than the other – but both can be important to a growing reader.
This is why CARS & STARS Online contains a feature called Read Aloud where students can hear text read instead of, or in addition to, reading it themselves. What’s more, this feature is included in every reading level and in every exercise across the program. Students can engage the option at any point to have the text, or part of the text, read aloud to them.
Being able to listen to someone read aloud and make meaning from that might just be as important as any other form of reading, and so it’s an integral part of CARS & STARS Online – the digital reading comprehension program that aims to make every reader a high-level reader.
If you are interested in learning more about the CARS & STARS Online subscriptions and how they can help children to achieve better results, then sign up for a free trial to be an integral part of your child’s reading success.
