Quote:
Originally Posted by SensualPoet
I am concerned that a frightening number of participants in a forum dedicated to reading books don't actually read them. Listening skills, and reading comprehension skills, are different.
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They are different, without a doubt.
There is a sizable number of people out there who have a significant learning style. While most people can process visual and auditory information well, some people have distinct difficulties processing one or the other.
I, myself, process information much better when I read it than when I listen to the same information; my sister was my polar opposite growing up in this regard.
When things were read to her (texts, etc), she was able to process them fully, but while she could read the words aloud, she wasn't able to process the information efficiently at all. It wasn't about 'reading the words', it was about processing the information in her brain when it came via that part of her brain vs. her auditory processing paths.
As a rule, when these issues occur, they often fall along gender lines. While most children's bias are gone at an early age, if they do develop a distinct learning style preference, boys often do better visually and girls with auditory information.
People are different. I'd be more bothered by the way many audio books are abridged (changed/shortened) than whether people listen to them or read the actual book. It's the content, not the means of delivery that matters to me. Additionally, some people find time to experience books (whatever way they get the content into their heads) only while doing other things such as driving, exercising, etc, and the audiobooks have a lot of beneftis there.
p.s., My challenge wasn't as pronounced, but has continued to this day; I was able to develop compensatory strategies for dealing with it as I moved through school. Hers turned out to be a severe side effect of some medication she was taking for epilepsy from the age of 6 months on - and on ceasing this medication in her late teens, her processing of visual language completely caught up to he auditory processing; she was luckier than many.