Quote:
Originally Posted by ApK
That may be true, but it may also be true that someone reading a book at bedtime, or while being jostled on the train to work may not retain and comprehend as well as some one who reads the same book at the library in a dedicated study session, or who choses to listen with attention and no multitasking. So while listening might provide additional opportunities to consume in ways that result in reduced comprehension and retention, I dont think that that makes the listening itself the cause.
Personally, because I find it exceedingly difficult to focus on eye reading at bedtime or on the train, which is the bulk of my available reading time, I get far more out of audiobooks. But by the reasoning above, I would not have interpreted that to mean that the listening itself gives one more out a book than reading.
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It doesn't matter if listening per se is the cause, all that matters is that in the real world, concentrated listening is, I believe, a lot less likely than concentrated reading of text.
I am going with the presumption that when one is consuming material for entertainment/pleasure, either delivery system is probably fine and dandy, because careful focus isn't needed. But for learning, focus
is needed, and in the real world it's easier to focus on reading the text than listening to it. Even if you aren't multitasking, when listening to an audiobook, as I said earlier, you can't highlight passages, or easily go back to find something or take notes. You can't check a source in an endnote.
Seems to me that reading along with an audiobook would probably work well for learning, because then you'd be concentrating two senses on the material.