Audiobooks on the rise

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

It kind of depends on what you are trying to accomplish. For most of us adults, it doesn't matter. On the other hand, if the point is to develop your reading skills rather than your listening skills, then it does matter.

Let's face it, listening isn't reading. When they were little, my niece and nephew would sit in my father's lap while he read them stories. They looked at the pictures while he read, but you certainly couldn't say that they were reading the story. It doesn't really matter from the stand point of consuming the story. They had the story memorized and when I tried reading to same story to them, I was told I was doing it all wrong. (for one thing my father tended to edit the stories when he read them)

This is exactly how I learned to read. My mother would read my favorite stories--Little Golden Books, I think--I gradually memorized them, and at some point my brain made the connection with the words on the page and I was reading.

I would also say that people are very different in how they process information. Some people are auditory learners (learn by hearing), others are visual learners (learn by seeing) and others are kinetic learners (learn by doing).

Sure, but most of the time aren't adults consuming books for entertainment, not learning?

It's a bit like traveling a mile. The person who walks, bikes or drives all travel the same mile, they all went from point A to point B, however, you can't really say that walking is the same as biking is the same as driving.

No, but is the purpose the process or the destination? Your analogy involves quite different levels of exertion; I would say reading or listening is more like taking a bus or taking a train. They're different experiences, but not all THAT different. But of course this is after one learns to read; I'm not talking about best ways to teach that basic skill in the first place.

I have most of the audiobooks that I listen to in ebook or paper book format. I get something different from listening to them than I get from actually reading the book. They are different experiences.

I have a lot of duplication also; most of it is because I've gotten audiobooks of many old favorites and enjoyed revisiting them.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Catlady

This is exactly how I learned to read. My mother would read my favorite stories--Little Golden Books, I think--I gradually memorized them, and at some point my brain made the connection with the words on the page and I was reading.



Sure, but most of the time aren't adults consuming books for entertainment, not learning?



No, but is the purpose the process or the destination? Your analogy involves quite different levels of exertion; I would say reading or listening is more like taking a bus or taking a train. They're different experiences, but not all THAT different. But of course this is after one learns to read; I'm not talking about best ways to teach that basic skill in the first place.



I have a lot of duplication also; most of it is because I've gotten audiobooks of many old favorites and enjoyed revisiting them.

I, in the other hand, was apparently born reading, at least according to my mother.

As I said, for us adults, it really doesn't matter. For school age kids, it's a bit different. There is a reason that we read Shakespeare's plays rather than watched a video of the play, even though the video was probably a lot closer to the original experience. For one thing, it's pretty hard to make notes while listening to an audiobook, a lot easier to make notes in the margin, or with a sticky (or equivalent on an ebook) while studying.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I, in the other hand, was apparently born reading, at least according to my mother.

As I said, for us adults, it really doesn't matter. For school age kids, it's a bit different. There is a reason that we read Shakespeare's plays rather than watched a video of the play, even though the video was probably a lot closer to the original experience. For one thing, it's pretty hard to make notes while listening to an audiobook, a lot easier to make notes in the margin, or with a sticky (or equivalent on an ebook) while studying.

In HS, we learned Shakespeare by listening to records and following along with the text. Then we'd discuss. In college a bunch of us would get together in the dorm, assign parts, and read aloud when we were assigned Shakespeare.

But plays are different anyway--they were never designed to be read silently as words on a page.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Catlady

In HS, we learned Shakespeare by listening to records and following along with the text. Then we'd discuss. In college a bunch of us would get together in the dorm, assign parts, and read aloud when we were assigned Shakespeare.

But plays are different anyway--they were never designed to be read silently as words on a page.

That's the difference, in HS we studied Shakespeare by reading from the text and discussing. In college, we studied by reading and discussing (had a great college teacher who would compare the rhythm of Shakespeare with the rhythm of the blues). We focused a lot on the back story that the audience of the times was familiar with, but the modern audience is not and the history of the times. Plays were a very different thing back then, a lot closer to vaudeville than to Broadway.