How to use audio books to teach reading and listening
Audio books promote phonemic awareness, and they introduce letters,
sounds, pronunciations and new words to students. They help students
follow print, and build reading comprehension along the way. Indeed,
audio books are great tools for struggling readers.
Here are some tips to teach reading and listening to students using audio books:
- Use audio books to reinforce phonemic awareness and phonics skills.
- Provide
students with both audio and print versions of books, so they can
listen in when there are new sounds that they can also see on the page.
This combination works best in whole class listening sessions and the
students’ independent reading.
- Use audio books to strengthen students’ academic independence. They
can be encouraged to listen to reading assignments and take notes. Help
them prepare for exams by repeating important audio sections and
reviewing important points and concepts.
- Use audio books to build students’ critical thinking and listening skills. Provide
a definite goal, like listening to pages 30-35 and having them write
down the names of three people the character met. They can also record
their thoughts in graphic organizers, by drawing what they think the
scene would be like. They can also summarize a chapter in pairs, and
then have the whole class report.
- Use audio books to develop comprehension and fluency skills. Listening
to books read aloud leads to incredibly increased fluency. Listening
and following along with text builds up decoding skills and vocabulary.
Hence, give students access to audio textbooks and literature all
throughout the day.
- Give students specific questions to answer after listening. It’s
also possible for students to guess what happens next after listening
to a chapter, or retelling the story after the audio book is finished.
This encourages participation and active listening “with a purpose.”
- Let students with print disabilities to preview new text using audio books before listening to it in class.
- Give
students seats that are perfect for listening. Discourage sitting by
windows or near doors which can create big distractions for the student.
- While teaching, check for understanding.
Make students repeat instructions or information back to you, or ask
them their thoughts on the audio material. They should also be
encouraged to ask questions for clarification.
- Determine if some students have to improve their listening skills. Here
are some signs: they constantly ask others to repeat information;
assignments are done with errors; have trouble following directions;
and constant confusion about dates or content or other regular
classroom activities.
- For listening improvement, give them tips. Ask
them to give speakers their full attention, and avoid distractions.
They should wait until the speaker is done talking before adding their
thoughts. They should listen and absorb the message, as well as listen
for the main idea (usually at the beginning or end of a lecture). And
they should ask questions for clarification.
It is interesting to note that 85% of what we know, we have learned
by listening. But since students often get distracted, preoccupied or
forgetful, it is important to develop listening and reading skills
through new methods, like audio books.
Sources:
“How to use audio books to teach reading.” Retrieved July 25, 2009 from
http://www.ehow.com/how_4471885_use-audio-books-teach-reading.html
“Tips for Improving the Listening and Learning Environment in Your Classroom.” Retrieved July 25, 2009 from http://www.rfbd.org/ListeningTips_R1%208-07.pdf
“Tips for teaching & learning with audiobooks.” Retrieved July 25, 2009 from
http://www.rfbd.org/Teacher%20Training/TipsforTeacherspdf.pdf
(Published 10 August 2009, Smart Communications, Inc.)
