[CALIBK12] Audio Books Justification?

[Stephen Krashen]

There is no research I know of on the impact of audio books on older readers. We do know, however, that read -alouds contribute a lot to literacy development - studies show that children who are read to outperform those who are not on a wide variety of tests. When hearing stories, readers acquire the special language of writing (vocabulary, grammar) and the story grammar, how stories are put together, which makes their subsequent reading more comprehensible. 

Also, read alouds get students excited about books. The title of this paper says it all: “Sixteen books went home tonight: Fifteen were introduced by the teacher,” by Danny Brassel, published in the California Reader in 2003). 

Still the single best source of research on this is Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook, in my opinion. My (wonderful) mom read it, and then said, "Stephen, why can't you write like this?" I told her I wish I could. 

We also know that audio-books are very popular, with about 9% of adults using them to at least some extent. According to one study, adults who use audio-books don't read less than others, they read slightly more. There are audio-books for truckers now, easy to rent and return, on "manly" topics.