Reading and listening comprehension

Research indicates that among many students, especially those who are not yet proficient readers, listening to a passage often results in better comprehension than reading the same passage, making listening an effective way to expose kids to complex concepts and new vocabulary. Teaching with engaging, high quality audio stories, such as those curated by Listenwise, offers opportunities for students to learn academic language and build background knowledge about a host of important topics. Struggling readers and English learners can especially benefit from listening because it allows them to engage with higher level content and participate more actively in discussions than they otherwise might. Students can focus on developing comprehension strategies such as making inferences and identifying the main idea, which apply to both listening and reading, through the engaging medium of audio, without the cognitive load of decoding.

• Research indicates that among many students, especially those who are not yet proficient readers, listening to a passage often results in better comprehension than reading the same passage, making listening an effective way to expose kids to complex concepts and new vocabulary. Teaching with engaging, high quality audio stories, such as those curated by Listenwise, offers opportunities for students to learn academic language and build background knowledge about a host of important topics. Struggling readers and English learners can especially benefit from listening because it allows them to engage with higher level content and participate more actively in discussions than they otherwise might. Students can focus on developing comprehension strategies such as making inferences and identifying the main idea, which apply to both listening and reading, through the engaging medium of audio, without the cognitive load of decoding.
• Brain research is further illuminating the link between listening and reading. Neuroscientists recently discovered that the same parts of the brain are activated whether a person hears words or reads them on a page. The research has implications for students with dyslexia, among others. But it also highlights the important role listening plays in learning, as a helpmate and equal partner to reading. With the new Lexile® listening measure, teachers will be better able to assess and monitor listening comprehension, and education researchers will be able to further investigate the relationship between listening and reading.