Do audiobooks really count as reading? Think again.

Written by Liz Mineo Harvard Staff Writer | Harvard Gazette

More than that 40 percent are American Consider that listening to audiobooks is less rigorous and doesn’t really count as reading.

Cognitive neuroscientist Nadine Gab Disagree, and he and other education scholars say that approach to education and development is counterproductive.

Not only does the brain work the same when reading a print book or listening to an audiobook, Gab says, the learning process is similar.

“The theory of learning styles has been debunked,” said Gabb, the Silvana and Chris Pasucci Professor of Learning Differences at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “It’s not that anyone learns better by listening or reading. You may have a preference, but learning is the same regardless.”

Reading is a complex skill that involves the early development of brain regions that support word and language processing, essential milestone skills for learning to read, Gabb said. The neural networks that process written and spoken language are deeply intertwined and often overlap when reading a print book or listening to an audiobook.

“There’s not much difference between the brain network for reading and the brain network for language comprehension,” Gab said. “The part of the brain we call the ‘letter box,’ which processes print, is not as engaged as when you listen, but it has been shown that when some people hear words, they imagine them, so the letter box is also activated.”

There is not much difference between the brain network for reading and the brain network for language comprehension.

– Nadine Gab

Audiobook listening is derided in some circles, where it can be seen as “cheating”, but Gabe rejects that idea. Both print books and audiobooks benefit readers, he said. While readers can review and easily return to print books, audiobooks offer voices and sounds that make the story interesting and engaging.

Librarians wholeheartedly agree.

Alessandra Sitter, a community engagement librarian at the Harvard Kennedy School, says readers should think about their choices by focusing on their reading purpose. Some may prefer print text because it helps them absorb information better, and others may prefer audiobooks because they allow them to multitask and save time.

“There’s nothing wrong with audiobooks,” Sitter said. “There is no purity in reading words on a page.”

Monroe C. of the Graduate School of Education. This has clear practical implications, says Alex Hodges, director of the Guttman Library Print text gives readers the opportunity to highlight passages or write notes that can help them retain information better, Hodges said. Audiobooks, on the other hand, can provide a more relaxed experience.

Laura Sheriff, librarian at Cabot Science, Fine Arts and Lamont Libraries, wants to dispel the stigma surrounding audiobooks. Working in a bookstore in her former life, she saw kids starting with the “Harry Potter” audiobook and returning to buy the print book. “It was their gateway to reading,” he said.

Regardless of their form, print or audio, books introduce readers to new knowledge, imaginative worlds and complex languages, say educational linguists. Paula UchelliJohn H. and Elizabeth A. Professor of Knowledge and Learning at the Hobbs Graduate School of Education

“In both formats, readers encounter not only new information but also text-specific linguistic patterns—and new possibilities for creating meaning through language—beyond what they might experience in casual conversation,” says Uccelli.

“Audiobooks, especially when students find them engaging and have the opportunity to participate in book discussions, can be a powerful tool in helping readers expand not only their background knowledge, but also the language resources needed to make meaning from text.”

Gaber lab Examines how people learn from childhood to adulthood, with an emphasis on language and reading. She often recommends that parents of children with reading difficulties try audiobooks, print books, and reminds them that “the most important thing is that children are motivated to learn and interested in reading.”

And adults, he said, should be less critical of audiobooks because that’s how we all started.

“If you’re a good reader as an adult, it doesn’t matter if you read it or you listen to an audiobook,” Gabb says. “We all started out as audiobook listeners. As children, we sat on our parents’ laps while they read to us. So, we all became audiobook lovers at some point in our lives.”

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This is the story is reprinted with permission From the Harvard Gazette.

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