RSSAudiobooks
Jul 23
Heather gave me this assignment: talk about audio books vs reading a book so here goes:
I used to have a part time job where we weren’t allowed to talk (at all!) and all we could do was sit there and type zip codes and such into a computer from a scanned piece of mail (of course this part time job was for the postal service) The only form of entertainment allowed was listening to headphones and hence the introduction of audiobooks in my life…
Do any of you enjoy audiobooks? I do (Heather does not) I think that when there is a good narrator (and you’re listening to a good story) it can be quite entertaining. It is not exactly the same experience as reading a book but I think that is okay. I read when it is possible, but when it’s not and I want something to entertain my brain that is when I am happy for audiobooks! Here are some perfect moments to listening to stories:
- Driving in a car (usually a long trip, especially when you are by yourself)
- Plane rides
- Chores around the house like washing dishes and such
- Working that job for the postal service
I have tried listening while doing other tasks and it hasn’t worked out so well, here are the failed attempts:
- While watching TV
- While chatting online
- While surfing the internet
I guess your brain can only pay attention to one story at a time… so some of the stories I tried listening to, I thought in the end “I don’t think that was a very good story” but turns out I just didn’t really get any of the story. I will have to start some of those ones over!
Another think I like about audiobooks is that I can download them from my library website for free (and keep them on my mp3 player for up to 21 days) and it saves me an actual trip to the library. Yay! Of course they are way too expensive to buy.
For those of you with kids… I discovered that giving them exposure to audiobooks can help them learn! They can be used to:
- Introduce students to books above their reading level
- Model good interpretive reading
- Teach critical listening
- Highlight the humor in books
- Introduce new genres that students might not otherwise consider
- Introduce new vocabulary or difficult proper names or locales
- Sidestep unfamiliar dialects or accents, Old English, and old-fashioned literary styles
- Provide a read-aloud model
- Provide a bridge to important topics of discussion for parents and children who can listen together while commuting to sporting events, music lessons, or on vacations
- Recapture “the essence and the delights of hearing stories beautifully told by extraordinarily talented storytellers” (Baskin & Harris, 1995, p. 376)
Um… that’s all I have! Thank you for your time and consideration.