7 Reasons I Love Audiobooks as an ELA teacher
- Christine Hull
- Jun 3, 2024
- 4 min read
The big row at my family's holiday celebration last December wasn't about politics, Cousin Jennie's questionable tattoos, or even who was going to the Super Bowl. No, it was about whether listening to an audiobook "counts" as reading. Uncle Juan argued that, "Reading is reading, and listening is listening. Two different things." I argued that either way your brain was working to process all the elements of a story, so they were similar enough to be considered the same. Grammy tried to (unsuccessfully) play diplomat, and my brother topped off everyone's drink. Regardless of my extended family's opinions, as an ELA teacher, here are seven reasons why I love audiobooks.
1. Remember story time?
Chances are you were read to as a child. Whether it was a parent or caregiver reading you a bedtime story or a classroom teacher who read to your class, most of us are lucky enough to have these childhood memories. And if a parent, caregiver, or teacher was caring enough to read aloud to you, then chances are you have a positive emotional connection to the experience of listening to a story. Now you’re an adult (or a teenager, in the case of our students) and audiobooks are a great way to tap into those positive emotions.
2. There’s research
Don’t take my word for it—there’s evidence-based research to back up the fact that audiobooks help people with dyslexia and other learning challenges. They compare no worse than the written word when it comes to engaging with both fiction and non-fiction.
As an ELA teacher, if I have one complaint about audiobooks, it is that you can’t annotate as you read. As any of my students will tell you, I’m a stickler for annotating text. Luckily, this problem is easily solved by keeping a notepad or digital device nearby for notetaking.
3. Helps students who shy away from the page
We all have students who shy away from the written word. Perhaps they face challenges such as dyslexia where the written word presents obstacles, or maybe they’re students who say that they don’t have time for reading. Audiobooks help those students connect with stories and all they have to offer. In an ideal world, I’d like my students to listen to the audiobook while following along with the text, but I’m a realist and know that this isn’t going to happen most of the time. I encourage students to remember that just as you can “space out” while reading a text, the same can happen with an audiobook. So, just like when you’re reading text, you need to be an engaged listener.
4. They’re Entertaining
We all like to be entertained. Period. Whether it is the big budget flick at the multiplex, binge watching a whole series in a day, or watching silly animal videos online (guilty as charged), we all need escape through entertainment. Thanks to their continued rise in popularity, audiobook production values have increased a lot. Many are read by ensemble casts (Daisy Jones and the Six, North Woods), and big-name talent (Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams) is being recruited. There’s no denying the fact that audiobooks are entertaining.
5. Self-care is important
If you were to visit me on a weekend or school vacation when I have a big chunk of free time, you’d catch me quilting, gardening, or snuggling with one of my dogs—all while listening to an audiobook. My self-care recipe includes a large helping of audiobooks because they allow me to escape the stream of thoughts about work, parenting, and all the other stuff that occupies most of my life. Our students need self-care too and I continually pitch the idea of including an audiobook in their self-care routine.
6. Multitasking
Multitasking gets a bad rap, and it is probably deserved a lot of the time. But if I can multitask cleaning the kitchen, commuting, or folding laundry with an audiobook of a novel that I’m currently teaching, then I’m turning that bad rap on its head and using it to my advantage. Our students all have chores and commutes as well and audiobooks can help them to complete a reading assignment while riding the bus or walking the family dog.
7. Listen faster
Remember that iconic I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel are working in the chocolate factory wrapping chocolates and their supervisor yells, “Speed it up!” to make their pace of work increase (and hilarity ensue)? I hear those words in my head as I switch my audiobook speed from 1.0x to 1. 2x or even faster. Some narrators are slower than others and some material can be listened to faster. If I’m rereading Of Mice and Men for the 20th time, then I’m going to increase the speed. However, if I’m delving into a novel that is brand new to me, then I’m going to listen at 1.0x speed (and may even rewind from time to time). Just as we as readers can move through an easy read faster than a denser novel, so it is the case for audiobooks as well.
Where to get audiobooks?
First, the obvious answer: The library! You know that your local library has shelves full of physical books, but it is the 21st century and libraries have digital resources. My local library uses an app called Cloud Library, and there are other apps used by other libraries. With the help of a librarian, I downloaded and set up the app on my phone. I’m allowed to take out three audiobooks at a time and have three on hold. The app isn’t perfect—it can be glitchy—but it is free, and that price is right for me.
Second, you can buy audiobooks through online retailers and download them to your phone. However, just like buying books at the bookstore, they’re not cheap. Expect to pay around $13 per title.
Third, you can listen to them on YouTube. I do not do this myself, but I know many people who do. I worry that this might lead to copyright violations and pirating, so I do not endorse this option. I’m an English teacher—not a lawyer.
Are you an audiobook listener? Do you encourage students to use them? Do you have a particular title that you recommend? Leave a comment and let me know!
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