Jul. 9, 2005 - A Listening Ear

I frequently hear from parents who are concerned that their children should read more.  Their children thoroughly enjoy audio books, dramatized audio and listening to a great read-aloud from mom or dad, but somehow they have been conditioned to believe only in the great idol of learning through the eyes.

What about learning through the ears? 

Yes, I believe that reading is an important life-skill.  But I do not believe it is more important than good listening skills.  I believe they are equally important.  Good listening comprehension fires the imagination!  And listening to a good reader teaches spoken communication skills.  It expands the vocabulary.  Seeing a word and reading it increases spelling skills, but learning pronunciation is equally important.  Seeing is good... but often hearing can be even better.  This is especially true with auditory learners.

My oldest son, who reads at a college level, will often mispronounce a word he has only read and never heard.  It is hilarious when he does this!  But it reminds me of the importance of verbal and auditory learning.

If you have a child who is struggling with reading, don't punish him by disallowing other avenues to learning.  Audio books and dramatized stories, including excellent history and biographies, classic literature, and enjoyable wholesome fiction, should not be relegated only to the pre-reader!  Audio resources should not be limited to long drives in the car or used only for falling asleep at night.  Listening should be encouraged, not demoted to a second class substitute for reading.

Also, audio listening is an excellent answer for the child who is constantly begging for a video.  We only brought videos into our home within the past 4 years and I have many regrets!  For 13 years we lived without television or a VCR of any kind.  Then, thinking we could control the numbers of videos we watched, we purchased a video monitor.  I'd like to go back to the days of non-video because I believe our older children truly benefited by avoiding it.  Video watching dulls the imagination.

A child who learns to quietly listen early in life will grow into an adult who is a pleasure to be with!  They will have learned, among other things, the ability to listen without interrupting, to listen carefully to directions, and to speak in meaningful sentences and complete thoughts.