Audiobooks and Read-Alouds: A Way Into Books

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-30

What audiobooks and read-alouds are for

In our view, audiobooks let a child reach books they cannot read alone yet. In our view, a child can follow a long story while their own reading still grows.

Listening to books sits alongside learning to read, not in place of it.

Two kinds of listening

On this page, listening means two different things.

One is listening to a book.

The other is a child's listening skill. That means following and understanding what people say.

Most studies below are about listening to a book.

What studies of read-aloud tools found

One review pooled studies of reading tools that read text aloud (Wood and colleagues, 2018). In some studies, a person read the text aloud, not a machine. The students had trouble reading, from third grade up. Hearing the text helped them understand it while they used the tool. Very few of the studies tested whether the students' own reading grew.

Another review looked at reading along while listening, for readers in general (Clinton-Lisell, 2023). It helped understanding only when the pace was set for the reader. For struggling readers, it found too few studies to say. We could read only its summary. It has not been checked by other researchers yet.

What two audiobook studies found

Two studies looked at audiobooks (Milani and colleagues, 2010; Esteves and Whitten, 2011). Both were of students with dyslexia or reading disabilities.

In Milani's study, students with dyslexia used audiobooks for five months. A second group kept using print books. The summary reports change only within the audiobook group. That group had less unease and more motivation and involvement in school. We could read only its summary.

In Esteves and Whitten's study, students with reading disabilities read along with audiobooks. They did it four or five times a week for eight weeks. Another group read silently. Both groups gained in reading speed and smoothness. The audiobook group gained more. How they felt about reading did not differ. The summary does not give the number of students. It does not say how the groups were formed.

Neither study was a clear random comparison. So they do not show that audiobooks improve reading. We could read only the summaries of these studies.

What a reading guide found on read-alouds and listening

A US federal guide on early reading came out in 2016 (Foorman and colleagues). It was written for classroom teachers, from kindergarten to third grade. It is not a guide to dyslexia.

One of its steps is talk before, during and after classroom read-alouds. That step sits inside wider advice on teaching school language and words.

Four of the studies behind that advice measured listening comprehension. Listening comprehension means understanding what you hear. None of the four found a clear effect. Some of the studies behind that advice found gains in vocabulary. The guide rated this evidence minimal.

In our view, that is no reason to stop reading aloud. In our view, read aloud for the story and the words, not as reading practice.

Audiobooks and listening skills

We hold no study that tested audiobooks as a way to build listening skills. That is a gap in what we hold, not a finding that they do not help.

One review looked at listening and language programs (Fey and colleagues, 2011). Its studies were of children with auditory processing disorder. The review found some support that the programs can improve listening test scores. It found little sign that the gains came from the listening parts of the programs. It called the evidence too small and weak to give clear guidance. We could read only its summary.

That review was not about audiobooks. In our view, an audiobook is a way into books, not listening training.

We cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder. A US audiology body says audiologists should diagnose auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.

What the research we hold says, and where it stops

In Wood's review, students with reading difficulties understood text better while hearing it. Few of its studies tested whether their own reading grew.

Milani's study was small. Esteves and Whitten's summary does not give its size. Neither was a clear random comparison. We could read only the summaries of these studies.

We hold no random trial of audiobooks alone for students with dyslexia. That is a gap in what we hold, not a finding that they do not help.

Nothing in the studies on this page tested a Learning Success program.

How we suggest using audiobooks at home

Here is what we suggest.

• Pick books your child wants to hear. Some can be harder than what your child reads alone.
• Listen together sometimes. Talk about the story afterward.
• Sometimes follow along in the print book.
• Keep reading teaching going at the same time.
• Let some listening be just for fun.

These steps are our own practice, not a tested method.

Listening to books sits alongside learning to read, not in place of it.

Our page on auditory processing covers what auditory processing means. Our page on auditory memory covers losing what was just said.

If your child has lost a skill

Some children could do something and now cannot. That is different from a child who has not built the skill yet. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Schoolwork well below what school expects.
• A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
• Extreme upset about schoolwork.
• Complete avoidance of school or learning.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.