Does Audio-Assisted Reading Help Dyslexic Students?
Audio-assisted reading refers to reading text silently while hearing it read aloud. Hearing and seeing the words at the same time is the key. Research on audio-assisted reading shows widely different results. Some research shows that audio-assisted reading does not improve comprehension or retention of information by dyslexic students. Other studies point to dramatic improvements in comprehension for dyslexic readers. Why do researchers come up with such different results?
Audio-Assisted Reading is a Tool: It can be used well or poorly
The answer lies in how audio-assisted reading is used. Carolien A. N. Knoop-van Campen, writing for the Behavioural Science Institute, notes that “As both decoding and working memory capacity impact cognitive load, learning in a multimedia environment could be particularly challenging for students with dyslexia. However, since audio-support lowers the necessity to decode every single word and increases reading speed, audio could also lessen the cognitive load. In other words, audio-support could both hinder as well as aid learners with dyslexia.” (Knoop-van Campen, 2022, p. 16)
Adding audio to an already overstimulating visual environment, such as a video or an e-book with pictures, can have a negative impact. The dyslexic reader may try to do too much at once. However, if audio-assisted reading is used for reading plain text then students can concentrate, keeping their eyes on the words being said. This allows for vocabulary and sight word recognition to increase over time, as words are heard and seen in context. Headphones can help with over-stimulation.
Not All Research is Equal
Some studies tested student comprehension by presenting short paragraphs either with or without a voice-over. Since the students with voice-over had to keep up with the reader, they had no time to think about the material. Studies of this type usually concluded that audio-assisted reading did not improve comprehension for high school students.
Other studies allowed students to use audio-assisted reading for longer texts such as high school students might read — chapters of novels or science textbooks. These studies focused on reading plain text. If there were visuals, students could pause the voice to study them. Studies of this kind concluded that audio-assisted reading raised dyslexic students’ comprehension level to that of their non-dyslexic peers.
Used Well, Audio-Assisted Reading Improves Reading Skills
Knoop-van Campen, after analyzing multiple studies, discussed this dichotomy at length. She concluded that adding audio to text “in students with dyslexia showed that these learners scored lower than their typically developing peers when learning from written text, but not so when audio was added. These results point towards… a positive effect of added audio. Related multimedia research shows that by listening to information, students with dyslexia can compensate for their poor reading skills. (Knoop-van Campen, 2022, p. 16)
Some Dyslexic Readers Learn to Read Fast with Audio-Assisted Reading
As dyslexic readers use audio-assisted reading, their reading speed increases and their reading vocabulary expands. Some readers then choose to bypass the audio-assisted reading in favor of going it on their own. Some take a highly creative approach by adjusting the voice speed to their new reading speed.
When audio-assisted reading is used by a bright motivated person, the results can be outstanding. Winston Chen (2014), creator of Voice Dream Reader app, blogs about Dr. Matthew Schneps’ use of audio-assisted reading to keep up with the research papers in his field. Dr. Schneps, who is dyslexic, “sets his text-to-speech rate to 650 word per minute. To put that in perspective, on average people read visually at 200 words per minute and talk at 150 words per minute.”
Usually, only blind users of audiobooks comprehend speech at 650 words per minute. People with dyslexia have difficulty moving their attention forward as they read, and by using the word highlight to force their attention forward, ahead of the marker, reading speed improves. Second, people with dyslexia often get stuck on a word while trying to sound it out. But if the text-to-speech supplies the pronunciation for you, you can just move on rather than getting stuck.”
To summarize the research on audio-assisted reading, it is clear that this tech tool offers tremendous benefits to some students, especially those with dyslexia. It allows them to learn the informational content of their classes, while simultaneously providing a means to improve their reading skills without outside help.
By Yvonna Graham, M.Ed.
www.dyslexiakit.net