This
editorial concludes that the school board should invest in
audiocassettes because
listening to audiocassettes makes elementary
students more eager to learn and
to read.To support this
conclusion the editorial cites studies showing the
value of
listening to someone else read. However, close scrutiny of this evidence and of the
editorial''s line of reasoning reveals that they provide little credible support for the
editorial''s conclusion.
To begin with, the
argument claims that for a poor reader the isolation of reading
will provide a general disincentive to do schoolwork. However, the author provides
no evidence to support this claim. It is just as possible that a child who has
difficulty reading might excel at other subjects that do not require much reading,
such as mathematics or music. Besides, this argument assumes that learning to read
must be an isolated activity. Experience informs us, however, that this is not the
case, especially for elementary school students who typically learn to read in a
group environment.
The editorial goes on to cite studies which "attest to the value" of allowing students
to hear books read allowed. However, as it stands this evidence is far too vague
to support the editorial''s conclusion; we are not informed whether the "value" relates
specifically to reading skills. Common sense tells me that while audiocassettes can
help any person learn facts and understand concepts, a skill such as reading can only
be learned by practicing the skill itself.
Nor are we informed about the manner in which books were read aloud in the
study; were they read directly by parents or were they recorded on audiocassettes?
Absent additional information about the cited studies, these studies lend no credible
support to the conclusion that audiocassettes will help elementary school students
to read and to learn.
The editorial continues by claiming that
listening to audiocassettes will make
children better readers because when parents read aloud to their children these
children become better readers.This argument by analogy is wholly unpersuasive.
The latter allows for interaction between parent and child, while the former does
not.The latter allows for the child to view written words as the parent reads-that
is, to read-while the former does not. Besides, common sense and experience tell
us that audiocassettes, which provide for passive listening, are likely to serve as
crutches that dissuade children from active reading-instead of encouraging them
to read.
In conclusion, the editorial is unconvincing as it stands.To strengthen the argument,
the editorial''s author must provide more compelling evidence that listening
to audiocassettes will actually help and encourage elementary school students to
read,not just to learn in general. In order to better evaluate the argument, we would
need more information about whether the cited studies refer specifically to the
value of audiocassettes and specifically to their value in terms of the reading and
learning processes.
More abstracts about the Learning to read by listening to books on tape