Listening Strategies for Literature

"Listening to stories stimulates our senses and challenges our minds." (Brown, 2001) This perfectly sums up the purpose of using listening strategies for Literature. In addition, the writer proposes 4 strategies: read-alouds; listening guides, readers' theatre (I've used this in class before to great fun and hopefully, having the same amount of impact on students) and listening logs. Listening to stories instead of reading them may bring the characters to life which in turn, makes the process more entertaining for students, especially younger children. It is also useful for struggling readers as they can rely on auditory cues, such as voice inflections to figure out what is happening in the stories. They can also learn how certain words are pronounced as they listen and model after the speakers. Moreover, as the writer has brought out, the pervasiveness of mass media has given rise to a generation of learners who rely on multiple senses, so a story is not only enjoyed by reading (sight), but also by listening (hearing). However, whether or not a child is enjoying a story by reading or listening to it being read, one thing for sure is that reading extensively reaps plenty of benefits. And in fact, listening to stories from young might help an adult to form the habit of listening to audio books whenever he has some free time to spare.

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