Editors' Note: When this article was posted in Reading Online in October 1999, readers were invited to comment on it through a bulletin board feature that was discontinued when the journal was redesigned in July 2000. Following are the comments posted to that bulletin board.

Readers who would like the opportunity to comment on this or other articles in the journal are invited to contact the author directly (e-mail address is available on the opening page or to post messages through ROL Communities.

Post 1

Author: Kim_Swanson1
Date: 11-08-1999 19:52

This article deals with Reading While Learning; this is a great device used for children learning to read. I used to use this type of system when I was young. I would play my Disney 45''s and listen / read the story and when Tinkerbell chimed her magic chimes, I would know when to turn the page. This system was effective for understanding the story but I found that I could not always keep up with the text. When I saw this article, it caught my eye because of the notion of controlling the reading rate. This is an interesting concept that Bergman reinforces with studies of controlled narration rate versus the standard RWL rate. The findings did not surprise me in the least. His findings show that by giving children a choice of narration rate, the children's reading comprehension and text level reading accuracy improved. He also found that in the initial stages of reading, children's word-list accuracy and speed did not improve significantly. This is understandable as the children that are learning to read can give up looking at the words and listen to the tape, therefore understanding what the story is about. On the other hand their vocabulary itself is not going to improve because they are not associating unfamiliar written words with their corresponding familiar sounds.

The concept of having differing narration rates would be beneficial to children of all ages. There are some learners that are faster readers than what the narration rate is, and they would benefit by speeding the tape up. According to the study, Bergman found that the average narration rate for grade one RWL tapes is 112 wpm and the average first graders read between 18 - 54 wpm. There is a possibility of slowing down the overall narration rate for a particular grade level, but would that be beneficial for all students considering the varying reading rates within a classroom? I think it would be to the students benefit if the narration rate could be controlled entirely by them. One thing that I did not understand in the article was whether this applies to computer RWL programs alone or whether it applies to RWL tapes as well. The study was done with the computer programs and I believe it would be easier to change the narration rate on these as opposed to on RWL tapes. Does that mean that the RWL tapes that we have in the classrooms to date are obsolete? Is it beneficial to use them or should they be abandoned for some other method of learning, This article brought many things to light, but yet I am still left with a lot of questions regarding the possibilities and availability of implementing these types of activities in classrooms. A further article outlining these possibilities, would be a great idea as a follow-up on this issue.

Reply 1a

Author: Melissa_Elliott
Date: 11-15-1999 01:06

I didn't use many RWL books as a child - I was a very fast reader and would get ahead of the narrator, become lost in the story and not listen to the tape anymore. My younger sister, however, loved her taped story of the Rescuers. She fooled many people into believing she could read because she not only knew all the words by heart, she also knew where they were on the page.

I think that RWL can be beneficial, especially if the reader can control the speed of the reading. One use that came into my head immediately was that of learning a new language. I think this has great possibilities for children and adults alike, whether it is ESL students or students trying to learn to speak and read a new language, such as French. I think it would help students a lot to be able to see what the word sounds like at the same time as seeing it. While resources are limited right now, I hope in the future there will be a greater range.

There is a reading centre with earphones in my sponsor class, but I have not yet seen anyone using it. I think it would be helpful for the teacher and students if small groups could go to the reading centre and listen to books while they follow along, as the teacher works with other students in smaller groups.

Reply 1b

Author: Ofer_Bergman
Date: 11-27-1999 16:00

Kim Swanson asked if the conclusions of my article suggests that RWL with tape recorders are obsolete. I wouldn't go as far as saying that, but I can see three advantages in using software over tapes: a. The written text can be highlighted, so that the children can know where the narration is in the text. b. There is usually interactive elements which makes the reading more pleasurable. c. It is possible to change the narration rate without altering its pitch.

Reply 1c

Author: Kathryn Rohan
Date: 02-02-2000 22:16

Bergman's (1999) article on reading while listening (RWL) has lit a fire under me. I was looking for an alternative activity to promote reading and literacy. This method is a hope for more motivation to read. I have already begun to use this in my classroom. The problem that I have to overcome is to locate stories with a tape that are not too lengthy or I will resort to making my own books on tape :) The students seem to be excited about this new addition to the classroom. Both computer software and books on tape have postitive uses in the classroom but some children need to be able to interact with the pages and the text not just a highlighted screen (which can also be a great tool!)

Reply 1d

Author: A.J._Vargas
Date: 02-03-2000 17:09

The aricle was helpful especially for children that are slow readers. I like the experiment they did. I think it could be of great help to parents not just educators. Books on tape are great to futher reading.It also helpful for interaction for childrento gain immediate feedback.

Post 2

Author: Tony_Papillo
Date: 11-08-1999 19:56

For us as educators, reading a story slowly can become a tedious task or to put it nicely, a challenge. If these results are validated, then it's important for us as future teachers to build an understanding of what the different comfort zones for child readers may be. We have to remember that this process involves the children generally within the initial stages of reading and could help with the child's comprehension and text level accuracy. If this study is correct, which it may be, educators should remember to allow students to learn at their own pace, hopefully avoiding the "learned helplessness" they talked about. As a child, I might have been in this category because all I wanted to do was read as quickly as I could so I would be able to get on with the playing around. By doing so throughout my schooling years, I have noticed my problems to gather useful information effectively and find myself having to re-read the text material twice or even more. So the importance here, at least for me, is to devise a lesson procedure that encourages reading while learning to make sure children at the primary levels have a format which allows them to guide their reading on a efficient basis. I was possibly considering a reading club that would give the children an opportunity to read to each other and help them develop some form of a peer-instruction group. Within this group, children will be placed accordingly to their reading capacities but with at least one child who has a more advanced reading comprehension. With this idea, children can read to each other at a similar pace while group members, the advanced reader and even the instructor could make corrections when available. Groups would later be asked to quiz, question or discuss the happenings, allowing the instructor the opportunity to evaluate whether or not learning has occurred. By giving each student a chance to share read, every child will have the opportunity to develop reading skills in front of their peers and also allow themselves the chance to listen to a pace similar to their own. Guidelines should be laid out to ensure a co-operative, coherent and self sufficient reading club and it's the instructors responsibility that each child respect their peers to help them advance in a positive environment. Would this type of peer-instruction or reading while listening possible at these primary levels and if so what grade would this be considered a good strategy? Also, does it or should it require that these small groups use similar texts or could they be different to suit the appropriate levels? I'm considering a possible status issue here, where one group may feel inferior to the others or vice versa.

Post 3

Author: Shelley_Klopfenstein
Date: 11-09-1999 00:26

I have great memories of reading books while listening to either a tape (or records back then). I thoroughly enjoyed them. I don't remember if I was actually reading along or just turning the page after each chime. This shouldn't matter because I was building such positive experiences with books. The music and expression of narration brought the stories to life. Positive experiences are so important in the early years whether they happen through being read to by a parent or through creating your own story by looking at the pictures. I am really excited to hear about the advancements being made with research of talking books. Not only can these early learning experiences be enjoyable but also be a valuable learning experience. I think it is fabulous that children will be able to choose the speed they read at. A concern I have is the only way they will have this choice is through the use of computers. I myself find it difficult to sit and read from a computer screen. The experience is completely different from reading in bed before going to sleep. How will reading experiences change if there is a shift from reading with a parent before bed to alone in front of a computer?

Reply 3a

Author: Mary P. _Dagostaro
Date: 01-03-2000 16:17

HELLO I HAVE A 9YR OLD THAT LOVES TO READ I'M TRING TO FINE OUT SOME GOOD WAYS TO HELP HER WITH HER READING SHES IN 4TH GRDAE SHES ON THAT READER PROGRAM AT SCHOOL SHES A VERY SWEET LITTLE GIRL.IF U COULD HELP ANY WAY PLEASE SEND HER A E-MAIL.HER NAME IS HEIDI DAGOSTARO.WELL I'LL LET U GO HO[PE TO HEAR FROM U SOON.

Post 4

Author: Andrea_Bachman
Date: 11-11-1999 15:54

When using any educational tool, a teacher has to have an end goal in mind. I have in my own first grade classroom many books on tape. These books are all read at different rates. Some of the stories that I use are for word reconition while others are for pure enjoyment. I feel that as educators we sometimes forget the enjoyment factor in learning. Listening to a book on tape is one of the favorite activities in my classroom. Even though some of the stories are too fast to follow for some children, they are still enjoying the story and learning the art of storytelling.

Post 5

Author: Jen_Herman
Date: 11-11-1999 20:41

One of my all time favourite storybooks is "Peter and the Wolf". The reason it is dear to me is because I was given the read aloud version (the book and the record), and I would sit with my friends or all by myself and practice reading while playing the record with much enthusiasm. There are three benefits in my opinion, of read aloud books. First of all as a child, you feel grown up when you own your own record and are able to play it whenever you feel like it. Secondly, the musical instruments used in the background of the story are thrilling for children and motivates them to continue reading. Lastly, because the narrator of the story reads with such enthusiasm and paces himself nicely, children instinctively strive to master the story and improve their reading and narration skills so that they can read the story aloud just as well as the narrator.

Ofer Bergman's article was interesting to read although I was already aware of the many benefits of reading while listening. Bergman concludes that students show a significant improvement in reading and overall attitude when they are exposed to RWL and can control the rate of narration. As educators, it is important for us to be aware that there is not one set speed of narration that is correct to use for all children and if children are exposed to a narration speed that is slightly slower than their average reading pace, they will eventually become bored and discontinue reading.

The only question I have regarding this article is that the experiment was conducted in Rosh - Haayin, Israel. The elementary children spoke Hebrew as their first language, a dialect which is quite fast paced. I wonder if the results would be any different if the experiment was conducted in English.

Reply 5a

Author: leslie_caine
Date: 11-11-1999 21:26

Jen, I completely agree with the point you made in regards to how important a read aloud version of a book is to a young child. They allow children to listen to the words of the story while following along in the book. The main advantage I feel is that the child does not have to wait for an adult to read the book to them, which may limit their access to reading. When I was younger, I too had so many read aloud books; I could not even begin to count how many I had! I used to sit with my twin sister and listen to them or even by myself .I know they significantly increased my reading ability before I had even entered elementary school. I feel that children, in their preschool years and beyond, need to be subjected to as many examples of reading and/or writing as possible. Each child may learn something different from each literary experience they are subjected to but it can only have a positive affect. Therefore, read aloud books can only be beneficial.

Post 6

Author: Jeanna_Gavsie
Date: 11-11-1999 22:41

Reading while listening is a great device for some children but not for all. I remember as a child always listening to tapes and trying to follow along. However, it got very frustrating for me because I was constantly trying to catch up to the reader. I was a slow reader and I simply could not keep up with the tape. I found that when I did manage to follow the tape I could not remember what the story was about because I was concentrating too hard on following. As a child I much preferred my mom reading to me. She would read slow enough so that I could follow along.

After reading this article I could understand why I did not like following along to tapes. If I did it was merely to pretend I was reading and nothing more. I was nice to hear the music and I thought it was so funny when I would hear the "bong" to tell me it was time to change the page. I think I concentrated more on the "bong" then on the words. If I had the option to slow down the text I would have probably enjoyed the stories much more.

Another aspect of this article that I thought was interesting was the idea of letting the child choose the speed s/he felt most comfortable with. When my mom or dad would read to me I would tell them to slow down so that I could follow. If they went too slow I would let them know. I now realize that I was controlling the speed my parents were reading to me so that I could be successful. I felt like I had the power. Nobody else could have guessed accurately at the speed I needed for me to be successful. Some things need to left to the child because they are the only ones that truly know themselves. It is exciting to think that in a couple of years almost every child will be able to enjoy reading while listening.

Post 7

Author: aleksandra_simon
Date: 11-12-1999 17:16

In Ofer Bergman's article entitled, "Wait for Me!: Reader Control of Narration Rate in Talking Books", the author examined the usefulness of using talking books as an instrument in aiding children in the reading process. Bergman wondered if allowing the students to choose their own rate of narration would improve their reading comprehension, text accuracy, word accuracy, and reading speed.

Bergman concluded that the ability to control the rate of narration did not significantly increase the students' reading speed. I believe that this was a methodical flaw, because the study did not run for a substantial amount of time. Reading speed does not increase over night. Therefore, I feel that a more longitudinal study of reading speed and talking books would have been appropriate. Also, I did not particularly agree with how the software program utilised the image of a rabbit icon to increase reading speed, and a turtle to decrease reading speed. In my opinion children who are poorer readers do not want to be stigmatized as such, and they will tend to misuse the rabbit icon. The negative connotations attached to the turtle figure, (slower mentally and physically), could be damaging to a child's self-esteem if they had to excessively use that icon. Perhaps the researchers could have used arrow icons instead; which would have been a more neutral icon.

I remember using talking books in elementary school. Listening to the story of Peter and the Wolf was a frustrating task for me. The narrator spoke so quickly that I continually lost my place in the book, and I resorted to looking at the pictures, listening half-heartedly, anticipating the chime to turn the page, and dwelling on my general feeling of boredom. I expect that, even today, this type of experience is typical of students in the classroom.

As a pre-service teacher, I have seen talking books playing a significant role at my sponsor school. The students are not given any control over the talking book; they can not control the volume, nor the rate of narration, and they can not stop or rewind the tape. Even though there were specific reasons for implementing these actions, I believe that showing children that you trust them, by giving them control over some of these aspects of the talking book, builds self-esteem.

Bergman's study discovered that children found the controllable rate of narration, "easier and more fun", in comparison to the standard talking book. These comments should not be taken lightly. In Coles' on-line article, he mentioned that positive emotional experiences are directly linked to literacy. Also, the study concluded that poorer readers did not increase their reading comprehension with the use of narration control, because with a slower rate of narration they actually attempted to read the text instead of listening to the story-line. The rate of narration then, for poorer readers should be controlled with the help of the teacher, depending on her/his objectives; the child could either practice reading or reading comprehension. Overall, I agreed with Bergman's conclusion that it is important for the teacher or children to be able to control the rate of narration of talking books.

Reply 7a

Author: Ofer_Bergman
Date: 11-24-1999 06:57

Aleksandra Simon wrote about her own negative experience as a child of not being able to follow a talking book that was narrated too fast. She saw importance the fact that children had a more positive experience when they had a control over the narration rate. She also wrote: "I believe that showing children that you trust themŠ builds self esteem". This is the essence of my educational beliefs. All three of the educational technologies I had developed were about transferring the control to the students.

Simon didn't like the usage of the rabbit and the turtle buttons for changing the narration rate because a turtle might have negative connotations. I thought the opposite - that the turtle had a good connotation because that in the Rabbit & Turtle fable he had won the race by walking steadily slowly. So in choosing these figures I thought of breaking the convention of "faster = better". I would very much appreciate the readers' opinion on this subject.

Post 8

Author: paula_king
Date: 11-12-1999 18:05

Bergman's study on reading while listening (RWL) provides us with some valuable information about how to best utilize talking books to help students with their reading endeavors. There has been much controversy over the value of using audio cassettes/talking books to help students with their reading. The research conducted by Bergman suggests that used effectively, allowing children control over the narration rate, this technology can positively effect student's comprehension and overall reading ability. This technique allows students that have difficulties decoding words to work on their comprehension while at the same time improving their ability to read site words. Not only can talking books help students with their comprehension and recognition of site words but it may serve to make their reading more engaging and purposeful. By enabling students control of the narration speed of the cassettes we are in essence affording them some ownership of their learning. Furthermore, It seems that the use of talking books with student controlled narration rates may help to reduce the demands placed on the classroom teacher without reducing the level of individual instruction received by the child However, one short coming of this type of reading program that I foresee would arise because of the limited amount of resources available. Ideally Students would be able to read new material on a continual basis. However, at present there is only a limited supply of this type of literature available. One obvious merit of these findings is that with the increased number of ESL students and students with special needs entering into the school system is that it provides us with one more tool with which we can attempt to meet these needs. However, in our excitement to implement what seems to be a promising way to help children develop their literacy skills we must remember that further research needs to be done in order to not only replicate these findings but to assess the generalizability of these findings across all students and their individual learning styles. At present, I would definitely have to question the generalizability of Bergman's findings from the Hebrew speaking student population to that of the English speaking student population.

Reply 8a

Author: Ofer_Bergman
Date: 11-23-1999 17:22

Paula King generally supported the conclusions of the research, but questioned if we can generalize from the Hebrew speaking to English speaking student populations. This is an interesting question especially since Hebrew writing is different from English writing. The first very noticeable difference is that it is written from right to left defying of the human neuropsychological tendency to scan whatever we view from left to right (BTW the reason for that is that Hebrew's roots are so old that was first written on stone. When the hammer is in the right hand and the chisel on the left the chisel naturally moves towards the left side). The second main difference is that there is very little use of vowels, instead beginning readers use special signs under the letters that indicates how to pronounce it.

Despite of these differences I think a generalization can be made because the main problem discussed is indifferent to the language learned: Talking books are narrated at about our talking rate while the students' reading is much slower. Theconclusions of the research are also supported by previous researches done in the English language see McMahon (1983), Carbo (1978), Neville (1975) and Shany & Beimiller (1995).

Of course the question of generalization between languages is empirical, and I will be very happy if the research wouldl be replicated in the English language (especially if it would be a part of a longitudinal study).

Carbo, M. (1978). Teaching reading with talking books. The Reading Teacher, 32, 267-273.

McMahon, M.L. (1983). Development of reading-while-listening skills in the primary grades. Reading Research Quarterly, 19(1), 38-52.

Neville, M.H. (1975). The effect of rate of an aural message on listening and on reading while listening. Educational Research, 18, 37-43.

Shany, T. M., Biemiller, A. (1995). Assisted reading practice: Effects on performance for poor readers in grades 3 and 4. Reading Research Quarterly, 30(3). University of Toronto.

Post 9

Author: dale_carrothers
Date: 11-12-1999 18:42

Wait For Me!

Mr. Bergman's article raises some interesting points with regard to RWL. My experience with RWL lies in two areas: home and classroom use. On the home front, I observed the impact of RWL on my youngest brother's literacy experiences, as well as upon those of my children. Although I firmly believe that all exposure to literacy in its many forms ultimately has a positive impact upon a child's interest and abilities in literacy, I must note that in both situations, my observations were of young children who learned to memorize the stories they "read" by means of repeated listening and cues for page turning. For example, when my youngest brother was 4, strangers to our household were certain that he could read due to his ability to recite from memory (word for word, page by page), his favourite stories. My own children had very similar experiences. After I had read to them, they loved to fall asleep listening to their taped stories. There was hardly a Disney story they had not committed to memory by four or five years of age. While taped stories greatly enhanced their positive experiences with literature, I question their role in actually producing the ability to read. Certainly they stimulated a connection between phonemes and graphemes, but for the most part my observations pointed to their ability to listen while searching for clues in the pictures that accompanied the text, rather than actual attempts to decode text at this age. This is also true of my observations of children who utilize the reading centers in Kindergarden and some grade one classrooms. However, once graphophonemic awareness begins to take hold and children begin to read, the tapes play a different role, as illustrated by the study undertaken in the article. I found it very interesting that tape-recorded stories were read at a rate so far beyond the grade level and reading ability of early readers. I also found it most interesting to ponder why, in this age of technology, no one had developed reader-controlled narration speeds. It seems so logical, once considered. The actual demonstration of reader-controlled narration speed provided by the article was very informative; I cannot imagine any child not preferring to set the rate of narration to his/her own ability to read. The study results were intriguing: good readers increased their comprehension and text accuracy, but not word list accuracy or speed; while poor readers increased their text and word list accuracy, but not their reading speed or comprehension. Although one could surmise an overall positive outcome from the study with regard to reader control of narration speed, I would like to investigate the reasons behind the "zero gain" of comprehension among poorer readers. Ultimately, though, I think that the idea behind the study is sound; I support the hypothesis that students will profit greatly from reader-controlled narration speed in RWL programs.

Reply 9a

Author: Ofer_Bergman
Date: 11-21-1999 19:22

I agree with Dale's distinction between early and late usage of taking books. In the early stage the roll of talking books is mainly to enhance the children's positive experiences with literature. Indeed when I wrote about giving children a choice of narration rate I was aiming to the later stage in which using talking books requires (but also builds up) graphophonemic awareness.

Dale raised an interesting question "why, in this age of technology, no one had developed reader-controlled narration speeds?". The cynical answer to this might be that they don't think it will help them sell their product. The children will not protest because they do not know of an alternative (and might be happy just listening to the story without reading as they have done in an early stage). If however reading teachers think that this feature is beneficial, and would demand it for their children, than they might be able to force talking books developers to use it in their products.

Dale asked about the research's negative findings. I think that the reason for each of them is very different: There was a positive effect on the word list accuracy of the entire population, but it did not reach a level of significance (p = 0.116 > 0.05). Perhaps if I had tested 100 participants instead of 64, the results would have reach a level of significant. Regarding reading speed the choice narration rate had almost no effect at all. One of the readers of this discussiion group pointed out that the experiment was much too short to effect that. Personally I think that comprehension, accuracy and general attitude towards reading is more important than speed, especially at this early stage. Regarding the finding that the poor reading's comprehension didn't improve when given a choice of narration rate: Being present with the children in the test it was obvious to me that after a few seconds these children did not even attempt to follow the narration at the standard rate. As they were not occupied with the attempt to read, they were free to listen to the story. As they were actually tested for listening comprehension they did not have any difficulties, and therefore the slowing down the narration rate did not effect their comprehension.

Reply 9b

Author: Rebecca_Eschmeyer
Date: 12-07-1999 21:55

As a kindergarten teacher (and a mother of a one year old), I am a strong advocate of reading to children. But as most teachers know, obviously not all parents feel the same way. This is why it is so important for us to emerse the children in reading, writing, and listening to stories. I often have parents confide in me about how they cannot read their child's favorite book to them another night. They are so sick and tired of it. My advice to them is to continue reading it (or better yet, let the child "read" to them) for as long as the child wants to. Yes, they may have just memorized what the parent has read to them, but eventually, what the parent is reading and what the child is seeing is going to click. In other words, there will be phoneme and grapheme matching. I found this article to be very intersting. I had never heard of or thought of the option of slowing down the rate of speed on audio books or computer programs. I was amazed to learn how many grade levels above (the suggested age) these narrations actually were. I know there are many times my students ask me to slow down. We get caught up in the time schedule and try to hurry, when all we are doing is hurting the children. Many children take longer for words to soak in. I know that I would have students who would choose to slow down the narration of a talking book if given the opportunity. I found this article to be very informative and I would like to read more on this subject. With all the technology available to us today, hopefully someone will come up with a way for students to control the speed of narration of talking books.

Post 10

Author: Adam_Gibbons
Date: 11-12-1999 18:53

I enjoyed reading the article by Ofer Bergman. However, I'm left feeling unsure of what to say about it. I am sure something will come to me as I write. I found the conclusions to be useful but sortof common sense. The study was methodologicaly sound but I found that there were no surprising insights or earth shattering "a-ha's". It seems obvious that if we are working far beyond the student's "zone of proximal development" they aren't going to extract as much from the activity as if we were smack in the middle of the zone. I did appreciate the point that we need to critically examine the uses of computers in education and that we need to justify their use on the grounds that they are capable of being useful tools where there are no other tools for the job. I agree that reader controlled narration is one such area but so much more can be done and is done. What about interactive storybooks? What about storybooks that allow co-construction of meaning with other readers? What about the myriad of other possibilities that exist within the potential of digital technologies? Is having the choice of narration rate really such a breakthrough or is it only scraping the surface of the potential? I suspect that digital technologies could be taken much further.

Adam

Reply 10a

Author: Ofer Bergman
Date: 11-20-1999 18:36

Adam,

Thank you for responding to my article, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. The term "common sense" that you have titled for your massage can be interpreted in three different ways. I will refer to each regarding the article:

The first meaning is that it is a straightforward idea which "makes sense". If this is the meaning you were referring to than I take it as a big complement. I think that good research is based on straightforward thinking. Sometimes researchers are so into their theories that they don't see what stands before their eyes (I will never forget the reaction of a professor at my former university to my research idea: "But this is a practical idea, and therefor of no interest at all!").

"Common sense" can also mean something which everybody knowst, or will realize if it is suggested to them. Alas, how far is this from the reality! Not only companies who manufacture Talking Books software did not offer the students to alter the narration rate on their own initiative, they did not do it after I suggested it to them (and I have tried too persuade them to do it for several years!).

"Common sense" could also means trivial ("there were no surprising insights or earth shattering a-ha's"). This is a legitimate criticism, but I think that this should not be the only criterion that the article should be judged by. I think that the extent it might benefit children struggling to learn to read is not less important.

I agree with you that digital technologies could be taken much further. This was my small contribution, and you are welcome to suggest yours. If you do that I can give you one tip which I strongly believe in: Rather than think "what can be done with a new technology?" think of the students' needs and only then think of a technology that would help them with that.

Yours - Ofer

Post 11

Author: Wanda _Hedrick
Date: 11-29-1999 01:13

I have two questions to ask the author. First of all, I am interested in this research and its classroom implications, however, the first question pertains to any text with speech on a computer. If rate of speech is not controlled by the "reader/listener" then should we NOT show text and have speech at the same time? In other words, does it produce conflicting input to have speech and text that does not match speedwise with the reader/listener's reading speed? I have wondered about this.Is there any research that directly tests this? Also, I have a question about the subjects in the study. What was their specific problem in reading if they were poor readers? Do we know if they had trouble decoding or was it with weak vocabulary knowledge or poor background knowledge? In other words, did you test their listening ability?

Reply 11a

Author: Ofer_Bergman
Date: 01-04-2000 16:56

A vast body of research that examines simultaneous reading and listening to different text. A lot of this research is done in the cognitive psychology field of attention (in this case it are examines split attention). I'm not very familiar with this research but I know that in the past researchers believed in early selection in which there was a choice to which modality to attend to (either listening or reading). Today researchers believe in late selection in which the selection of attention is made according to the content of the input information and not it's modality. Generally according to the late selection theory the massages in the two modalities will distract one another if they have different semantic content, and will stimulate one another if they are semantically close. Today the narrator is usually reading ahead of the pupils, the pupils will read the text after it is being narrated to them. Also both narration and reading is in the context of the story. So my guess would be that the narration will help more than it distracts (depending on many parameters such as the distractibility of the student, and the gap between narration and student rates).

Regarding the second question - I did not test the poor readers listening ability.

Post 12

Author: Valerie_Wiser2
Date: 12-07-1999 18:54

I think the software would be helpful for students who realize that they need to read slower for better comprehension and understanding of the word parts. However, in a practical sense, students aren't going to read at a pace that is helpful, but more the pace that seems to sound "right" to them. Therefore, I still advocate for teachers sitting down with students, or better yet, parents getting involved and reading with their children. One of the best reading tools we have is the ability to read as examples and encouragers and motivators. Especially as parents, we have that responsibility. If the parent doesn't read, how is the child ever going to know that reading is important? And how will the child get practice if the parent doesn't encourage the child to read aloud to him or her?

Post 13

Author: Carmen_Morales-Gomez
Date: 02-12-2000 15:01

I really enjoyed reading about the research that was done in Bergman's article. I think we need more software out there where students can control the speed that something is narrated to them. To my knowledge I don't think there is much out there right now that children can control the narration rate. Although the research was done with first graders, I think that any student at the elementary level could benefit from controling the speed that something is narrated to them. I beleive this practice would greatly help the student in all the facets of reading as well as acquiring excellent listening skills. I beleive RWL is an excellent supplement to any reading program.Also I think it would be much better if the students had some control of the rate that stories were narrated to them.

Reply 13a

Author: Laurie_Fabritius
Date: 02-15-2000 20:34

Overall, I think that Carmen Morales-Gomez has some great points about the Bergman article. I think that having tapes where students can adjust the speed of the text that is being read aloud is ideal but may not be possible. It may benefit students if the producers of these tapes made certain levels. For instance, beginning, intermediate, and advanced speeds. This would enable the tapes to be more individualized and suited for a particular student. I do however think that accompanying tapes can bring stories to life. My 6th grade students listened to the novel "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" by Christopher Paul Curtis on tape while we read the novel together. My students absolutely loved it! Levar Burton was the narrator and he really brought the characters to life. This tape also provided the students with a model of how to read dialogue. It was also a great motivational tool. My students couldn't wait to continue reading and listening to the tape. I should add though that I do not believe tapes should be used consistently. I think tapes can definitely be integrated appropriately into a well-rounded curriculum.

Reply 13b

Author: Mayra Vanessa_Ventura
Date: 02-15-2000 21:21

I am very interested in the results found in this particular study. Althouhg the research targeted a group of first graders, my fourth grade students would benefit from such a program. I am fortunate enough to work at a school that is well equipped with the latest technology and computer software. Our students are able to interact with all sorts of media at almost every grade level. My group, however, has not benefited from the reading software the way I would hope they could. When given a choice, most of my lower level readers choose the software that allows a "no sound" default, or an "independent reading" setting - especially, if the tasks call for the manipulation of the language. If the tasks call for comprehension assessment, they rely on their listening skills and not their reading rate. They use their headphones and try not to even look at the screen, unless there are pictures and visual aides. The latter I believe supports some of the findings in the study Bergman presents. I hope this study is the foundation for further investigation and research that could resdesign most of our classroom instruction.

Reply 13c

Author: Cristina_Torres
Date: 02-16-2000 15:40

I found this article extremely interesting. Two weeks ago, I attended a workshop focusing on RWL on computers. One of the things I mentioned to the presentor at the workshop was that I was concerned with the speed the story was being read. The particular software program I am writing about is one used and piloted at many schools in the bilingual program for ESOL students. The words on this particular software are highlighted as the narrator reads them. So, when the rate is fast those words start blinking along with his/her speed. For an ESOL child or any child that is a slow reader it is extremely difficult to keep up. I am certainly glad that this issue was addressed in the article.

Reply 13d

Author: Ana_Torres
Date: 02-16-2000 22:19

I found this article very interesting. I am not very famiiliar with RWL computers, however, I have often used books on cassette with my students. I have seen my students who have learning disabilities, often struggle with the rate at which the story is read. Therefore, I agree that children should control the speed of narration in order to benefit from talking books. It would also be interesting if the effects of RWL computers can be tested on dyslexic children as the article mentions.

Reply 13e

Author: Ana_Lopez
Date: 04-15-2000 22:37

This article had a very interesting topic. I do agree with Charlotte that using books on tape is an excellent source of motivation for students. But I must also say that I have my doubts as to choosing the narration rate that students can read. Eventhough it is a process of remediation that we do not hear much off, I don't know to what extent it is feasible. Using books on tapes with controlled narration may be an excellent source for one on one tutoring, but not for the classroom. Everything has to be individualized for each particular student. I find it very difficult to accomplish but as always not impossible. I was glad to have read this article because one day I may just be able to adapt this concept with particular students or maybe even a classroom.

Reply 13f

Author: Allen_Breeding99
Date: 02-16-2000 21:55

This response prepared by Allen Breeding: After reading this article and some of the responses, I feel that reader controlled RWL van be highly beneficial for students. Being a 6th grade science teacher, I encounter several students who are either ESOL or ESE who have great difficulty reading. The reader controlled RWL provides theses students with the opportunity to listen and read along with the text at their own pace. They would be able to control the rate of speed allowing them to adjust the pace faster or slower. I also believe that the reader controlled RWL enables students to experience success with reading thus increasing their motivation to read. I believe Bergman did a good job presenting the research and providing support for his beliefs. Although there are some skeptics who are not confident that RWL enhances reading ability, I believe it does and can work when applied appropriately to the proper students. I also agree that more research needs to be conducted in this area to provide an ample amount of information to prove or disprove Bergman's theories.

Reply 13g

Author: Barbara_Romero
Date: 02-16-2000 20:31

I found this article to be very enlightening. I feel that if RWL is used as a supplement to reading instruction it will definitely help students to become better readers. RWL is an excellent method for helping improve students' listening comprehension as well. I also agree with the results of the study done in this article that RWL will better help students if they are able to control the rate/speed of the text that is being narrated to them. The ability for students to control the speed of the narration will help them to adjust the narration to a level that is comfortable for them. As a result, students will be able to listen and read the text at their own speed as opposed to the teacher reading to them at one speed. RWL will definitely be an asset to lower readers. This article encourages educators to use techniques such as RWL to supplement their reading programs.

Reply 13h

Author: Allen_Breeding99
Date: 02-16-2000 21:39

I am glad to read an article that addresses reading while listening (RWL). As a first grade ESOL teacher, I agree with the research in this article. By allowing students to control the rate of narration in computer programs, they are able to increase their reading comprehension. Otherwise, they may just listen to words without any meaning. However, many programs in our schools do not allow students or teachers to control the rate of narration. The RWL currently provided in schools may not even take into consideration different reading levels. The research in this article offers support and encouragement for schools and teachers to use appropriate RWL in their classrooms.

This response was written by Alina Breeding.

Reply 13i

Author: Charlotte_Zeitsiff
Date: 02-20-2000 17:35

As many readers have suggested in their responses, Bergman's article was enlightening. I hadn't really thought of the possible consequences of readers being able to independently control the narration rate of tapes as they were reading while listening. I agree that it is an excellent way to maintain motivation for the student because each child can plot their own progress!

Even in high school there is a diversity of reading levels within the regular English classroom. I have noticed also that students often comprehend at different speeds when I am reading aloud to them, this often being determined by the difficulty of the reading or more often than not, the interest level of the reading material. The more captivating the material, the more my students are motivated to attempt comprehension.

This article and the responses of my peers has motivated me to do more reading aloud to my students while they have the written material in front of them. I will also attempt to regulate my reading speeds to see what changes in comprehension may occur. Perhaps some of my lower level readers would greatly benefit from tapes of readings at varying speeds? This article provides enough proof to motivate me to try this!

Post 14

Author: Tiffany L_Connell
Date: 02-15-2000 13:29

The idea of narrated books is great, yet Bergman makes the point that currently this is not helping children due to the fact that the tapes go at a speed that is too fast. Children and adults for that matter enjoy listening to a story on tape. For children it is beneficial for them to read along as they listen, but this is not going to help them if the tape is too far ahead of them and they lose track of what they are reading. They would be reading one word and hearing another. This could cause them to associate the wrong words with what they are reading. More research needs to be done in this area and then maybe tapes will come out that are able to be adjusted to a child's speed of reading. I have never seen a machine that is capable of doing this so that would also need to be marketed. Hopefully, this would not be that expensive and many children would benefit from narrated tapes.

Post 15

Author: Karina_Miguelez
Date: 02-16-2000 18:46

I found this article to be very interesting. As I read it, I thought about how my ESOL students would greatly benefit from having RWL in the classroom. Since my students have just recently arrived in the United States, they are just starting to learn how to read in English. I hope to see RWL being used in my school!

Reply 15a

Author: Jessica M_Rivero
Date: 02-17-2000 14:31

I completely agree with Karina. ESOL students seem to need to have any activity that is read out loud to them done at a slower rate so that they are able to understand and grasp the meaning of what is being said. Research about RWL proved that giving students the control over the narration rate will increase reading comprehension and reading accuracy. Both of these aspects of reading are extremely important especially in beginning readers. Learning to read is important but it is even more important to understand the message that the author is trying to convey. This article gave me great insight as to the effect that narration can have on the ability to improve the reading of all students especially poor readers. Hopefully RWL will become part of all classrooms.

Reply 15b

Author: Daniela Blandon
Date: 02-17-2000 16:58

I really think that the RWL is a great instructional technique for children. The article really brought about the fact that students benefit when stories are read at a slower rate. But I would have to agree that too slow is not the best way. By the end of the article I was impressed that the study confirmed that when students have a choice of narration rate is more effective than standard RWL for students in the initial stages of learning to read. I really did not know this and I was pleased to have learned something new. I would have to say that when I began teaching I always felt that I was talking and reading too fast for my children and I always tried to stop. I always tried to speak slower. I have been teaching now for 5 years and I am pleased to say that I do speak much slower now and read to my students at a slower pace. I have noticed that my students do understand me better now. So, I would have to agree that giving students choice in the narration rate is more effective.

Post 16

Author: nicole_wilson
Date: 02-17-2000 15:49

I have never thought that reading rate has a direct effect on how well a child will read. I have always felt that you should read aloud with the correct fluency. Reading at the appropraite fluency will model an effective reading rate. In any event after reading Bergman's article, I have been enlightened to the fact that maybe reading fluency should be developmental. The child's level should be recorded, and from there a recorded book should be read a level or two above the student's reading rate. After monitoring the student's develpoment the reading rate should be increased periodically. By periodically increasing the reading rate, the child's reading fluency will take strives towards better fluency and better comprehension.

Post 17

Author: A.J._Vargas
Date: 02-17-2000 17:00

We have found that this article to be very informative to associate children with what the article "the talking book". We likethe idea of children listening to the text because it gives a sense of knowing what the sounds are and what the words look like. It helps them with their grammatical skills and contextualizing information. Although we don't necessarily agree that children wil perform better on tests as a result of listening to books on tape. However the children did appear to be more task oriented in their learning to read. We agree that further research in our own classrooms is needed. Tawanna Nelson.

Reply 17a

Author: yoly_nielsen
Date: 02-24-2000 16:41

RWL, while probably slightly as effective as a good, inventive teacher without the technology, it deserves some credit for being different. Since the students are using unconventional ways for "guided reading" their attention span will probably be longer, wich in turn will produce more on-task behavior. I don't believe that test scores will increase much because of RWL. However, I do feel that the change of approach might stimulate them to read or/and enjoy reading more.

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