Reading by Ear or Eye: Examining Comprehension, Self-Efficacy, and Reading Habits Across Audio and Print

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 7:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring Literacy Self-Efficacy: From Student Motivation to Teacher Beliefs

Abstract

Given the limited research between the comparison of audiobooks and paper books, this study examined how each medium affects reading comprehension. This study explored how audiobooks and paper influence comprehension and investigated readers’ motivations and experiences. Participants were college students who read two excerpts from Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now. Preliminary results showed that there was no difference in comprehension, but there are several emerging trends: topic knowledge was the strongest predictor for overall comprehension, higher reading and listening self-efficacy for the paper medium, and enjoyment of the paper medium was higher. However, additional data is being collected in Fall 2025 to compare audiobooks and print reading.

Authors

• Kayla King, San Francisco State University

• Anisha Singh, San Francisco State University