Listening is passive, reading is active. Two very different pursuits. Discuss.
Listening is passive, reading is active. Two very different pursuits. Discuss.
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Listening is passive, reading is active. Two very different pursuits. Discuss.
I believe there is active listening. I taught it to my students all the time. It is easy to listen passively but listening actively requires being conscious and engaged.
I also don’t agree that listening is necessarily passive.
And reading can also be done quite passively.
Right? How many times have we all read something and then realized we have no clue what happened because our minds wandered and we were reading, but not absorbing!
When I am listening I can do something with my hands, sew, wash dishes, etc. When I read a book I can only read the book. I don’t think either is passive.I think it depends on the person.
Hearing is passive but listening is definitely an active choice!
I don’t actually hear things if I don’t pay proper attention when listening to a book. When listening to a book I can’t do anything else that includes reading or writing. Deffo not passive
I agree that listening can be active! Besides, there are many books that I have listened to that I may not have read. Often times that is due to the voice of the reader. My love of listening to books began years ago when NPR aired “The Radio Reader” and I listened to Cold Sassy Tree.
Agree, do not do audio,as my mind would wander,not good at muti tasking.
I don’t think listening to a book, though, is a passive pursuit. When I listen to one enroute to somewhere, even a four hour trip can feel so much shorter as I become engrossed in the book. Somehow, though, I can still concentrate on my driving at the same time.
Previously discussed in detail in SBC. Bottom line: what floats your boat.
I love listening to books on audio especially non-fiction. But this week i checked out a Fiction book and the narrator is so good! I think it is preference. I am one of those ppl that has a book in every room and my car just in case…..hahaha
I rewind if I zone out. I have to actively listen to absorb. I also remember more details from listening because when reading, visually I’ll gloss over words & keep going, but when listening I rewind. I can listen to music or tv while reading (and actually hate reading while it’s quiet) but while listening that’s it. I’m all in.
It doesn’t concern me in the least how anyone gets information…reading, listening, watching. It only concerns me that they do get information! I filed this under the heading of “none of my business”.
I don’t agree. Listening is definitely active, maybe not hearing. Reading can be passive.
I don’t agree – there is actually something called “active listening”. It is when you listen without zoning out.
I agree that listening and reading are different, but both can be either passive or active.
I read several hours a day and listening to books is not my preference. BUT I remember in older elementary school sometimes there were a few extra minutes in the afternoon the teacher would read a book out loud to the class. I would put my head down on my desk and just listen and get absolutely thoroughly absorbed in the story. One of my best memories.
My teacher did that too! The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I loved it!
I don’t think it is necessarily that listening is passive that is the problem. It’s that if you are a visual learning person, as I am, rather than an auditory learner you will not do well listening to books.
And vise versa!
I listen every day – it is very different than reading. It’s a different skill.
I think they’re both active. It takes concentration to actively listen and comprehend what is being said.
I find reading more passive and listening more active. To listen well you must be present and seeking their perspective. You want to understand to feel.
Both active. You have to pay attention to the story either way. I listen to audiobooks while driving, washing dishes, etc so my brain is concentrating on more than one thing. This article says they’re not much different as far as our brains are concerned. http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/08/listening-to-a-book-instead-of-reading-isnt-cheating.html
With my busy schedule I listen to audiobooks during my commute and when i am cleaning around the house. I have increased my reading challenge bc i am reading/hearing more. I am also an advocate because I can visualize the book more and get to hear how the names are pronounced with all the different voices from the characters.
The focus isn’t the same. As a musician, I’ve spent a lot of time listening to music to analyze it in preparation for learning to perform it. Can’t be done. If you’re doing something besides listening, it’s basically background music.
Listening and reading are both passive activities compared to speaking or writing in your own words, but I personally find that listening and reading require a similar level of engagement. I have difficulty maintaining focus on either for long periods.
My mind wanders too much to listen!
Why do we constantly debate this topic in here?
Why do you put your own experience on others in such a way as to discount their preferred methods?
I haven’t saw anyone discounting anyone else’s preferred methods. I think it was just meant to be a topic of discussion and nothing offensive.
If you are a strong listener, it is an active pursuit; if you are likewise a weak reader, it is a passive pursuit. One can be strong or weak in either activity. I suppose it’s why people are so terrible at resolving disputes and retaining information.
I can be an active listener/reader or an absent listener/ reader, it depends if i am interested or not…
I prefer reading books but they get in the way of my steering wheel when I’m driving ?. I lik both, love to read and love to listen to audiobooks…
Listening to a recording is passive in that no response is expected. Listening to another person is an entirely different activity and is usually very active. Reading requires more cerebral activity but it is far more prone to interruptions. It is more active than listening to a recording.
It depends what your aiming for and how you can maximize your time. I find reading to be the most rewarding, but listening to audiobooks has its own advantages. Such as being able to get lost in an amazing story while I use public transit, while I do chores in my home I get distracted and faster and I’m super efficient. Listening only works best for me with headphones as I truly get zoned out.
PS. I found that when I have listened to my favorite books it was amazing to get a different view on the book. Example: The Harry Potter series. I loved them on a hard copy and a loved them again in audiobook format.
I can read so much faster than people speak in real time, so I get impatient listening to an audiobook.
I use overdrive, it allows you to control the speed.
I love audio books that are done well. The performer who read The Hate U Give gave the book an aspect that I don’t think I would have had if I read it. And I feel that way about a lot of audio books…. Call me a rebel on a book page!
And I’ve just added a book to my listen pile. Thanks!!!
Me too! Felt the same way about Lonesome Dove, loved reading the book but also listened to Will Patton read the audio, amazing! World War Z had multiple readers and was really fun to listen to. I sometimes listen to books I wouldn’t read…
Ready Player One read by Wil Wheaton was also cool.
And I will also say that I treasured reading to my children’s classes. I had a once a week appointment. I would like to think that my sons felt the love when I volunteered and that I maybe inspired a kid or two to read…
When you’re driving passive is better than active
This is why they allow radios in cars. You can focus on the road while listening.
I get just as much into the story listening (when well read) as I do reading. Perhaps that’s not the same for everyone, I dunno.
I suppose if someone is reading you a summary/Cliff Note then it might be different – otherwise I still count it as having “read” the book; I’m not going to go actually read a book that was just read to me.
can’t text… reading! 🙂
Wow, never thought of it that way. However, when you listen, you are focusing, so that cannot be passive
I don’t want to listen to interrupters when I’m reading. It annoys and diverts the attention. On the other hand, I enjoy audio books when I’m doing long drives alone. Both listening and reading require someone’s attention, therefore both are active.
You get the same result regardless so why does this continue to be a point of discussion?
Disagree…the results aren’t the same…reading the words, has a much stronger impact, to me.
Jaye Dodds – And I have a very difficult time remembering things I’ve read, but listening to the audiobook connects me to it.
Sarah send to be in-between our extremes.
Apples and oranges?
That’s why I am so fidgety when I try to watch tv. Listening and watching is too passive for me. My mind needs to be more engaged in order for me to sit still. That’s why reading is my number one way to relax. ☺️
Agreed…I like audio books when I am pursuing mundane activities, i.e., exercising! But some times I start an audio, then realize its rich wording needs to be read, a much deeper, more thoughtful pleasure to me.
Good point, Jaye.
I think reading engages your imagination, you construct how it looks and feels, what you are reading. much as i love movies, its some other persons imagination that is constructing that world.
Have you ever read a book, getting a strong visual of what the characters look like, then seeing it made into a movie and the actors chosen do not fit your mental image; therefore, making the movie less enjoyable?
Lincoln at the bardo is an award winner no read … and an epic listen