A poll by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) found that children’s enjoyment of listening to audio and podcasts had risen compared with the previous year, overtaking their enjoyment of reading for the first time since the charity began asking about audio in 2020.
“In recent years, we’ve seen a steady rise in children’s enjoyment of listening to audio and uncovered the myriad of benefits it can bring – from sparking a love of reading and supporting literacy development, to deepening learning and boosting wellbeing,” said Jonathan Douglas, the NLT’s chief executive.
With audio, however, more boys (43.4%) than girls (40.4%) said they enjoyed listening, and the NLT said it hoped audiobooks and podcasts could offer a gateway into reading for pleasure both for boys and girls.
Julie McCulloch, the director of strategy and policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “There is certainly potential in using audio formats to encourage a love of reading alongside all the things that schools are doing to teach children to read and write, and access great books.”.
As audio increases in popularity, reading for pleasure has fallen to “crisis” levels, according to the NLT, with just over one-third of children (34.6%) saying they enjoyed reading in their free time.
