Why Listening (and Reading Along) Changes Everything
Around one in ten people in the UK has dyslexia. That is roughly six million people for whom reading printed text requires significantly more effort, concentration, and energy than it does for everyone else. Many of them love books. They just find the standard way of accessing them exhausting.
Audiobooks remove the biggest barrier. Instead of decoding printed words on a page, you listen to a professional narrator read the book to you. The story, the ideas, the language are all the same. The struggle with the mechanics of reading is gone.
But audiobooks are not only useful for people with dyslexia. They open up books for people with visual impairments, motor difficulties that make holding a book or turning pages painful, conditions like ME or chronic fatigue where concentration on print is limited, and anyone who finds sustained reading physically or cognitively demanding. If print has ever felt like it was getting in the way of the book, audiobooks are worth trying.
Why audiobooks work for dyslexic readers
Dyslexia primarily affects the decoding of printed text: the process of turning letters on a page into words and meaning. For many dyslexic readers, this process is slow, tiring, and error-prone, even though their comprehension, vocabulary, and reasoning skills are completely intact. Research consistently shows that dyslexic readers often have strong listening comprehension, sometimes stronger than their non-dyslexic peers, because they have spent years developing skills that do not depend on decoding print.
Audiobooks bypass the decoding problem entirely. You hear the words spoken clearly by a skilled narrator, with correct pronunciation, natural pacing, and emotional expression. Your brain can focus on what the book is saying rather than how to read it. For many dyslexic readers, this is genuinely transformative. Books that felt impossibly slow in print become absorbing and enjoyable in audio.
There are practical benefits too. Audiobooks help build vocabulary by exposing listeners to words in context, complete with correct pronunciation. They improve phonemic awareness (the ability to recognise and work with the sounds in words) because you hear the language spoken naturally and repeatedly. And they keep readers engaged with age-appropriate or level-appropriate content, rather than forcing people to read below their intellectual ability because of a decoding difficulty.
Why listening and reading together is even better
Listening to an audiobook is powerful on its own. But for dyslexic readers, listening and reading at the same time can be especially effective.
When you hear a word spoken at the same moment you see it on screen, your brain builds a stronger connection between the sound of the word, its spelling, and its meaning. This dual input reinforces the links that dyslexic readers often find hardest to form through print alone. Research on audio-assisted reading has shown improvements in reading accuracy, comprehension, and motivation, particularly for adolescents and young adults with reading difficulties.
This is where the format matters. Most audiobook apps give you audio only. xigxag is different. An increasing proportion of audiobooks on xigxag are available as x-books, which means you can see the text on screen as you listen, follow along word by word, look up unfamiliar words without leaving the app, take notes, highlight passages, and search within the book. You can switch between listening only and listening with text depending on what works for you in the moment.
For dyslexic readers, this is a genuinely useful tool. You get the accessibility of audio with the option to engage with the printed text when you want to, without the pressure of it being the only way in.
Beyond dyslexia: who else benefits
Audiobooks and the listen-and-read format are useful for a much wider range of access needs than dyslexia alone.
Visual impairments. Audiobooks are already well established as an essential format for people with sight loss. Charities like Listening Books, Calibre Audio, and the RNIB library provide thousands of titles to UK readers who cannot access standard print. xigxag’s app includes adjustable text size for anyone with partial sight who wants to use the listen-and-read format.
Motor difficulties and chronic pain. Holding a book, turning pages, or sitting in a reading position for extended periods can be painful or impossible for people with conditions like arthritis, ME, fibromyalgia, or spinal injuries. Audiobooks let you listen from any position, with no physical demands beyond pressing play.
Neurodivergent readers. People with ADHD, autism, or other neurodivergent conditions often find that audiobooks suit the way their attention works. Some find it easier to concentrate on audio while doing something physical (walking, cooking, fidgeting). Others find that the combination of audio and text keeps their focus in a way that print alone does not.
Older readers. Age-related changes in vision, dexterity, or concentration can make print increasingly difficult. Audiobooks offer a way to keep reading without strain, and the listen-and-read format can help when vision is declining but not yet gone.
English as a second language. For people learning English, audiobooks provide sustained exposure to natural spoken language with correct pronunciation, intonation, and vocabulary in context. The listen-and-read format is especially powerful here: hearing a word spoken at the same moment you see it written builds the connection between how English sounds and how it looks on the page. Research shows that reading while listening produces stronger gains in comprehension and vocabulary than either approach alone.
Children with parents who find reading difficult. Audiobooks can be a lifeline in households where parents struggle with reading themselves, whether because of their own dyslexia, a visual impairment, or because English is not their first language. A parent who cannot confidently read a bedtime story aloud can still share a book with their child by listening together. The x-bookⓇ format means both parent and child can see the text on screen while hearing it read by a professional narrator, keeping the shared experience of a book alive without anyone feeling excluded or embarrassed.
To find x-books in the xigxag app, look for the x-bookⓇ ribbon on the cover image, or use the search filter to show x-books only.
Free and affordable options in the UK
If you or someone you support has an access need that makes print difficult, there are several free resources worth knowing about.
Listening Books is a UK charity providing audiobooks to anyone with an illness or disability that affects their ability to read print. Membership is free for those who qualify, and the catalogue has over 11,000 titles.
Calibre Audio offers subscription-free audiobooks for people who cannot access standard print, with free membership for children and young people under 18.
Your local library offers free audiobooks through apps like BorrowBox and Libby. All you need is a library card.
For a wider range of titles, including new releases and bestsellers, xigxag offers over 120,000 audiobooks with no subscription required. Prices start at £8.99, and the Listen for Less section always has titles from £3.99. Every audiobook is available as an x-bookⓇ with the full listen-and-read experience, and every title is narrated by a professional human voice.
It is OK to read with your ears
One of the most common things dyslexic readers say about audiobooks is that they feel like getting something back. Access to stories, to ideas, to the same books everyone else is reading, without the exhausting fight with print.
If you have dyslexia, a visual impairment, or any condition that makes printed books difficult, audiobooks are not a shortcut or a cheat. They are a different way of reading, and they are just as valid. Listening is reading. And with the right app, you can listen, read along, or switch between the two depending on what works for you.
Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk and try an x-bookⓇ. You might find it changes how you feel about reading.
