Listening to Literature versus Reading

From time to time, a student will ask if he or she can listen to a book on CD or download an audio application of the piece on his or her I-Pod. I always respond to this question by stating that it is fine with me as long as he or she follows along in the book while listening to the text. My philosophy is that if the student merely listens to the piece, he or she is not actually reading, but just listening. It is not helping his or her reading skills by just by listening to the story. However, I also know that some students have a hard time concentrating on the material they are responsible for reading, and in some cases, the student may have trouble reading. Therefore, my solution is a "best of both worlds" scenario whereby the student can concentrate and/or benefit from listening to the text while, at the same time, learn new words with which he or she may be unfamiliar. What do you think? Please leave a comment in regards to this posting.