Are you the type of person who seems to always forget people’s faces but remembers the names you hear even years after not hearing them again? If so, this means that you might be an auditory learner, and sound means much more to you than to most people.
But what exactly does that mean? Read on and find out more about the auditory learner definition, some of its many qualities, benefits, and strategies you can use to further improve this learning style.
What Is Auditory Learning?
Auditory learning refers to a learning style in which people learn most effectively by listening. An auditory learner prefers to listen to the information rather than read it in a text. While other learners retain information in different ways, either by touch, vision, or reading and writing, an auditory learner will focus on listening or speaking to process the information.
Many auditory learners find learning challenging when the data is delivered to them in a written text but have no problem understanding it in an audial form. They store information by how it sounds and often learn new things by reading them aloud or pairing them to non-verbal sounds like music or clapping.
For example, children who are auditory learners love music and tend to learn the words of songs more quickly than other types of learners. They have no problem understanding spoken directions by their teachers, but when asked to read something, they will instead prefer to read aloud to have someone read it to them.
Auditory learners usually excel in traditional school environments where they use listening as their primary way of learning.
Characteristics Of Auditory Learners
Whether you want to learn more about your own learning style or you are a teacher trying to determine the types of learners in your classroom, understanding auditory learner characteristics is essential in finding ways to make learning more effective.
Here’s a list of characteristics auditory learners usually possess:
- They learn best when listening to the information
- Have a good memory for spoken information
- Have good public speaking abilities
- Possess strong listening skills
- Prefer spoken directions
- Excel in oral presentations and exams
- Skilled at telling stories
- Are distracted by background noises or silence
- Enjoy conversations
- Are confident to voice their thoughts
- Are good at understanding and processing changes in tone
- Can explain ideas well
- Possess strong communication abilities
- Have difficulty with written directions
- Like to be read to
- Enjoy music
- Whisper to self while reading
- Enjoy listening activities
- Talk frequently, to self and others
- Enjoy lectures and discussions
- Express emotion by the tone and volume of voice
5 Benefits Of Auditory Learning
Every learning style comes with its perks from which all people, who use that style, regardless of whether it is their first choice or not, can benefit. So, if you are an auditory learner, or just like to use this style occasionally, let’s have a closer look at some of its advantages.
1. Enhanced critical thinking
According to a study on the challenge teachers face having to help students engage with the studying material, results showed that the best way is to address their various learning styles.
Once you approach students with the material in their preferred learning style, they are more likely to engage with it. Thus, because they are paying more attention to the course, they are more prone to using and developing their critical thinking skills.
2. Improved listening skills
When you interact with various materials through the auditory sense, you improve your listening skills. With time, you will begin to easily make connections between sentences since, after all, practice makes perfect. The more you work on your listening skills, the better they will get.
3. Better comprehension skills and brainstorming
Auditory learning techniques will help you improve your comprehension and brainstorming skills. You should be aware that whether on purpose or not, as you tackle various listening tasks, you will develop many skills simultaneously, although at different levels of complexity.
4. Increased memory
Unlike people who prefer other learning styles, once they hear something, they might forget quickly; auditory learners absorb information quickly and thoroughly. The INC reports that auditory learners can retain more than 75% of the information they hear, thus showing that auditory learning skills can increase or improve your memory retention.
5. Interactivity
Similar to how we previously mentioned that using a student’s preferred learning style will help them engage with school material more effectively; it will also make you more interactive with other learners. Especially when it comes to auditory learners, the need to better understand through listening pushes them to speak to more people and have them explain things by sound.
Teaching Auditory Learners
Whether you are a parent or a teacher of an auditory learner, there are many ways to teach them new things. Teaching auditory learners becomes easier when you encourage them to say things aloud. Saying the letters of a word instead of writing them helps children understand the spelling of that word.
You can play an audiobook and have them read along to practice reading. When they need to learn a lesson from a text, suggest they record themselves reading that text so that they can listen to it afterward. When learning new concepts, encourage conversations around those concepts and exercise talking about them. In addition, making up songs helps when trying to memorize something.
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Below you can find some auditory learning strategies that teachers are encouraged to use with auditory learning students.
8 Strategies for auditory learning
Here is our list of strategies teachers can implement to meet auditory learners’ needs and facilitate learning.
- Helping them to identify their learning style: Working to help students understand how they learn best is the most beneficial thing you can do to help them learn. Knowing their learning style, they will be able to implement strategies for simple learning regardless of whether they are inside a classroom or out.
- Repeating information: Since auditory learners learn best by listening, repeating information ensures they learn the lesson through spoken words and are less likely to forget it.
- Using Q&A sessions: When students can ask questions and listen to the answer, they are more likely to remember information about that particular topic.
- Encouraging class participation: Motivating students to participate in discussions, engage in conversations with one another and the teacher, or answer questions, can help auditory learners succeed.
- Playing background music: Soft music in the background tends to help auditory learners focus by getting rid of distracting noises and silence at the same time.
- Recording lectures: For students who happen to miss a class, giving them a recording of the lecture or course benefits them more than handing them written notes.
- Assigning collaborative work: By giving group projects, paired readings, or other collaborative forms, auditory learners are required to talk with other students while working, which helps them retain information more effectively.
- Providing various learning platforms: When students are offered the chance to read instructions, watch them, or hear them on audio, it gives them a higher chance of actually succeeding in understanding the instructions for different assignments.
The Bottom Line
Auditory learners possess a unique set of characteristics that set them apart from other types of learners. From their preference for learning through listening to their ability to retain information through repetition, auditory learners have a lot to offer in the classroom and beyond.
Since everyone has their own way of learning, identifying your learning style is crucial for every learner’s success. If you are a person who prefers the auditory learning style, you must use it to your advantage through various strategies that will help you learn more effectively.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are 3 ways auditory learners learn?
Three ways auditory learners learn are by listening to lectures, participating in group discussions, and using audio recordings for study materials.
How do auditory learners prefer to learn?
Auditory learners prefer to learn by listening to information being presented to them rather than reading or visually observing. They often benefit from discussions, explanations, and verbal instructions.
How effective is auditory learning?
Auditory learning can be very effective for students who have a strong preference for this learning style. It can also be helpful for retaining information, especially when it is presented in an engaging and interactive way.
What is the strength of the auditory learning style?
The strength of the auditory learning style is that it allows students to process information quickly and retain it effectively through the use of verbal cues and auditory memory.