Auditory Learners

As we explore our children's thinking process, it's important to know that your child may not fit snugly into one style. I know that might be disappointing. It seems so much easier if we can just categorize them and then deal with them in one easy step :). Oh, if life could be that easy! My husband fits into two categories equally after testing, so it may be that he has always been that way OR that as he matured, he was able to learn another process of learning and now he pulls equally from both.

I understand there is controversy on learning styles. Some believe there are multiple learning styles. Some believe that there is no such thing. For me, these three learning styles make sense to me. They seem to bear out in my experiences. Please don't end your research with my posts. There is a wealth of knowledge out there that can assist you in your journey of discovering and teaching to your child's learning style. Please go after all that you can.

Let's identify the AUDITORY learner. If your child is auditory, you may notice the following characteristics.

• Has a strong memory and able to memorize songs/poems/scripture/commercials etc. with ease.
• Will sit where they can hear, but not necessarily needing to see the front
• Loves to sing or hum
• Remembers songs/music with very little exposure
• A strong speller- will sound words out if they are unsure
• Enjoys listening to audio books over reading
• May not coordinate colors of clothing very well, but could explain to you why they chose them
• Expresses feelings verbally
• Can retain a "to do" list in his mind after hearing it once
• Needs to hear himself repeat something in order to remember it
• May talk to themselves when bored
• May have trouble reading maps/diagrams or mastering conceptual assignments like math
• Can be distracted easily
• Talks out problems
• Has the ability to learn multiple instruments/has an "ear" for music
• Enjoys listening to background music while doing school work or tasks
• Loves listening to the radio/CD's/Audio Books
• Telling or listening to stories is enjoyable
• Can repeat oral information back to you without issue
• Listens to lectures favorably
• Auditory learners enjoy participating in debate or discussions
• Usually excellent readers

In many cases, the Auditory Learner does NOT like to:

• Spend time on already mastered material
• Writing projects
• Long periods of silent reading
• Taking notes

So how do we teach auditory  learners?

Generally when teaching the auditory learner:

• Minimize distractions.
• Place concepts and information to music AND teach the child how to do that themselves.
• When teaching, include a lot of discussion.
• Present subject information and assignments in verbal form.
• Give tests orally.
• Allow student to record his/her reports orally as an occasional substitute to written reports.

TEACHING GRAMMAR, SPELLING, WRITING:

• Give tests orally for these subjects.
• Practice spelling/vocab by saying the words aloud and have your student repeat them.
• Dictate narration to child for them to write out or record dictation for them to write out later.
• Associate Grammar/Phonics rules to music.

TEACHING SCIENCE, GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

• As you teach historical facts and scientific laws, be sure to incorporate lots of discussion and explanation.
• Remember to teach historical/patriotic songs to make it enjoyable.
• It is beneficial to read biographies and most other books aloud either to each other or to themselves.

 TEACHING READING 

• Encourage to read aloud.
• After reading biographies, for a comprehension exercise, have student video or audio record an interview with the main character or something along that line.
• Utilize audio books found at a library
• Have students do both oral and written reports.

TEACHING MATH

• Use a video or audio tutor
• Be sure to verbalize the steps and details of math problems
• Use musical jingles to master mathmatic facts
• Many auditory learners enjoy creating their own word problems in discussion form.

Like I mentioned above, your child may not fit into only one learning style nor exhibit all of the characteristics listed. Some may have moderate dispositions to all three.I think it's important to utilize their strongest process without letting their other processes go unchallenged. As our children grow into adults, they will work in environments and under authorities that are not concerned with their learning style. They need to be able to adapt to whatever learning environment they find themselves in.

Is your child an auditory learner? I would love to hear your ideas on how you meet this challenge at home.

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*Sources: LAMB Company
    and www.people.usd.edu.