Note: This post is part of a series of posts about the three different types of learning styles. To see posts regarding raising an visual or tactile learner, please see the links below.
Raising a Visual Learner
Raising a Tactile Learner
While writing this series of posts, my husband and I were discussing our individual learning styles. He had always been under the impression that he was a visual learner. When I mentioned that I thought he was an auditory learner, he vehemently disagreed with me.
In the time we’ve been together, I’ve noticed many indicators that he may in fact be an auditory learner. For instance, during a recent Sunday School lesson, he mentioned that he had to close his eyes to listen to the Sunday School lesson that morning in order to better understand what the lady in the video was saying. My husband also studied German in school and speaks it well. Language and words are his forte. Which is good because he can sit there and listen to me speak volumes on any particular subject. In this sense, we are very well suited for each other.
In spite of these facts, he refused to believe this because he had always been told he was a visual learner. And then I listed the characteristics of an auditory learner.
Characteristics of an Auditory-Sequential Learner
- Auditory learners think primarily by using words and learn through auditory explanations. They have no trouble hearing directions or lessons and processing the information that is given.
- These learners will process and perform tasks linearly and one task at a time. It is the specific instructions that they thrive on and they will look for the sequential order of events. To this end, they will also tend to prefer problems that can be solved with one concrete answer.
- It is not unusual for auditory learners to hum, read aloud, or move their lips while reading.
- These children may be musically inclined, particularly if they are able to hear and distinguish tones, rhythms, or individual notes. This is separate, however, from reading music. They may also excel at learning languages.
- Auditory learners are the conversationalists. They will be able to listen and process information as clearly as they are able to articulate their own thoughts.
- Auditory-sequential learners are the mathematicians, scientists, and storytellers. They may enjoy telling you a story much more than reading it to you.
Putting Concepts to a Melody and Wordplay
Parodies can be immensely helpful in teaching concepts to auditory learners. Whenever you pair a concept to a simple tune, you are enhancing the subject with an auditory aspect that plays towards your child’s strengths. Simple tunes such as Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star are easy, well-known tunes that provide a memorable cadance. This is why the Alphabet Song, which is set to the same tune as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, is so successful with auditory learners. You will find that the same tunes will be used over and over. There is one tune in particular that is used for both the books of the Old Testament as well as the elements of the periodic table.
These children may be musically inclined, particularly if they are able to hear and distinguish tones, rhythms, or individual notes.
Another useful non-musical tool (because not all of us are musically-inclined) is to create alliterations or acronyms for your child to memorize. Wordplay can be incredibly useful for auditory learners. This includes nursery rhymes, as the rhythm of the words creates a structure they understand.
Have Them Be the Teacher
Your auditory learner may not be able to read and comprehend a subject as easily as a visual learner. Looking at a picture of colorful objects will not have the same influence and meaning to them. Instead, have them teach you the concepts. Read them a book, or through imaginative play, have them teach you the alphabet song, how to count, or how to tie a shoe. In any of these reverse lessons, having them give you step-by-step instructions will reinforce both their need for a sequential order as well as for speaking the subject aloud.
For young children, have them tell your significant other or a grandparent what they did that day. Have them explain each activity in as much detail as they can. If you worked on a particular subject such as the alphabet, numbers, or colors, have them teach this person that topic as it was taught to them.
Reduce Outside Noise
As an auditory learner, every individual noise will affect their learning. As young children, toys with lights and sounds will appeal to them, but if there are too many sounds, these will start to interfere with their understanding. As they develop, try to ensure that the sounds they are processing are related to the subject material.
Give Instructions in Sequential Order with a Specific End
Sequential instructions can be pivotal to having an auditory learner understand what you are asking. Words such as first, next, then, and last will be important to include. Rather than just listing the instructions in any order, explain the specific order required.
It is the specific instructions that they thrive on and they will look for the sequential order of events.
For example, in order to go to the store, your child needs to first put the train tracks away, then put his water bottle in your bag. Next, he needs to put on his shoes. Last, he should get in the car with you. This order of things is preferable to a general list of “before we go we need to clean up the playroom, grab your shoes, and get out the door.” They may both be lists, but one is sequential while the other is open-ended in how it is completed.
Audiobooks Are Awesome
These children are the ones who will love to be read to. They will enjoy having nightly storytime where you read them a book. To this end, audiobooks and podcasts will be an amazing tool for the auditory learner. There are many options for these for young children and readers.
Can’t find one that they enjoy? Have them tell you about the latest story you read together. Ask them to repeat back the story (without the book) and see if they put their own twist to it. They don’t have to tell you a completely new story. Repeating back a story that they loves helps develop the sequential understanding that they thrive on as well as their ability to memorize. You might even consider recording their tellings of the stories so that you can keep a collection of how the story develops over the days, months, or years.
Example: Activities to Teach the Alphabet
Every morning, start by singing the alphabet song. Do it in different voices, low one day and then super high chipmunk-pitched the next. Change up the rhythm, make it beatboxing – whatever it is, have fun with it! Next, have books about the alphabet ready to read with your child. My favorite is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. This is a great book because it has a particular cadence that it follows for each page and with each set of letters. Another day, you might have them make up their own alphabet song to a favorite tune and teach it to you. Once they have started to master the alphabet song, you might stop in random places and have them fill in the missing letter. Lastly, take a video of your child singing and dancing to the alphabet song and let them listen to it whenever they want. They will enjoy hearing themselves sing as well as benefit from the auditory experience.
The reality is that my husband is probably a mix of several learning styles, as we all are. These come as you age and are required to learn in different situations and surroundings. We work with people of varying learning styles. The key, though, is to help your child learn and develop in the best way possible for the most natural way that they learn. Understanding how they grasp subjects will help them to be successful. If your child is an auditory-sequential learner, using their love of logic and analysis will help them solve problems.
Interested in what your learning style is? For more information and to take a learning styles quiz, check out these resources:
VARK Learning Resources
Some of My Best Friends are Books, Judith Halsted
Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner
Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Rapidly Changing World, Richard Paul
A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children, James Webb, Janet Gore, Edward Amend, and Arlene DeVries