Our guide to auditory learning

Every child has a different style of learning and retaining information. For some children, auditory learning works best. So let’s look at auditory learning and how you can help an auditory learner!

Auditory learning has its benefits, and even if your child isn’t naturally an auditory learner, teaching them some auditory learning habits could help with their education. If your child is naturally an auditory learner, then it’s important to play to their learning style strengths when they’re studying. From preparing audio notes to reading out loud, there are a lot of simple ways to help auditory learners do their best in school. 

What is auditory learning?

As the name suggests an auditory learner learns best through audio. An auditory learner processes information best when they can hear it. Talking about a concept, rather than reading or writing about it, is the best way for them to understand and learn something.  So, when trying to teach something to a child that’s an auditory learner, talk to them about it. Conversations are a great way to get them engaged in new topics.

Auditory learning styles and characteristics

Does your child love talking? Are they good at explaining something or memorising and repeating information that they’ve heard? If so, chances are they’re an auditory learner. 

There are a number of characteristics to indicate that your child is an auditory learner:

• They’re really talkative, they enjoy talking to themselves and anyone that will listen to them

• Sometimes they provide a running commentary on what they’re doing, which can really help them concentrate on the task

• They enjoy being read to but aren’t necessarily big on reading themselves

• Reading aloud really helps when they do need to read though, even as they get older and more confident with reading

• They might read aloud as they write something

• Oral exams aren’t as stressful as written exams for them

• They can easily recall something that was said to them

• Explaining something comes naturally to them

• They’re a great storyteller.

These characteristics can be really beneficial in a classroom setting when teachers explain new subjects and concepts to them. 

Independent learning can be an amazing benefit to an auditory learner as reading notes aloud in a classroom might not always be appropriate. So if your child has an auditory learning style, be sure to encourage them to go back over classroom notes in their independent study time and read them aloud to take in the information. 

How to improve auditory learning skills

Auditory learning can be a vital skill in education, even if your child isn’t a natural auditory learner. And even if they are, improving that skill can really help them process and learn more information in the classroom. 

If your child isn’t a natural auditory learner, their mind may wander as they’re being given information verbally. Even as they get older, this can stick with them. Many of us sometimes struggle to retain verbal information if there’s a lot of it to retain. So, encourage your child to practise active listening. 

Active listening

Active listening means not just hearing the words being said, but really paying attention to the complete message. It requires some discipline as it involves completely shutting out any distractions around you. But it is a skill that can be practised. 

One of the best ways to stay focused on something someone’s saying is to mentally repeat the words coming out of their mouth. This can initially be a little bit difficult, especially if your child isn’t a natural auditory learner, so try practising at home. 

If your child enjoys some educational videos on YouTube, for example, you can start by playing the videos at a slower speed. If mentally repeating the words is difficult at first, at this slower speed your child could repeat what’s being said out loud. As they get better at this you can start putting the videos to their full speed, and encouraging your child to repeat the words mentally.  Of course, you can’t force your child to become a natural auditory learner. But teaching them about active listening can be helpful for processing verbal information. 

Auditory learning tips

To help an auditory learner do their best in school, it’s good to encourage healthy auditory learning habits at home. So, here are some of our top tips to help auditory learners at home.  

Reading aloud

Even if your child prefers hearing information rather than reading it themselves, there’ll be plenty of times that they have to resort to reading. So, when they’re learning independently at home, encourage them to read aloud. This will help your child concentrate better on reading and helps them retain the information a lot more easily. 

If they can’t read aloud if, for example, they’re in the classroom or the school library, encourage your child to mouth the words as they read them. This can have a similar effect to reading aloud, especially if they mentally “say” the words as they mouth them. 

Use repetition

Auditory learning often comes through repetition. For example, when reading an auditory learner will retain the information better by “repeating” that information aloud. 

When trying to learn and memorise something specific, get your auditory learner to repeat that information several times. This can be great for key facts, grammar and pronunciation and multiplication tables. 

Verbal instructions

When your child is learning something new, as an auditory learner the best way to do that is to talk to them about it. Whatever the subject is, get them to learn verbally. 

If they’re reading a book for their English literature, for example, in addition to encouraging them to read aloud, talk to them about the book. Get them to tell you about key plot points or characters and their motivations in the story. This can be really helpful in preparation for English exams. 

Even maths can be done verbally. Get your child to talk through their working out for sums step by step. If they’ve made a mistake along the way, they might have an easier time spotting it and understanding why it’s wrong if they verbalise it. Talking through their maths work can also really help children memorise mathematical concepts, ready for their GCSE maths exams.

Audiobooks and audio notes

Reading doesn’t always come naturally to auditory learners, but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy books and improve their vocabulary and grammar. If your child doesn’t have a natural love for reading, they may enjoy audiobooks.

Audiobooks can be a fantastic way for children to improve their grammar and vocabulary and possibly encourage a love for reading. Sometimes they might just be having an off day or they’re a bit too tired to focus on reading, even if they read aloud. So don’t be afraid to resort to audiobooks. 

Similar to audiobooks, children can turn their notes into audio notes. This is fantastic for revision when your child needs to retain lots of information, as for an auditory learner simply reading revision notes won’t help as much as hearing the information. So, they can either use an audio recording device or an app on their phone or tablet to turn the revision notes into audio to be played back. And of course, reading the information aloud will help it sink in better as they create their recording. 

Online videos and documentaries 

When it comes to learning new subjects and information, like visual learners, auditory learners will learn well with exciting online videos and documentaries. The major difference is that an auditory learner will benefit most from the verbal delivery of the information. 

Because of the visual elements, videos and documentaries can be a great way for auditory learners to work on shutting out distractions. Practising active listening while learning with videos and documentaries can help improve their auditory learning skills, and be a real benefit to their classroom learning.

The right environment

For auditory learners, the right learning environment is crucial. Generally, a quiet environment with minimal distractions will be the best way for an auditory learner to study. However, not every child is the same. One auditory learner may do their best learning in silence, while another will need some background noise like music to be able to focus on their learning. 

Auditory learning with tuition

In the classroom teachers need to make sure that every child has the opportunity to learn in a style that works best for them. However, that means that they can’t cater to just one learning style. Although verbal delivery of information is common in the classroom, the environment and teaching methods can’t always be perfect for auditory learners.

A tutor can cater to your child’s auditory learning style, so they have a better chance of retaining information. 

Understanding how your child learns

At Explore Learning we get to know how your child learns best and our tutors adapt their teaching styles accordingly. If your child is an auditory learner, our tutors can focus more on verbal delivery of information. They’ll empower your child with auditory learning skills, so that they can continue to learn effectively in the classroom and independently. 

If your child is an auditory learner and needs some extra help with retaining information in a way that suits them, why not book a free trial?