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Every person has a different learning style. While this makes for a robust learning experience, it can also make education challenging if it is not presented in a person's preferred learning style. This challenge can be significant for those who need an auditory learning style.

How does an auditory learner learn?

Anyone who finds themselves working best with a bit of background music or through conversations with classmates may be an auditory learner.

Learners who are auditory are likely to:

• Listen to audiobooks and podcasts to pick up information
• Participate in lectures and group discussions
• Become inattentive during quiet work or study
• Talk to themselves or mouth words while reading
• Have trouble writing down information accurately

Understanding the auditory style

Understanding different learning modalities is useful for comprehension and academic success, especially since many models of instruction do not take into account the needs of learners who are auditory. The distraction and boredom these students feel can come off as insubordinate.

What do the traits of these learners have in common? They operate best in words and sounds, sometimes at the cost of other modalities. Talking to other students during quiet reading times, for example, may not indicate poor behavior but rather suggest that the student is an auditory and might be more engaged in a different setting.

Here are a few clues to discover if a learner is auditory.

They observe carefully

A couple of signs may indicate someone is an auditory learner. When reading, they might silently move their lips as they follow along. They might be very talkative, even to the point of distracting other students.

They like to get involved

Auditory learners work best when they can participate in the lesson. To that end, interacting in classroom discussion in addition to taking notes can play to the strengths of this learning style.��Some students will even need more accommodation.��

They do well on oral exams and projects

If a teacher thinks a student might be auditory, they can offer oral exams and projects.��These can be useful for students who struggle with reading and writing.

Five auditory learning tips and strategies

Auditory learners can optimize their learning experience at work or school in several ways. Here’s how:

1. Join group discussions

When learners who are auditory participate in group discussions, it can help boost their concentration and productivity. While group discussions might be a natural part of the classroom curriculum, the same can’t be said for the workplace. As a result, they might consider scheduling time with co-workers to work through a problem or brainstorm ideas orally.

2. Make it oral

Whether in the classroom or the workplace, auditory learners excel when they work out loud. Email threads and text messages may not be as effective for these types of learners. Instead, this type of learner should connect one-on-one with their teacher or supervisor and communicate orally. Talking through a problem or idea may help make information stick.

3. Record meetings and classes

Auditory learners may find it helpful to keep audio recordings of lectures or important meetings, so that they can listen to them later. They are often good at multitasking, such as listening to a podcast while folding their laundry. In fact, this is a big strength for anyone who is auditory. So, if a student has trouble paying attention in class, it may be helpful to reinforce the information audibly in the background while they do other tasks.

4. Play background music

For some people, silence is exactly what they need to learn or concentrate. That’s not the case for a learner who is auditory. In fact, silence can be more distracting than the chatter of a café or the sound of construction outside their window. Playing music in the background of their study sessions can help them lock into the task at hand.

Unfortunately, the things that help a student who is auditory may be very counterproductive to a reader or visual learner. If a student needs background music to concentrate, they can get together with other students who feel the same way. Connecting with similar learners can help play to their strengths without distracting other students.

5. Repeat, repeat, repeat

It can be hard to pick up on a lesson the first time through. That’s true of all types of learners, but auditory learners may have particular trouble with this. Sitting through a slideshow, for example, might not be enough. Instead, take notes and go over them multiple times to reinforce the learning.��

Advantages of auditory learning

Auditory learners can be an important part of a dynamic and exciting classroom. Here are some areas where they are likely to excel:

• Listening to others
• Engaging in discussion
• Speaking confidently in front of others
• Remembering information they hear

In addition, they are often great multitaskers. Nowadays, there are tons of audio materials for learning purposes. They might be able to  while doing other tasks and still follow the whole story. That can be a big strength in classrooms and workplaces that often split students’ attention.��

Disadvantages of auditory learning

Some disadvantages auditory learners need to counteract include:

• A tendency to get distracted by others
• Engaging others at inappropriate times
• Difficulty with tasks that are written or visual
• Difficulty working alone
• Becoming bored or disengaged during quiet work times

For many students, those are frustrating barriers that stand between them and educational success. For many educators, such behaviors can be seen as signs of a bad student. In both cases, accommodating an auditory learning style may be the solution.

Although the auditory learning style does not have the scientific foundations of educational learning theories, it is still a helpful framework for students and educators alike. It can help teachers adapt lesson plans with innovative approaches and bring about better student outcomes.�� 

Find out more about auditory learners and other learning styles

Are you curious to learn more about different learning styles, including that of auditory learners? ������Ƶ offers online education programs, including:

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