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Auditory learning, sometimes called aural learning, is one of the three main ways or modalities we use to process information. The other two modalities are visual and verbal what we see and kinaesthetic what we do, experience and feel.We need to be careful when using terms like auditory learning, and visual and kinesthetic learning that we don't label students as specific kinds of learners, because although human beings do seem to have different preferences when it comes to learning, all learners can learn to process information in more than one way, or style.
In practice, many successful learners use all three modalities to varying degrees in order to learn, and the meaning behind a specific learning task, in other words, what it is that students are setting out to learn, will determine the nature of the learning task. A case in point, if students have to give a presentation to other students on a topic, they may first process the information in a visual/verbal way, but will have to develop some understanding of how to tap into their auditory learning capacity in order to give the spoken presentation.
So aural learning approaches can benefit all students, not just so-called 'auditory learners', when these approaches help to add another dimension to their overall learning capability. Even critics of 'learning styles' agree on this, but their proviso is that the nature of the meaning to be gained from the information being learned is the reason for choosing to present information aurally, not a particular preference for a learning style on the part of the learner.
However, it may well be true that using their particular strengths enables students with a preference for a learning style to process any information in particular ways and then use specific strategies to understand and memorize that information that will allow them to recreate the meaning from that information in different formats. For example, students with a strong preference for auditory learning will still have to take tests and examinations that require written answers, but the way they prepare for such tests could be influenced by drawing on their aural learning preferences.
Teachers can help promote aural learning by providing learners with opportunities to work with a study partner and try to explain the information in speech to their partner repeat back to teacher or rest of class key points made in the lesson. They read out loud specific information presented in written form - either to themselves or with partners and write out specific instructions or details for complex information or routines and then say them out loud. They participate in discussion groups and volunteer information orally in class.
The learning input is only half of the story - the output also has to be successful. Learners must use effectively the information they have learned. They can do this by transforming all the information into different formats, by reconstructing the information. They can explain the information covered in the lesson to someone who wasn't present in the lesson - this is a useful technique to use at home with 'willing listeners' eg parents or siblings. They can improve the quality of any notes taken in the lesson, because these notes may well have gaps in them - being able to study with someone else who can fill in the gaps may help with this once the notes are complete transfer the information into auditory forms such as MP3 files to listen to repeatedly. They practice presenting the information they have memorized to other people in the form of a presentation and read notes out loud to themselves.
The acid test of course [8, 94-16] is if the information learned can be recalled at will and written in a test or examination. Auditory learners can prepare for examinations by speaking aloud their notes but writing down what they hear themselves saying and finding quiet places where they can try to recall the key information they will need in the examination with visualizing actually talking to the examiner.
Around 30% of learners seem to prefer an aural learning style for processing information so teachers need to take account of this when planning classroom activities. Given the usefulness of an auditory learning style in the adult world, where it is becoming more and more important to become skilled at, for example, giving presentations, participating in working teams, and generally to be able to communicate aurally, helping all students use effectively an aural style of learning when it's appropriate to do so is a positive step.
Multiple Intelligences is a term coined by Professor Howard Gardner based on his research in the 1980's, to explain how human beings learn. In Gardner's view, we don't possess a fixed mental capacity, known as intelligence, but rather make use of different kinds of intelligent thinking to solve problems or create products that have value in different contexts and cultural settings. He believes that all human beings possess multiple intelligences, and although individuals may demonstrate preferences for certain intelligences, it is possible to nurture and strengthen all the intelligences, enabling human beings to become more effective learners across a wider range of experience.
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