Effective Study Strategies for Auditory Learners

Students all have different ways in which they learn best, and many prefer hearing a concept explained as opposed to reading about it. Here are effective study strategies for auditory learners!

Learning styles

First, a quick refresher on learning styles! Although everyone has unique preferences for how they absorb information, learning styles can generally be narrowed down to three categories: visual learners, auditory learners, and tactile learners.

As you might expect, visual learners excel when seeing a concept demonstrated or reading about it. Many argue that visual learning is the primary form of instruction found in schools – after all, the ubiquitous dry-erase board found in classrooms around the world is an example of visually based instruction.

Tactile learners are sometimes referred to as kinesthetic learners because they prefer hands-on activities. For example – younger students who are tactile learners often learn best using physical objects (like blocks or marbles) to demonstrate early math concepts.

This blog’s focus is on auditory learners! Not surprisingly, these students best absorb information when actively listening. 

Tutor Doctor Tip: If your student is not an auditory learner, Tutor Doctor can point you in the right direction! Click here for more information on visual and tactile learners.

Study Strategies for Auditory Learners

• Spelling and grammar: Sounding out words can help younger students to better memorize letters, syllables, and correct pronunciations.
• Reading: Younger students will benefit greatly from reading aloud – and as many parents know, this is one of the most effective ways of teaching kids to read. As their student’s reading level increases, parents can follow along to help guide them through challenging sections. In addition, listening to an audiobook while reading simultaneously is an excellent option for students of all ages!
• Games: Many learning tools (like educational video games and apps) use sound and auditory aids to enhance the learning experience. Check out Tutor Doctor’s recommendations for educational games!
• Notes: In a traditional classroom setting, taking effective notes is one of the more difficult tasks for auditory learners. Unless the teacher has granted a specific exception, most schools will disallow the use of a recording device during class time (for obvious reasons). For these students, we recommend taking your notes and recording yourself reading them through – it can even be helpful to create chapter markers for different sections or topics. One last thing to keep in mind – if your student is lucky enough to be enrolled in an online course or virtual classroom environment, they’ll likely have the opportunity to review the lesson itself. We highly recommend doing this! 
• Group learning: Studying with a parent, sibling, or other students is a great way for auditory learners to review information and ask questions. Working with a tutor or a study group allows the student to voice their own views and ask for clarification on specific ideas, so we highly recommend auditory learners take advantage of this option! Learn more about how tutors can help auditory learners study.

Tutor Doctor Tip: Want more info? Check out our video on this topic! 

As tutors, one of our primary goals is to identify a student’s preferred learning style from the get-go. Want to learn more about the importance of recognizing your student’s learning style? 

Click here for math teaching examples that can help determine your student’s preferred learning style!