Today, there are many different methods that facilitate learning. A learning type describes the way in which a particular person prefers to learn or has successfully used in the past.
From experience we know that there are different ways of learning. Some students can remember a subject matter well when they read it, others when they listen to a teacher, and still others learn more easily when they write or discuss the content with fellow learners.
If students learn a language faster or slower at school, this often has nothing to do with their intelligence, but with different learning styles.
We use our sensory organs to learn. In addition to the eyes and ears, these also include the senses of smell, taste and touch. The learning material reaches our memory via the sensory organs involved. Since the individual sensory organs are pronounced differently in each person, this means that there are different learning types.
Four learning types and how they learn most effectively
Have you ever wondered how you can target your senses when learning German so that learning is easier for you? Because learning German can become much easier if you know your strengths and weaknesses. Every learning type - whether child or adult - has its own way of learning most easily. Depending on the learning type, we use different senses to better grasp, understand and remember content.
In this article, we'll introduce you to four learning types. Learn about your strengths and get ideas on how you can use them in learning.
Based on the sensory organs involved in learning, we got rid of therefore speak of auditory, visual, communicative and motor learning types.
Find out which learning type you are. Then you can absorb information and anchor it in your memory in the way that is best for you. Determining your learning type is all about tendencies. For effective learning, it is important to involve and use all your senses as much as possible. Make sure that if you are auditorily weak, you do not take in information only through your ears. This is because you will then retain little of the information. Supplement your information intake with other learning methods that suit you better.
It is helpful if you memorize and process the learning material via as many sensory channels as possible. The more fields of perception in the brain that are involved, the more mental connections can be made to the learning material. This in turn allows you to increase your attention and motivation to learn and achieve greater learning success.
Learning types are usually always mixed types. There are people who learn well under time pressure and people who learn better on their own initiative. Some like a light background noise and others need absolute library silence. Likewise, there are many blended learning types who learn best in a combination of different situations and environmental variables. There are probably as many learning types as there are learners.
Four learning types when learning German
An important part of self-knowledge is knowing how you learn most easily, or what type of learner you are. The most reliable way to find out your individual learning method is to observe and remind yourself (got rid of in) which way you have achieved the greatest learning success so far.
If you want to improve your learning success, find out which learning type you are. Take a learning content that you have difficulty understanding and draw a picture about it (visual), read the learning material aloud (auditory), talk about it and have it explained (communicative) or do an experiment about it, use gestures, walk up and down the room while doing it (motor). With which learning method did you understand the material the fastest/easiest? Supplement all other learning content with the corresponding learning methods.
The four learning types: 1. learning by listening - the auditory learning type.
The auditory type of learner can easily absorb, retain and reproduce information. They can follow and process oral explanations. For them, explanations sound coherent, they can make sense of them, they sound appropriate.
In order to understand the physical law "pressure equals force through area", a recited explanation of this form is sufficient for the auditory type of learner: "If we exert a certain force on an object in a vertical downward direction, the pressure on the plate on which the object is located will have no significant effect - because of the relatively large contact area of the object. However, if we reduce the contact area of the object while keeping the force constant, the pressure will pierce the plate."
The auditory type of learner learns best when he hears the subject matter (e.g., via audio CDs), by reading the text aloud to themselves or by listening to someone else do it. They can memorize very well by speaking the text aloud and they like oral tasks.
Auditory learning types often talk to themselves while learning. Say the learning content aloud to themselves, tell others about it, make up a song about it and warble it to themselves. Auditory learning types are easily disturbed by ambient noise and usually don't like music in the background.
Learning tools: Audio CDs, conversations, lectures, music, quiet environment (no background noise).
The visual learning type likes to read, look at pictures, illustrations or graphics to understand facts. They need a nice learning environment and like to work with blackboard pictures and written documents. They take notes and absorb information by seeing and being shown. The visual type especially remembers what he has read and seen himself. Draw mind maps, pictures, work with colored pens or markers. Use flip charts or paper walls, work with video films or television reports on the topic. Make pictures in your mind of the learning content when it is presented to you. Learning aids: Books, sketches, pictures, study posters, videos, flashcards.
The communicative learning type learns best through discussions and conversations. For them, the linguistic examination of the learning material and the understanding in dialogue is of great importance. They have to talk through explanations - discuss them with others. It is helpful in discussions to be able to take the position of both the questioner and the explainer.
The communicative learner needs to have a classmate (or colleague) explain a topic and discuss it at length to understand and retain it. They understand the physical law "pressure equals force through area" best when talking with others.
The communicative learning type needs sharing and conversation to learn. Discuss all of the information, disagree, encourage others to think and talk about the topics, ask questions about the topic. Participate in group discussions, role play with fellow learners. Explain to others what you have learned and have them ask you questions about it.
Learning tools: Dialogues, discussions, study groups, question and answer games.
The motor type of learner learns best by carrying out sequences of actions themselves and in this way comprehending them. It is important for him to be directly involved in the learning process and to gain independent experience through "learning by doing". They understand explanations, they feel right. They explore topics and work them out.
This type of learner learns most easily when they do things themselves, for example by trying things out, role-playing and group activities. Rebuild things, have math problems with material calculated or replicated, walk distances and measure distances. Motor learning types are excellent at remembering information they have absorbed through movement, action, and feeling. This learning type understands the physical law "pressure equals force through area" most quickly by conducting an experiment on it. The motoric learning type must be able to understand this fact in his own body, so to speak.
Move while learning - walk up and down the room, repeat the learning material and supplement it with gestures and facial expressions. Find objects that are appropriate to the subject matter and that you can touch. Do experiments whenever possible.
Learning tools: (rhythmic) movements, imitation, group activities, role-playing.
Critique and apply learning types
No one learns with only "one sense." People are sensual beings and always experience the world through all of their senses. Therefore, in teaching practice, it would be inappropriate to divide a group of students into different "learning types" and teach them accordingly. The learning types mentioned are also only one valid perspective. There are many other factors - such as motivation, interests, the personality of the learner - that also play an important role.
Regardless of which learning methods you prefer, try to include as many senses as possible in your learning process. After all, the more diverse the ways in which we acquire our learning material, the more diverse the possibilities for remembering and retaining it are. Therefore, the more senses are involved in the learning process, the higher the recall rate:
Hearing only 20%
Vision only 30%
Seeing and hearing 50%
Seeing, hearing and discussing 70%
Seeing, hearing, discussing and doing 90%.
