S-33. Learning Styles

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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Ryan Geertsma.

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And I'm Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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Do you talk to think? Or do you think to talk?

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Marcia Conner helps organizations develop better ways of working. In a meeting with one organization, she asked these very questions. The people in the meeting were very interested. She said that some people react quicker than others. So if a person talks to think, he will talk about what he is doing or learning as he goes. But if a person thinks to talk, he will take time to think until he has finished learning. Then he has something to say.

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In Marcia's meeting, the answers people gave changed how they worked together. She wrote about the experience on her website, called "Live Laugh Learn Lead."

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"I asked everyone in the meeting, 'Do you talk to think or do you think to talk?' ... One man was still thinking about his answer when his manager began speaking right away. The manager said 'I talk.' His answer changed the nature of the meeting. Many of the people in the room never understood that when this man talked, he was usually thinking out loud. The things he said were ideas. When he was speaking, he expected that people would learn from the discussion. In the future, this understanding helped more people to ask questions, and to learn how serious he was about a particular idea. This improved the working relationships between all of these people. And it improved their company."

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People learn in different ways. When a person knows how she learns best, it has many advantages. The person will learn easier and faster. It will improve his work. And it will also improve how he works with other people. In Marcia's example, she observes that some people learn better by thinking first. And other people learn better by talking first. But it helped the whole group to know who was a talker and who was a thinker. With this knowledge, they were able to improve all their work.

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For many years, professors and teachers have researched how people learn. And they have created many theories. For example, Howard Gardner is famous for his theory about many kinds of intelligences. To Gardner, intelligence is the ability to solve problems and create products that are valuable in many cultures. He believes there are seven kinds of intelligence. Many teachers like his theory. It helps them understand why some students do very well in science and other students do very well in reading and writing.

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David Kolb has another theory about learning. His theory is about experience based learning. He says that there are two main ways that people learn. The first way is about what kind of experiences help a person learn best. Kolb says that some people learn through real experiences, but others learn through ideas and concepts. The second way is about what a person does during that experience to help them learn. Kolb says that some people learn by observing, while other people learn by experimenting. For example, one person may learn best through real experiences and experimenting. But another person may learn best through real experiences and observing.

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One of the most popular theories about learning styles groups people into three kinds of learners. The main three groups in this theory are visual learners, auditory learners, and kinaesthetic learners. There are many different versions of this theory. One version adds reading and writing as a fourth group. Another version adds feeling as a fourth group.

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Visual learners learn best by seeing. This kind of learner often likes pictures and images. They also like books. They will often write down things they hear as a way to remember the information.

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Auditory learners learn best by hearing. They remember new information best when they hear someone speak it. They usually do not write down as much information as a visual learner would. Auditory learners also learn by discussing. Talking about a subject with one person or many people helps them remember more about that subject.

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Kinaesthetic learners learn best by doing or touching. These kinds of learners like experiments. For example, they may remember more about how heat works by doing an experiment to create heat. They also like to explore by using their hands.

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These kinds of learning are true in all parts of life. Most of the time we think about learning styles, or learning methods, in schools. It is important for teachers to teach in many ways. That way, all students will learn and remember more. And they will enjoy learning!

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But life is full of learning. We need to continue learning new things in our jobs. We also learn new things about our world as it changes. Sometimes we like to learn new games. Or we learn more about things that interest us.

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The New York Times wrote a story about learning styles and sports. It shows how each different kind of learner learns the same sport. The story uses the example of learning tennis. In this sport, a player uses an instrument called a racquet to hit a small ball.

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"Most people are watchers, or visual learners. They do best when they can watch a person demonstrate a method or look at pictures. Some people are thinkers. They need exact technical teaching. For example, they like to be told the exact position that the tennis racquet should hit the ball. ... Still others are doers. They are tired with lessons. They need to hold a tennis racquet and hit the ball over and over again. Then they can use the ideas a teacher gives them. Although everyone uses all of these styles to some degree, and each style is equal to the others, most people seem to naturally like one of them better."

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It is true that we all use each of the different learning styles. However, just like the New York Times said, we often use one more than another. So knowing your learning style can help you be more successful. If you know how you learn best, you can save time by using the methods that work best for you. Or if you want to learn something new, you can do it in a way that interests you. And it can help you work better with the people around you.

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What type of learner do you think you are? How do you think this knowledge will help you in your life? You can e-mail us at radio@english.net.

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The writer of this program was Courtney Schutt. The producer was Ryan Geertsma. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users can visit our website at www.radio.english.net. This program is called "Learning Styles." We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.