Jan 17 2008
How Do You Learn?
I’m taking a psychology class this semester, and one of our assignments was to take the VARK Test, to determine what our learning preferences are. Different people have different learning preferences, that is, they learn better through certain senses than others. For example, some people learn and remember more by listening about something; some learn better by being shown examples about a particular thing; some learn best by reading how to do something.
I scored as having a very strong Read/Write learning preference. I learn best by reading and writing. This would make sense, as I love to read and write, and I’m always reading or writing something. I’d rather read a book about something than be told about or shown it.
Once I had finished the questionnaire, I was presented with a link to some strategies for maximizing my read/write learning potential. They look pretty interesting, and I think I will benefit from these tips.
In the area of foreign language, it is a smart idea to determine your preferred learning methods. Once you have discovered how you learn best, find matching material to study and focus on more. This will result in maximum efficiency and minimum frustration and waste of time. If you’re an auditory (hearing) learner, seek out more podcasts, audio programs, and the like. If you’re a person who likes a more hands-on approach, take a look at some interactive software. Or, if you’re a read/write learner, find some books and get a tablet of paper and write stuff out.
Of course, it’s not a good idea to focus completely on one method, but to vary your approach and include material for many other methods.
[...] Listening comprehension can be a tough nut to crack when ti comes to language learning. It was my biggest problem when I started learning Spanish. I had much less trouble reading and writing than understanding spoken Spanish, perhaps due to my learning preference. [...]