Auditory Learning: Revolutionary Way of Preparing for Competitive Exams

Ask any UPSC, SSC or Other Govt Job Aspirants what is the biggest challenge that they have in cracking the Exam, and the most common answer you would get is “TIME”! Gone are the days when aspirants of competitive exams had to struggle through the streets of Old Rajender Nagar or Mukharjee Nagar to hunt for Study Materials! All thanks to the ‘JIO’ Revolution, aspirants are inundated with material, be it daily newspaper editorials or subject-wise notes. What they lack is TIME and How can they make the most out of it!

And as the adage goes…Success is not about “Having Time”, it’s about “Making Time”; and this is exactly what Auditory Learning helps aspirants to do. But before we dive further into how Audio-Based Learning has been revolutionizing the way candidates prepare for UPSC, PSC, Banking and other Competitive Exams; it’s important to understand what it is? 

What is Auditory Learning?

According to Learning Style Model put forth by Academician Neil D. Fleming, there are four key components of a learning model i.e., 

• Visual learning – Learn by Visuals / Seeing
• Aural learning – Learn by Sounds / Listening
• Reading/writing learning – Learn by Reading / Writing
• Kinesthetic learning – Learn by Experience

Of these four styles of learning, the Auditory learning style is the least explored format or learning for students. While several models of visual and kinesthetic learning styles do include an element of auditory learning; rarely have we had a format in which audio has been the primary means of learning format. 

Advantages of Learning Through Audio

Of the aforementioned 4 models, the most ignored aspect of the Learning Process is surely the Auditory / Aural Learning method. This challenge while evident in classroom-based learning gets intensified even further when it comes to self-study which is the primary mode of learning for aspirants of competitive exams. But with changing times, this trend has also seen a rapid change. 

During the pandemic, auditory learning got a great boost with several teachers moving to audio-based learning solutions for students who couldn’t attend physical lectures or live online classes. Even for aspirants of competitive exam, several new avenues including audio lecture series and audio revision helped thousands to continue their preparation for UPSC, Banking and SSC Exams remotely, from their home-towns and villages. During this phase, aspirants noted several key advantages of learning via audio over traditional classroom or text-based learning approach. Some of them are discussed below:

Let’s look at a few of the advantages that Auditory learning can offer over traditional modes!

• Allows Multi-Tasking and Flexibility: One of the biggest benefits of taking up auditory learning is breaking away from the shackles of a desk and the formal classroom set-up. While all other learning processes required learners to be present and available in the classroom or a formal learning set-up, auditory learning is flexible and allows multi-tasking for the students. For example, a student can continue their audio lectures even while travelling or while doing other daily activities or tasks. 
• Time-Saving and Convenient: A by-product of flexibility and multi-tasking is saving of time and convenience factor for the students. Because you can listen to educational classes and lectures anywhere, anytime, you can, in-turn, maximize the time available to you for studying; there by saving time and effort required for studying.
• Increased Retention: The advocates of auditory learning styles have conducted several studies to see how effective learning via audio can be. One of the major findings of these studies has been that learning via audio leads to better retention. By using audio lectures and notes multiple times, students are able to learn, revise and retain at least equal or more as compared to traditional modes. 
• Zero Distractions: During the pandemic, visual learning i.e., through video lectures and animated learning solutions had also gained prominence. But a few studies done around these solutions found that learners were more distracted with visual elements and therefore were unable to completely concentrate on factual occurrences or information that were being discussed. This is one place where learning via audio has shown exceptional results. Thanks to zero visual distractions, students were able to understand every word and thoroughly absorb information that was being shared with them.
• Availability of Audio Learning Materials: The final and in fact the most relevant advantage of auditory learning style is the availability of study material. The pandemic has helped educators and learners to innovate and come-up with new solutions to ensure continued learning. This experimentation has helped in the creation of an extensive library of audio learning material that can be used by students and competitive exam aspirants to learn and prepare for their exams. Most of this material is available on different platforms either for free or at a very nominal cost as compared to traditional modes. 

Where can you begin?

If you have come so far, you would surely be interested in giving Learning via Audio a chance and trying it out to see if it suits your needs. Well, thanks to the advent of educational podcasts and digital learning solutions, auditory learning has seen swift adoption among students and especially among aspirants of competitive entrance exams. Emergence platforms like Khabri App – an audio first learning solution, has helped several aspirants explore and adopt audio-based learning. Users of the Khabri App have been able to transform their free time into an engaging learning experience and have continued preparing for competitive exams remotely, in an effective and structured manner.