The Ease of Audio Learning



Listening is easier than reading.   But what's not-so-obvious is that listening may also be more effective than reading.   Of course, if one is too busy to read, one does not get around to reading.   Audio learning allows the student to absorb material while:

Now the not-so-obvious that we have learned by personal experience and interviewing customers.

Momentum
Audio learning of dense or difficult material allows the student to get "through" the material without getting hung up on details and thus benefit from the bigger picture of the whole work.   This is certainly how it plays out with A Course In Miracles, since many words are redefined.   This stream of exposure is particularly beneficial to the analytical student.   Most of the confusing paragraphs are clarified in the following paragraph, but the staunchly analytical student may needlessly circle in the first paragraph to exhaustion and frustration.

Understanding
The narrator for Spiritual Ear is an avid 15-year student and facilitator of A Course In Miracles.   His love, passion, and understanding of the material combined with professional reading skills delivers clear meaning through not only annunciation, but also intonation and careful phrasing.   This is very helpful with some of the double-negative wording in the text.

Alternate Modality
Hearing something is different from reading it, although both modalities clearly have their strengths.   When we read, we tend to consume as fast as we can, thus it is an ACTIVE pursuit.   We read at 200 to 600 words per minute and often do skimming and skipping.   However, common speech is only 150-170 words per minute and does not skip or skim.   The effect is that we spend more time with material we hear than with what we read.   That means, on average, we think more about it, we abide with it a bit longer, we give ourselves the luxury of absorbing it.   Customers report hearing new things come through from their favorite passages they have read 100 times.

Size Matters
This is not to be underestimated.   When we hear something ... it is bigger.   We confine reading to the page of a book, but sound can fill a room and our imagination may put no limit on the reader and where he might be as he reads to us.   The larger size of audio learning can be very helpful in keeping our attention.   We recommend you experiment with this, especially when reading the Course, by reading out loud to yourself.

Visualization
When we read from the printed page, we are analyzing words printed in ink on paper, filling our sight with the black and white images of words and phrases.   When we listen, it is easier for our mind to picture the author speaking to us, maybe even looking us in the eye.   For many, the experience is more personal than reading.

Science
Also, there is some scientific support that shows aural learning more effective than visual: