Do you learn better with audio or written material?

[NoManches]

I think this has been mentioned briefly before, but it is probably worth having a larger discussion on the topic.

I have noticed that when I read, I am more likely to remember new words compared to when I hear these words. Even when reading somewhat challenging material, I think my ability to learn new words is greater than when I hear a new word during an extremely easy conversation where I understand 99% of what is being said

Why is this?

I would guess that when reading, I am seeing the word and subvocalizing, while having the opportunity to go back to the word and sentence it was used in if I have problems. With listening you don't always have the ability to revisit things that were said (such as in a live conversation).

However, I can think of times when I hear a new word in a TV show, rewind to hear the word again, and still have problems reproducing it later on.

Maybe I am just better at learning via written material than through listening?

Any thoughts on this? Is there anybody who is really good at learning new words through audio vs written material?

*Edited format of title

[Decidida]

I absolutely have to see new words, even in my native language. I am NOT an auditory learner. Audio resources are a great SUPPLEMENT to the written, but from math to languages, I need to SEE words, formulas, and graphics.

I do not feel like I can properly review audio only resources, because I do not know how far from the norm I might be.

Because I am such a poor auditory learner, I realize that I must gradually work my way to audio-only resources like Pimsleur, and then real-life audio and everyday speech. Like climbing a flight of stairs, one step at a time is often faster than trying to pull oneself up a whole level without steps. I need to start off seeing and hearing, and then gradually wean myself off the visual.

[coldrainwater]

I have a friend who has told me that she learns languages better through audio and has trouble with the reading aspect, so I will pick her brain a bit the next time I have a chance and report back. For myself, I learn better from written materials, all goals considered.

Highlighting vocabulary building for a moment (why not), at the intermediate and advanced stages, I think of incorporating new words as a continuum that is not overly focused on the first encounter. I feel far too much attention is given to that shocking moment when we first see/hear the new [in this instance, uncommon/advanced] word. In those limiting cases, I simply need to notate the unknown bundle of letters without further obligation beyond those first few shocking seconds of confusion and disbelief (you would think I'd get used to it by now). Life goes back to normal, and I get back to reading (until the next page). In my case, reading like this tends to have a big advantage over listening initially due to the convenience and instantaneity of word lookups on electronic devices. However, audio is often more practically useful for me at the later stages of vocabulary learning (and hence the point of all this rambling). Later stages of review and deeper levels of vocabulary nuance benefit from devoting extra time and are well coupled with any outstanding components of listening not yet mastered. Two birds. One stone. Fight fire with fire by pitting dull against obstinate, but trick the mind into liking it by covering it up with interesting stories and pitted challenges. It is a judgment call, but I tend to get just the right amount of [I want this] when I pair partially known words (or more accurately books replete with them) with well-narrated but still challenging audio.

To boot and for clarity of regimen, I have more listening hours available than reading hours. Nature of the beast for now. For hard stuffs, I lead with reading. Sensible. Then, when a challenging read turns to yawns, dozes and arm stretches, other texts of comparable difficulty become perfect for a barrage of audio and are mentally filed as such (handy equivalence from book to audiobook and one genre to a related one). This way both listening and reading tend to move in unison with an expected, but not detrimental lag in listening. At this juncture, I am almost exclusively considering a motley and liberal array of literature/audiobooks as my primary learning sources, which conveniently fit the approach I am taking. Part of it also has to do with matching my wants with the reality of how long I expect it to take to get there.

So yes, written material = way easier, but with some nuance and several balancing acts going on; some explicit, others implicit.

[Ani]

Learn *what* better?

If we are just talking about vocabulary & we are talking about a script I am familiar with, yes I can memorize words much much faster if I see them than if I hear them once.

I have a suspicion though, that if we heard the word over the same timeframe that we read the word, we'd have a comparable shot at memorization. Really if you see a word in a text, don't go over it even a second time, then try and remember and look it up later, you'd probably have worse odds of succeeding than you would with a word spoken in conversation.

3-5 seconds of visual compared with fractional to one second auditory is hardly a fair comparison.

I think last time this discussion came up it was pointed out that most people who think they have a bad auditory memory actually just have above average visual skills.

[joels341]

For me, reading has been a big help. Every time you come across a new word, you get to see it in context.

It seems like when you see a new word written, you start to see and hear that word everywhere you go. I think this is actually an illusions since the word just happens to now be the newest thing in your brain. It's like when you choose a number, let's see 1342, and then you start seeing that number everywhere: license plates, addresses, phone numbers, etc. Your brain focuses on it. In any case, this can be to your advantage because the same word can probably be used in several different ways depending on context and you can start to build an idea in your mind of when it's appropriate and the nuances it can have.

Also, see the word written kind of gives it a "skeleton" so that I can notice it more when a speaker uses that word. If I had not read the word before hearing it, it would have been just an unintelligible blur of sounds.

I know some other people have really good ears and they can pick out the words they hear without encountering them in written form first. I know one person like this who also has a good ear for music, so perhaps this ability goes hand in hand.

In any case, if you find a technique that works for you, you should follow your instinct. The same method doesn't work for everyone.

[reineke]

"Il ne s'agit pas de faire lire, mais de faire penser."
Montesquieu.

[aaleks]

Is there anybody who is really good at learning new words through audio vs written material?

I could've said me but it's not 100% true. I can learn words trough audio like it was with the word "subpoena". I had known the word for a long time, had heard it many many times, but had no clue how it's spelled. I barely recognised it when I saw the word the first time in a book, the context helped. That's an extreme example, of course, but I'm sure there were other. I just don't remember how and when I learned each word I know. Although I'm sure that a significant part of my English vocabulary is the words I learned from books. It would be too slow if I tried to learn the same amount of words trough listening. Especially in the beginning. But the words I use actively, my active vocabulary, is mostly the words I have heard. As well as almost all the idioms I use. I need to hear a word with all the emotions, intonations, etc. attached so I would better memorise it. At the same time I need to be able to read because, for example, how would I look up words in a dictionary if I couldn't read? Reading helps to speed up the learning process in many ways. So, I think that in my case it's not "vs" it's a combination of both.

[Henkkles]

I have lots of trouble with topics like this one, as it takes me a long time to understand what the question really is. You can't learn a spoken language from written materials, you can only learn about such language from written materials. If you read about rules of grammar, these things go into your declarative memory, but language command lives in procedural memory. Similarly, knowing the translation to a morpheme (knowing that "chien" means "dog") is not the same thing as actually knowing it, although it certainly helps.

So I don't know how to answer.

[reineke]

I think this has been mentioned briefly before...

How to learn vocabulary?
https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =17&t=6771

Listening vs Reading
https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =14&t=7833

Reading or listening? Which is more efficient?
https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=1220

Great Literature = Better Listening Skills
https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... f=14&t=841

Memorization and You
https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 56&p=65113

Learning to Listen and Listening to Learn
https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =14&t=5698

[zjones]

I understand everyone's skepticism regarding this question, but I do think that I learn better with written material in both my native language and my target language.

It's complicated, but I think it has to do with both my personal skills and my varying levels of engagement with different materials. It's much harder for me to pay attention when I am only engaging my ears. I often find myself lost in my head and don't know how long I've been daydreaming, and I have to rewind several minutes of audio. This happens with reading and videos too, but much less frequently. Any visual engagement with material seems to increase my ability to stay connected. When I listen to French podcasts, I try to write down key phrases as I hear them since it increases my visual engagement and repetition.

I require subtitles with most shows because I often can't make out what English-speakers are saying, particularly if they have a Southern or British accent.

I also hate audio books because I can never follow the plot.

Even though I don't have a photographic memory, I've always felt like my memory takes single "snapshots" of words. With the exception of complex words, I only have to see the word once and I can spell it correctly for the rest of my life. I've experienced these word images with French, although I still have a small difficult with é and è, which aren't always differentiated in my snapshots. Maybe everyone is this way, I don't know.