Do you have a member of the family or a student who is a Verbal Learner?

Here are some clues: chatty, "talks all the time," "disturbs" others who want quiet, makes verbal noises or talks under his breath. One or all of these phrases might describe the Verbal Learner in your life.

For this person, talking is necessary for processing information. The act of verbalizing what he knows helps him to process and remember the information. He needs to actually say the words, not simply hear someone else say them.

Knowing about the Verbal Learner helps us understand a common scenario that is experienced by parents and teachers: A child has trouble with directions in a text or workbook. She tells the adult that she doesn't understand and needs help. Usually what happens next is that the adult says something like, "What do you mean you don't understand? Read what it says."

When the child reads the instructions out loud, she says, "Oh, I get it now" and is able to complete the task. The adult is annoyed because it seems that this child understood all along and simply wanted some attention. The adult becomes more annoyed if this occurs frequently.

Actually, these children aren't looking for attention; they really don't understand the instructions until they are read aloud. Not realizing that the oral reading and auditory feedback, and not the adult attention, are the magic ingredients, these children continue to call for help each time. Simply teaching these students to verbalize instructions eliminates frustration for everyone. But can verbalizing be acceptable in the classroom?

Traditionally, any kind of verbalization has been discouraged in the classroom, and reading aloud to oneself has even been considered a "special needs" behavior - that is, something that is needed by students who are not capable of doing it the "right" way.

Verbalizing is the right way for the Verbal Learner and it is no more a "special need" than any other child's learning need. All learners have their own unique needs, and one need is not any better or more important than another. Parents, encourage your children to verbalize when they need to and be available for them to talk through lessons and assignments at home.

Some Verbal Learners do best when they can work with someone else. Try to have someone work at least part of the time with your child on homework, studying, etc. Homeschoolers can arrange for their children to work in pairs or small groups. Many classroom teachers have organized their rooms so that students have the option of working together or alone.

Verbal Learners benefit from talking out loud in many situations - e.g., following a recipe when cooking, working out directions on a map, reading the instructions for assembling a desk, memorizing the names of the continents, understanding the concept of gravity, figuring out what to wear to the prom, or making a difficult decision.

Verbal Learners do their best on assignments that involve verbalizing. Teachers could encourage these students to make an audio or video report, prepare oral presentations, participate in a discussion, tell a story, even set information to a melody and sing it. When the goal is for a child to demonstrate understanding of a body of knowledge, there are many alternatives to the written report.

Students who are Verbal Learners grow up to be adults who are Verbal Learners. If someone teaches them about learning styles and the Verbal Modality, they will learn how to use this strength in their everyday lives and on the job.

For example, Verbal Learners can use this information to help them find a workplace that suits this need. A company that encourages co-workers to talk out ideas, sets up brainstorming sessions, and communicates verbally more than through email, might be the perfect fit for this person.

In summary, Verbal Learners need to talk things out, discuss, repeat instructions to themselves, read out loud, and use verbal strategies for studying and memorizing. Encourage your child to verbalize wherever and whenever possible. When you are in a place that requires quiet, such as a library, you can coach this student to talk quietly, whisper or even mouth the words. And if you, yourself, are a Verbal Learner, you can use this strength to make your daily activities easier and more effective.

When parents and teachers acknowledge the Verbal Learner's needs, they honor the special gifts God has given to Verbal Learners. When the adults in a child's life coach that child for success, they allow the Spirit of God to speak through them to say to that child, "You are special, you are gifted, you are loved. Take your gift into the world and love others with it."

©2008 by Mariaemma Pelullo-Willis

Mariaemma Pelullo-Willis is a California credentialed teacher and holds a Master's Degree in Special Education. She is co-author, with Victoria Kindle Hodson, of "Discover Your Child's Learning Style" (Random House) and "Midlife Crisis Begins in Kindergarten." For many years a Master Catechist for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, she attends Mission San Buenaventura.