My husband, Joseph, is an auditory learner.
Twenty-something years ago when cell phones started to make their way into everyone’s lives, one of Joseph’s first jobs in California was selling cell phones at a mall. His verbal skills were excellent and he easily became the top salesman. Within weeks of his work, he became an assistant manager, then soon, a manager of the kiosk at the mall. The amazing thing was that he also had Latino customers and was selling the phones in Spanish. I asked him where did he learn Spanish, thinking did he visit or live somewhere where Spanish is the dominant language. He said he learned it during his middle school years in New York City. Well, we all learned Spanish in middle school in New York City, but most of us can’t speak enough to communicate, let alone sell things! He picks up new languages rather quickly and easily. His Korean improved when we watched Korean dramas (while busy reading English subtitles) and he began to speak some Chinese when we watched Chinese dramas.
Joseph has a ton of songs memorized in his head. Once he hears a song enough times, he remembers it accurately without ever seeing the music notes. The other day, we were looking at a song sheet together. I thought I’ve never seen this song before. The truth is we never did “see” the song before. But about 15 years ago, when we attended a morning prayer meeting at a local church, this was the favorite song of the worship leader. She sang this song almost everyday. We were with her perhaps half a year before she left the meeting. So we never sang that song again. Now 15 years later, Joseph recognizes the song and he was able to sing the entire song!
Joseph is a witty man, quick with words. If someone wants to be either funny or sarcastic (happens all the time in the classroom full of teenagers where he teaches math), he gives it right back to them. Any student in the classroom who targets Joseph ends up being the target and the joke is on them. Joseph can be stern with the students but can be so funny with his jokes that his students all love him. They write cards stating that he explains things well, but also say that he made them laugh. Adults who have been around him all know how he has a great sense of humor and makes people laugh all the time. The power of auditory learners.
Having Joseph to “argue” the case for me has been tremendous. When a former roommate and I were having some issues and I didn’t know how to handle the sticky situation, he stepped in and spoke up for me and settled the situation right then and there. Seeing his verbal strengths, I have since relied on him to negotiate with the outside world especially with phone calls. When I paid a bill a few days late and ended up with a late charge, he picks up the phone, calls the company and before you know it, he has them drop the charge. He has gotten good deals on many services by just calling and talking to different companies. Did I say we have saved money as a result?
Yes, he loves the GPS. He punches in the address, starts driving, and listens for directions.