For total non-musicians, does everybody know Doe, a deer, from Sound of music?
OK, that do,re,me,fa,so,la,te,do the kids sing is the Ionian mode.
Now, if you jump up to re, start from there for 8 notes, you're on the Dorian mode.
Start from so and you're in Mixolydian mode.
If someone is singing 'What shall we do with the drunken sailor', the chances are they're using the Mixolydian mode. If they're playing a guitar, they'll probably use chords like D and C instead of D,G and A.
And Aolian goes from la.
Maybe it would be useful to have a list of commonly known songs with their modes listed beside them. It's easier to hear the difference if you recognise the tune.
Robyn