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Language Learning With Music

Writer's picture: Xaidie CampbellXaidie Campbell


Language learning can be a challenging but rewarding journey. While traditional methods such as textbooks and language apps are valuable, there's a delightful and unconventional tool that can enhance your language skills: music. Music has a universal appeal and the power to captivate, making it an enjoyable and effective aid in the language learning process. In this article, we'll explore how you can use music as a dynamic tool to accelerate your language learning journey. Listening and singing along helps with pronunciation, grammar assimilation, acquiring a natural cadence to the new language, comprehension, vocabulary development, cultural understanding, and it’s fun.


Pronunciation: English is not really a phonetic language, nor is it syllabic. This means that we can’t really learn how to pronounce it unless we hear it in context. Music will give us the natural cadence to the language and inspire us to sing along for practice.


Grammar understanding: While getting the right verb tense or grammar formation in a language is about understanding the structure and the formula for each grammar structure, I hear most frustration among my students when it comes to understanding when to use this or that tense or construct. This is really hard because depending on our emphasis, we might change verb tenses even in the same sentence.


Sing Along to acquire a natural cadence: Singing along to the music is an engaging way to practice pronunciation and intonation. Mimic the artist's delivery, paying attention to the rhythm and melody. This not only improves your accent but also helps you internalize the language's natural cadence.


Comprehension without translation

Language learners often get stuck at the survival stage. They start learning and try to translate everything and while that’s fine in the beginning, it is really tough to do that all the time. Too many words, not enough anchors to the language to support those words. Music is repetitive and fast…too fast to translate. So even if you don’t understand, you can allow the language to seep in as you sing along. This will allow for a more natural acquisition and boost your ability to understand a new word in a future because things will “click” you’ve heard, and even sung the word before.


Build Your Vocabulary: Songs are a treasure trove of vocabulary. While making a list of unfamiliar words and phrases, and then exploring their meanings is one way to use music to increase your vocabulary, I recommend instead, just trying to keep up with the song and noticing the words you know. Each time you hear the word, it becomes more and more familiar to you. Research shows that we need to be exposed to a new thing multiple times before it sinks into our long-term memory. Contextual learning through music can make vocabulary acquisition more memorable and enjoyable.


Cultural Insights: Music often reflects the culture from which it originates. Use songs as a window into the customs, traditions, and societal themes of the language you're learning. This cultural context enhances your understanding of the language in a broader sense.


It’s fun!

When we have negative feelings, anger, anxiety, fear, we reduce our ability to learn. When we listen to music, we can let go of those feelings and just enjoy the moment. As we learn each song and start to sing along, even if we don’t understand the words at first, we enjoy ourselves and the language starts to flow around us. We lower our filters and the language can get more traction in our brains.


Some Tips

Use the official video and find the lyrics on a simple google search. I have found that many youtubers who put music with lyrics karaoke style get the lyrics wrong. Also, Listen to music you like. Don’t just look for music you can understand. I used I Want You To Have It All by Jason Mraz with low level learners and we had so much fun because the song is fun. So don’t pick slow boring songs just because they are easier to understand. I’m not picking on the Beatles when I say, they really didn’t speak to my students in the way that Jason Mraz and Bob Marley did. And if you are a teacher, don’t assume that what is relaxing to you is the same for your students. I love indie folk and Taylor Swift but my students are uninspired by her and like to relax with the Black Eyed Peas.


Conclusion:

Incorporating music into your language learning journey adds a vibrant and enjoyable dimension to the process. From vocabulary building to improving pronunciation and cultural understanding, music is a versatile and powerful tool. So, tune in, sing along, and let the rhythm of language guide you toward fluency.


Here are some of my students’ favorite songs to practice English to:


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