It is quite possible that the educational phenomenon dates from the origin of mankind; the verbal transmission of experiences might have been a necessary requirement to assure survival. It is understandable, therefore, that the success of the teaching-learning process depended at that time largely upon the speaking and memorizing ability of teachers and learners.
Nowadays, it is sad to admit that in spite of the development in the educational and technological fields, the teaching activities seem to have stayed behind in a primitive stage. There are not few teachers and institutions that base their pedagogical praxis only on verbal communication and memory, which seen as unique learning resources, limit greatly the horizons of learners.
There are indeed many different materials that may be brought to class to support the teaching-learning process: realia, software, flash-cards, transparencies, slides, videos, cassettes, etc. In this work, however, I will focus on the convenience of teaching a language through music and song. I will justify their use, and I will present ten different activities in which music and song may be used in language teaching.
1. Why teaching a language through music and songs?
Nowadays it is not easy to escape music and songs as it, as a whole, occupies ever more of the world around us. It is very common to listen to music and songs in shopping malls, offices, restaurants, and even churches. And for those who tune in to an iPod or i-Phone, music and song is literally everywhere. We can say that it has become part of our daily life.
We do not know when or how it all started, but what we do know for sure is that every human society has developed its own cultural identity through music and songs. For example, it is easy to distinguish between African-American jazz, Mexican corridos, and Brazilian samba. Each human society can relate to music and songs because they are part of their cultural tradition. In education however, there is a curious embargo in the use of music and songs as an aid to the teaching and learning process. It seems that teachers and institutions in general still cling to the idea that you cannot learn from something that is fun.
At the beginning of my teaching practice, I realized that music and songs may be very helpful when teaching a foreign language, even before I had learned any pedagogical theory to support this belief. At this time, I was having trouble helping my students improving their speaking skills, because it was difficult for them to practice their English in a Spanish speaking environment. I had asked them to prepare speeches about different topics, and to practice them at home, in front of the mirror. Some of them told me they had felt a little awkward performing in front of the mirror, and that their families were a little concerned about their "mental health". It was then that I remembered how I had taught my three children their mother tongue, so I decided to try using music and songs with my students, the same way I had done it with my children. I was really amazed when my students started to improve their oral production. This time, they told me that they did not feel awkward singing a song while driving their cars to work, or while taking a shower, or while getting dressed in front of a mirror. I witnessed how the new vocabulary, intonation, and stress used in songs stayed in their minds as they were singing; and most importantly perhaps, that everything stayed there permanently.
When I remember my student's reaction to their singing, I realize that it resembles what Piaget (1923) calls egocentric language. He says that children talk with little concern for an addressee; they do it simply to enjoy hearing themselves repeating a sound. Would it be possible then that this egocentric language never really leaves us and that it is fulfilled later on through singing? This is quite possible. My students improved very much their English just by singing songs.
Tim Murphey (1996) describes what he calls the song stuck in my head phenomenon. He says that this phenomenon reinforces the idea that songs work on our short and long-term memory. This phenomenon could be the reason why my students acquired permanently everything they learned through the songs.
Krashen (1983), talking about the use of songs in language teaching, suggests that they may strongly activate the repetition mechanism of Chomskys language acquisition device (LAD),
I find a very close correspondence between Piagets egocentric language, Murpheys phenomenon, and Chomskys LAD: As students sing for the fun of it as an egocentric activity, inadvertently create an echo in their minds working in their short and long term-memory, triggering the language acquisition device.
Millie Grenough (1994) gives a simpler explanation to this phenomenon. He says that students who are learning English may hear little spoken English outside their classroom, but that all of them are exposed to American and English songs on radio, TV, and in movies. This can explain the fact that students find songs easy to relate to, because music and song, as a whole, is part of their real world.
Even though students may receive such a great language input through songs, as Grenough suggests, many schools are still skeptic about using them as an aid for teaching; some teachers are particularly concerned about disturbing neighboring classes. They are also concerned about getting students too excited with music, making it difficult for them later on to get students back to work. Some other teachers think that working with music and song in the classroom may take the class away from the normal syllabus; they consider it both, a risk and a waste of time, specially because some songs contain too much slang and poor grammar.
I have received comments from teachers of neighboring classes, saying that at the beginning they felt disturbed with my music, but that later on their own students asked them to use music in their class, as well. It is true that music and song may cause excitement to some students, but in a positive way: breaking the usual routine, increasing their motivation, giving them intensive practice in selected patterns without boredom. It is perfectly possible to follow a syllabus, substituting some book activities with music and song activities that contain the same patterns or structures. Besides, using music and song in class, provides students with and insight into a culture. Let us not forget that a culture is the way of life of a human society, and that human race is not perfect. By learning slang and a descriptive grammar, students will know more about the language of a particular culture.
2. Ways music and songs may be useful in language teaching.
There are different ways a teacher may use music and songs in language teaching. However it is up to both, teachers and students, to decide how much and in what ways these tools may be exploited. Tim Murphy (1996) recommends to start by using music and songs in small doses, as an experiment, trying to find out in what ways it might increase students interests and motivation for learning. For instance, putting on some background music while students are doing a composition, or at the beginning or end of a class, will not only create a relaxing atmosphere, but also, will give teachers the opportunity to ask students about their musical preferences. In this way teachers can tune in to their students interests, becoming more sensitive to their tastes; allowing students, not the teachers, to choose the material which will have the greatest impact in their learning process. Students then would be more involved in the lessons, being responsible of the material they work with in class, while the teachers would be responsible to provide students with the necessary techniques; acting as a resource for the language learning process. In other words, the students would be in charge of the what, while the teacher would be in charge of the how, creating a mutual respect with an interaction of equal importance. The question now is: what techniques can a teacher provide to aid the language learning process?
We know that music and songs as a whole, is not one of the conventional categories of language study (grammar, vocabulary, reading, etc.). But it can be the content matter of any of these categories. According to Tim Murphey (1996), in language teaching, anything we can do with a text, we can also do it with songs, or texts about songs:
We can study the grammar in the lyrics of a song;
We can practice selective listening comprehension;
We can practice conversation using dialogues based on the words of a song;
We can practice pronunciation, intonation, and stress;
We can learn new vocabulary;
We can practice choral repetition.
The how will vary according to the different students learning styles. A teacher might like to play the songs along with transparencies with lyrics, slides with pictures and lyrics, visuals with pictures, a video with the sound turned off, etc.
Millie Grenough (1994) recommends the use of music and songs to begin, extend, or end a lesson; to illustrate a particular structure being introduced; to reinforce and review material already taught; to start discussions; and to introduce topics of compositions and essays. Looking at what we normally do with music and songs outside of classes, and then looking at what we do with them in class, may provide teachers with many more ways of exploiting these tools.
In this work I have attempted to set out the reasons and the ways to teach a language through music and songs. I presented the advantages of using them as a context which students can better relate to. I tried to point out how important it is to take risks, making new experiences positive and successful, to increase students interest and motivation for learning a language. However, it perhaps should be noted that it is up to teachers and students to find out better ways to exploit music and songs as a teaching and learning aid.
By using music and songs in class, I realized that my students learned more than a new vocabulary or new grammar structures, they learned a new way they can learn a language, even without a teacher. They became more autonomous; they learned to learn.
REFERENCES
Hubbard P., Jones H., Thornton B., Wheeler R.(1991) A Training Course for TFL . Oxford University Press.
Murphy T. (1996) Music and Song Oxford University Press
» left by Carolina suastegui from Mexicali ,mex (117 days 16 hours ago.)
Teacher Elda, this article is quite interesting. In Mexico we have a lot of people who really do not know anything about teaching techniques and how to use educational TICS and you are presenting easy ways to motivate SS by using real life materials which are avaliable, effective, and reliable for teachers who work in low rent districts.
This is an excellent article. As a music teaching English I am so delighter that you have highlighted the importance of song in enhancing language skills. My new job will be made richer by including music into the lessons.
This is an excellent article. As a music teaching English I am so delighter that you have highlighted the importance of song in enhancing language skills. My new job will be made richer by including music into the lessons.
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