The Role of Music in Second Language Learning
Wednesday, 30th July 2008
A recent blog post made me wonder why language teachers like to get lyrical...
Having attended various language courses across the world, from Cuba to Italy to Argentina, it’s always interested me how local language teachers are so keen to incorporate singing into their lessons. There hasn’t been one course where I haven’t had to listen to a song or, worse, sing along to it. But any inward groans of “do I really have to do this?” have quickly been replaced with communal jollity as you all realise you’re in it together and you may as well just get on with it. Initial inhibitions go out the window and you find yourself listening to the words, getting your ear in tune and, dare I say it, having fun.
I can’t really imagine stretching my vocal chords in a classroom in the UK, but in many European and Latin countries singing is an accepted and popular form of expression. Bring it into the classroom and it becomes a great tool for language practice - it trains the ears in valuable listening skills (which is even harder when the words are delivered as lyrics, alongside music), it unites the students, and it adds a fun element to the traditional language learning environment.
So it was with interest that I read a recent blog post about ’The Role of Music in Second Language Learning: A Vietnamese Perspective‘. In this study, Mark Huy Le examines the role and utility of music in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classroom, from both the teacher’s and student’s point of view. Safe to say he comes to some interesting conclusions, as well as giving us an interesting angle on the increasing role of English in Vietnamese life.
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Tags: english, french, spanish, german, italian, tefl, efl, italy, cactus tefl, argentina, music, cuba, vietnam, singing, second language learning, english language refesher
Posted by Sarah Gooding under Passion for language, Case Studies,
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