The impact of songs on the language learning process

Dear friends,

I will speak of music and language today. Since Plato's time, the relationship between both has attracted interest and debate from a wide range of thinkers. 

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Traditionally, the two complex systems of meaningful organized sound (music and language) were thought to be distinct, processed in discrete areas of the brain. Now, cognitive research investigates the anatomic structure of the brain and its neural functions, suggesting that language and music have important points of convergence and/or overlap.

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One brain system, based in the temporal lobes, helps humans memorize information in both language and music— for example, words and meanings in language and familiar melodies in music. The other system, based in the frontal lobes, helps us unconsciously learn and use the rules that underlie both language and music, such as the rules of syntax in sentences, and the rules of harmony in music.

Over years, songs have been the greatest expression of music, reflecting the political, cultural and social background of societies as well as the evolution of language. People, especially teenagers, tend to identify themselves with particular music styles.

Songs are definitely one of the most enchanting and culturally rich resources that can easily be used in language classrooms. They offer a change from routine classroom activities. If you are a teacher, you can manage to conciliate your educational objectives (were they linguistic, cultural or both) with your students' musical tastes and you will probably hear them singing in the language they are learning on their way back home!

It is worth noting here that we, teachers, should not impose our personal taste in music on our students. We should be careful to offer music or songs that students will want to listen to and work on. 

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Songs are precious resources to develop students’ abilities in speaking, reading, and writing. As far as the acquisition of language skills is concerned, the lyrics of songs are among the best texts to improve listening skills. They can also be used to teach a variety of language items such as sentence patterns, vocabulary, pronunciation, rhythm, adjectives, and adverbs. 

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Exploitation of songs for grammatical structures can be illustrated through several examples. For present tense, 'Let It Be' by the Beatles, for past tense 'Yesterday' by the Beatles, for present continuous 'Sailing' by Rod Stewart, for present perfect 'Nothing Compares to You' by Sinead Occonor, for past perfect 'Last Night I Had...' by Simon and Garfunkel, for modals 'Blowing in the Wind' by Bob Dylan, and for conditionals 'El Condor Pasa' by Simon and Garfunkel can be used. However, it should be kept in mind that songs, which provide frequent repetitions, or tell a story, or provide comments about life, or introduce cultural themes are the effective ones, since they provide authentic and meaningful material.

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Beside the importance of the music element, songs are useful in teaching foreign languages because of motivation. As songs are linked to emotions, they help intrinsic motivation too. Motivation is multifaceted and concerns both the affective states and attitudes that impact the amount of effort a learner expends to acquire a new language.

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It is also argued that the use of songs in the language classroom enhances social harmony, creates a safe space to experience learning collectively and contributes to the building of a community; all of which are essential factors for effectively attaining teaching and learning goals.

In conclusion, music, which consistently surrounds our lives, enhances students’ success in second language acquisition. The use of songs also allows teachers to combine conscious and unconscious processes, to involve all the students, no matter their type of intelligence to exploit an integrated type of teaching.

I hope you liked it.

Teacher Barbara