As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow says, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” A recent study found that this statement may have some merit, or at least music is a means to learn language. The study was conducted by the University of Edinburgh. The university worked with 60 adults who were learning the Hungarian language. The study had three learning conditions: speaking, rhythmic speaking, and singing. After 15 minutes of learning, the adults were tested, finding that the group that learned through song scored significantly higher than the other two groups. So we are left to ask, what does it all mean? More specifically, what does it mean for language learners in our classrooms today?
To researches it was no surprise that the signing group achieved higher results. This is because of brain function. Many studies have been conducted supporting the notion that music and language are processed the same way in the brain. However for most ESL teachers, this isn’t a new idea. Many classrooms today use songs to teach vocabulary and phonics, and when these songs are paired with movement, it is proven to further bolster memory when learning a language. The study also had some more specific findings related to music and language learning. Researchers found the groups were more successful if the song used for learning had a melody and repetitive parts, as the repetition was key. Lastly, the study also found it is beneficial for L2 and L3 classrooms to play music without words. As it can be soothing to students who can be “on edge” from the content they are learning and the challenges they may be facing learning the new language. It can also aid in focus.
I often use music in my classroom to teach concepts. The repetitive nature, catchy beat, and excitement from the students make the learning experience enjoyable and beneficial. Often kids were asking if we could listen to the song one more time. I also like playing music without lyrics during quiet work times like writing, as it can bring a peace and calm about the classroom. The article also made me think about the reading from Unit 7 which mentioned the tech app/website FluentU. FluentU incorporates music videos and songs into language learning. They seem to have a high rate of success with their program and it seemed engaged to language learners. FluentU has many interactive features to accompany their videos/songs to ensure their learners are able to understand vocabulary. It seems music is one way to immerse yourself in the language you are learning while having fun doing it. I plan to implement more songs into learning experiences next year with my students.
Source:
Koch, S. (2017, June 14). How music and songs boost language learning. Retrieved from http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/how-music-and-songs-boost-language-learning/education
I think that this was a great article. I use music as much as I can in my classroom and it makes perfect sense that music could be a useful tool for teaching English in the ESL. classroom. Music can make confusing concepts like grammar and English understandable because of the repetitive nature of the tune. My students often enjoy singing the songs that I use in the classroom. I find lots of great examples on the internet and I always like using Schoolhouse Rock.
ReplyDeleteI believe too that music is a great way to grab the students' attention and help them learn. I use music all the time in my classroom partly because I love music so much. We use music in our morning meeting/calendar, math, and reading. It always amazes me when I see one of my lower functioning students singing every word to a song that we have only listening to a couple times. It makes me think "how can they learn that so fast?" especially when they are struggling in other areas. The article you posted reminded me of how important it is to use our students' strengths to drive our lessons.
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