Music and Language

Hi, all:

A link to an interesting article about the connections between music and language came across my email today.The article, entitled Explainer: how are learning languages and music linked?  was published in The Conversation (U.S.),  and is written by George Tsoulas, Senior Lecturer, Department of Language and Linguistic Science at University of York.  Among other things, the article says  the following:

"Several of the studies reviewed in a 2011 paper by Finnish music and education researcher Riia Milovanov and her colleagues, showed that mastery of more than one language as well as mastery of music involves higher levels of executive control. These are the mechanisms responsible for overall management of cognitive resources and processes – including attention shifts, working memory, reasoning, and switching between tasks.

Other studies reviewed in the same article showed that musical training correlates with better language-learning skills. Learners with a musical background were found to be better at pronouncing the sounds of a second language and at perceiving the relevant contrasts between sounds in that new language."

I always enjoyed learning "real songs" when studying a language (in my case, French first and then Spanish). I wasn't aware of learning the contrasts between sounds; I focused more on vocabulary and syntax and I do remember it clicking hard in brain, while listening to Julio Iglesias,in Un Sentimental  for example, that in Spanish you generally don't use the subject pronouns; and if you do,  it is usually for emphaisis: "Voy, de aquí para allá. Me acuerdo de ti.  sabes que soy un sentimental." And about changing the word order to make a question in the French Frère Jacques?: Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?  Finally, I remember the delight of some of my Turkish students at learning the words to John Lennon's Imagine: "You may say I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one,  I hope someday you'll join us, And the world will live as one."

What kinds of connections have you made with language and music? Do you use songs or other music in in the class room to practice sounds? Vocabulary? Grammar? Rhythm?  Cultural content ? Other?

Would love to hear from you.

Miriam Burt

SME, Adult ELL CoP

 

 

Comments

Howdy all.

I actually have a 6-hour workshop called "Beyond Singing" as part of my "Strategies for Engaging Adult ELLs" series.  The workshop includes an overview to the brain-based advantages for utilizing music in the classroom as well as nearly two dozen activities.  I use music in the classroom as part of classroom management (music for sustained silent reading or to time group activities, for example), for practicing listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, and culture, and for simply re-energizing students and, as my dog's trainer says, 'giving the brain a chance to reset.'  (Apparently, resetting the brain is not a necessity just for humans.)   

Even in my online ESL class for international professionals, we have a "Song of the Week" session, which they enjoy very much and reprimand me if I change the topic.  One of the best things about that lesson is that students start recommending the songs to analyze.

Pearson has a wonderful series of books called True Stories Behind the Songs that is a great place to start.  There are only two books in the series so far, but I hope they publish more.

If anyone would like to review some of the materials for that workshop, I invite you to join my "class" in Schoology.   The access code is 3B8ZQ-3862Q.

Peace,

Glenda Rose, PhD
PD Center Specialist
Texas Research-based Adult Instruction Network
Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning
Texas A&M University