I just read a phenomenal article from the Anglistic International Journal of English Studies that explores the strong relationship between music and language learning. This article completely pinpoints my innate understanding of the connection between two of my strongest passions and it has brought a bit of insight as to why I feel that using music to teach ESL is a complete
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So, Fonseca-Mora and friends start out by comparing and contrasting the aspects of language to those of music and they narrow it down fairly well:
Now, we start moving into the deep stuff: SPEECH MELODIES. Speech melodies play a very specific role in language acquisition. As the authors discuss in the paper, it's important not only to understand what is being said, but to learn how to say it yourself. This happens completely naturally during L1 (native language) acquisition. For example, a newborn baby does respond to rhythms and pitches to which she was exposed prenatally, namely, her mother's voice.
Its principles, however, can aid students in the midst of L2 (second language) learning as well! Musical activities can aid L2 learners by helping to develop auditory perception, metacognitive knowledge, and phonological memory (through repetition).
In fact, this research shows that singing and almost ANY musical performance inherently integrates the left and right hemispheres of the brain, thereby incorporating WHOLE-BRAIN function and cooperation. There aren't many activities that produce such rich use of our whole brain.
You see, the authors explain that while the left brain controls speech perception, production, prosody, rhythm and singing, the right brain is in charge of pitch and tonality in singing.
Now, according to the signs of a decently effective lesson (when teaching any subject matter, really)
Music inherently invokes the engagement of all four language skills: listening, reading (input), speaking, and writing (output). For example, as a student listens to a song and reads the lyrics, he can sing along and perhaps, eventually, modify the lyrics. Furthermore, if you really choose the right materials, students will inevitably learn through the "song-stuck-in-my-head" phenomenon! You gotta love that!
The effects of singing on an L2 learner is certainly worth further exploration. It provides a more motivational way of practicing pronunciation and articulation. In fact, according to the authors,
Countless data show that the overwhelming majority of L2 learners enjoy the integration of singing and music to aid in the learning of a second language and there is a growing breadth of knowledge, as this article demonstrates, linking the two disciplines together into a partnership that is mutually beneficial. Music inherently affects mood and well-being while it can be used as a teaching tool not only for language, but for many other educational disciplines as well (especially those that require substantial amounts of rote memorization).
Time to explore and exploit, I say!
!
So, Fonseca-Mora and friends start out by comparing and contrasting the aspects of language to those of music and they narrow it down fairly well:
Now, we start moving into the deep stuff: SPEECH MELODIES. Speech melodies play a very specific role in language acquisition. As the authors discuss in the paper, it's important not only to understand what is being said, but to learn how to say it yourself. This happens completely naturally during L1 (native language) acquisition. For example, a newborn baby does respond to rhythms and pitches to which she was exposed prenatally, namely, her mother's voice.
Its principles, however, can aid students in the midst of L2 (second language) learning as well! Musical activities can aid L2 learners by helping to develop auditory perception, metacognitive knowledge, and phonological memory (through repetition).
In fact, this research shows that singing and almost ANY musical performance inherently integrates the left and right hemispheres of the brain, thereby incorporating WHOLE-BRAIN function and cooperation. There aren't many activities that produce such rich use of our whole brain.
You see, the authors explain that while the left brain controls speech perception, production, prosody, rhythm and singing, the right brain is in charge of pitch and tonality in singing.
Now, according to the signs of a decently effective lesson (when teaching any subject matter, really)
Music inherently invokes the engagement of all four language skills: listening, reading (input), speaking, and writing (output). For example, as a student listens to a song and reads the lyrics, he can sing along and perhaps, eventually, modify the lyrics. Furthermore, if you really choose the right materials, students will inevitably learn through the "song-stuck-in-my-head" phenomenon! You gotta love that!
The effects of singing on an L2 learner is certainly worth further exploration. It provides a more motivational way of practicing pronunciation and articulation. In fact, according to the authors,
"songs exaggerate the stress and duration of the phonetic elements,"This inherent exaggeration, in turn, helps the learner in acquiring and memorizing L2 pronunciation skills.
Countless data show that the overwhelming majority of L2 learners enjoy the integration of singing and music to aid in the learning of a second language and there is a growing breadth of knowledge, as this article demonstrates, linking the two disciplines together into a partnership that is mutually beneficial. Music inherently affects mood and well-being while it can be used as a teaching tool not only for language, but for many other educational disciplines as well (especially those that require substantial amounts of rote memorization).
Time to explore and exploit, I say!
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