Music: A useful resource for learning foreign languages.

 A musical project for Spanish

Life is a song! In Colombia, my native country, we make songs to express what happens in our daily lives. One can see this in the musical work produced by Carlos Vives, Juanes and Shakira not to mention the fantastic work done by composer Rafael Escalona who created a variety of songs related to family, friendship, etc. One can get inspiration to produce songs in any activities that we do every day.

In order to promote the love for languages and to enhance teaching and learning, I am working with a colleague who is a Music teacher in the production of different songs to help students to develop their Spanish and increase their confidence using the language. The target audience will be KS4 and above and the songs will include relevant vocabulary and grammar required for Spanish at GCSE level. The songs that we are making are to address topics studied at KS4 so students can master the knowledge better.

My colleague and I have spent a substantial amount of time developing this project and we would like to make this available to support other Spanish colleagues working in Education. This work will be made available for free on this blog as well as via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@linguamigos.  Every song will be accompanied by a transcript and some exercises focusing on comprehension of the lyrics, grammar, vocabulary and phonics. Teaching resouces can be found free of charge in TES 

The songs will be released on a regular basis, and we hope Spanish teachers and their students will benefit from this rewarding venture.

My plan is to continue writing this blog where I would like to discuss educational matters related to teaching and learning in Modern Foreign Languages, especially topics associated to Spanish.

Impact of using music in the classroom

I have been teaching Spanish at KS3, KS4 and KS5 to English students for more than twenty years in the UK. When using songs in lessons, I have noticed that students’ facial expression and body language changes. Some students seem happier, others curious, others start to use their hands trying to play an imaginary instrument. I have even seen some brave and enthusiastic students who have got up from their desks and started to dance. When we listen to music, follow the lyrics, the melody and the rhythm, we use both sides of the brain and therefore we achieve full engagement. 

One of the most popular activities to pass time among young people in the UK is listening to music. Hence, when doing this in lessons students relate to songs as part of entertainment rather than work. This makes their learning experience a more enjoyable and motivational activity. When students can understand key words and sing the lyrics, they experience success, and their level of enthusiasm increases, making them want to advance further and learn more.

Research has found that music can activate the neural centres of pleasure. This is why sound waves cause the hypothalamus to secrete dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is associated with a feeling of relaxation and pleasure.

Listening to music stimulates memory, creativity and linguistic competence as well as the ability to concentrate. There are several benefits of listening to music and having the correct songs that address the topics we teach can enhance teaching and learning in the classroom.

Using music to teach foreign languages

Lowe (1995) pointed out that the use of different songs when teaching a second language can improve pronunciation, grammatical structure and vocabulary, as well as idiomatic expressions that make students deepen their cultural awareness. In addition, using songs can encourage a wide variety in speed of delivery, significant phrasing, and linking of ideas. Being able to sing a song can develop confidence and improve fluency in the language too.

French researcher Daniel Schön showed that language learners find it easier to learn new foreign words when someone sings them rather than when they are included in normal speech. To demonstrate this, Schön and his colleagues carried out an experiment using a list of six “nonsense” words constructed from 11 syllables. The words they used were: Gimysy, Mimosi, Pogysi, Pymiso, Sipygy and Sysipi.

Schön and his team used a synthesizer in the experiment to pronounce those words several times, creating a 7-minute sound file with these six words. When 26 French people were asked to listen to the recording and then identify the words from a list, Schön found that their success rate was like what they would have been trying to guess, indicating that they had not learned anything. However, in a second test which the same words were chanted with a certain intonation, a new group of 26 participants in identical conditions managed to learn the words with a 64% success rate in subsequent tests.

Several researchers say that listening to songs involves the same area of the brain that we use to learn languages. In addition, when we hear a tune, it is easier for us to remember the lyrics that accompany the piece of music than if we try to memorise those same words without a rhythm or cadence.

Presenting key vocabulary and grammar structures in a song is a creative way to motivate students learning a language, as students no longer learn the grammar or sentences in the traditional way. As a result of this, they can improve their speaking skills as well as other skills more naturally. Furthermore, they find it enjoyable to learn a new language and easier to remember.

In all languages there is a variety of songs to address different musical tastes and circumstances. Music is an important element to identify different cultures across the world. Teachers can use different songs to support teaching grammar aspects, vocabulary and culture. However, despite enjoyment, the lyrics are usually fast and the topics that the songs address are often not fully related to what we teach in the classroom. Teachers need to teach a particular syllabus therefore using conventional songs can be quite restrictive.

Music developments to teach in Spanish

To maintain students' interest in language learning, especially in areas where the perception of foreign languages at home and in the community is not high and languages are not fully valued, teachers have to find creative ways to teach languages to increase motivation. In the educational music field, there is some development of electronic resources available that can be used to enhance language learning. I have used these three sources in some of my lessons.

·       Rockalingua: This website offers a variety of songs, games and activities aimed at a younger audience. I used their song “Virus: ¡Vamos a ganar! with my Year 7 students after the lockdown and they loved it. After two lessons, most students were able to sing it successfully.  Some of their songs are now available on YouTube too.

·        Señor Jordan: This YouTube channel offers a variety of videos with songs, including useful explanations about different topics, grammar and verb conjugations. 

When carrying out research to write this blog, I came across other sites that would be interesting to explore further.

·        Songs for Teaching: A website that offers a variety of songs with lots of repetition to ensure vocabulary is stored in the long-term memory.

·         FluentU:  This is a website which offers educational videos and songs for children and adult learners.

Producing high-quality electronic resources is time-consuming. Most sites offer some of their fantastic resources for free but if you want to be able to access all of their resources, it is necessary to pay a subscription.

Bibliography

Websites and Online Articles:

• Awen Psicología. "¿Por qué la música transmite emociones?" Available at: https://awenpsicologia.com/por-que-la-musica-transmite-emociones  
• Muy Interesante. "Curiosidades: ¿Por qué nos emociona la música?" Available at: https://www.muyinteresante.es/curiosidades/16486.html  
• Helen Doron English. "Can Music Help Learning Language?" Available at: https://helendoron.com/english/can-music-help-learning-language/  
• Guía Infantil. "Cantidad y número de palabras que aprenden los niños a cada edad." Available at: https://www.guiainfantil.com/bebes/primeras-palabras/cantidad-y-numero-de-palabras-que-aprenden-los-ninos-a-cada-edad/  
• CyberLeninka. "Using Music and Song in Teaching Foreign Languages." Available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/using-music-and-song-in-teaching-foreing-languages/viewer   
• PubMed. "Effects of Music on Brain Function." Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17475231/  
• BBC Mundo. "Noticias: Cómo la música puede ayudar a aprender idiomas." Available at: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-41674285  
• Rockalingua. "Learn Spanish Through Songs and Music." Available at: https://rockalingua.com  
• Tontito Frito. YouTube Channel. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/tontitofrito  
• Songs for Teaching. "Spanish Songs for Teaching." Available at: https://www.songsforteaching.com/spanishsongs.htm  
• FluentU. "Learn Spanish Through Songs & Music." Available at: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/learn-spanish-through-songs-music/  

Books and Journal Articles:

• Lowe, A. "The Effect of the Incorporation of Music Learning into the Second-Language Classroom on the Mutual Reinforcement of Music and Language."
• "Effects of Applying Music on Learning Second Language," (2020) Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(11), pp. 5453-5456. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.081148.