TEACHING LANGUAGE WITH MUSIC

1.INTRODUCTION

Songs and music are elements of each human society.-They show

many aspects of its culture- the relationship to the past and

ancestors, the faith, the fun and the anxieties of its people,

the hopes and the view of the future. Music and songs have

immanent powers, for example they give people energy who had

none before or they can change people’s mood. So they play an

important role in the process of learning and using the mother

tongue. Music and song are also an essential part of foreign

language learning for young learners.

In this paper, it is described the importance of using songs

and rhymes in teaching English as a foreign language in the

primary school. Beside these theoretical points it is given

practical advices how to teach songs and rhymes.

The purpose of this article is to evaluate students’ L2 learning with music and its influence on the pedagogical process. In this study these questions will be answered;

1. Is the music one of the most important factor in language learning?

2. How does the music affect students’ language learning?

3. What are the roles of the music in language learning?

2.REVIEW OF LITERATURE

There are studies about using music in foreign language learning.One of them these studies fulfilled in İstanbul.In this study monitoring and evaluation form was developed based on recent work on music in foreign language context.Participants are between 5-6 years old 30 children who

lived in İstanbul.Aim of the this study is “which is the best method for learning language , classical method or using music”.Result suggest that teaching with music helps and more affective to students to memorize easily vocabulary and grammatical pattern than traditional teaching method.

3.MUSIC AND TEACHING LANGUAGE

Language teaching can be defined as the activities which are

intended to bring about language learning.

“Music is one of the basic expressions of the human sprit, and

it has recently become an important part of language teaching”.

( Ostajic,1987,50).

Children grow up with songs and rhymes and develop their first

language by them. Apart from being the most important spoken

language, songs and rhymes are the first experienced parts of

communication in the children’s mother tongue.

(Keskin,2011,para3).

Listening is important parts of communication.

(Mitryaeva,1989,43).

Songs are generally a real source of authentic language and

since a large piece of the world populace listens to English

songs. It will be more fun than hard work for the learners to

acquire mastery in English.

So music is also important in teaching language.

(Keskin,2011,para.2)

4.THE ROLE OF SONGS AND RHYMES IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Using music in the educational process not only makes it more

lively, enjoyable, but also stimulate “right” brain learning.

People often use music to relax after exhausting day, to get

rid of stress or to prepare for tests. So it is logically to

listen to music in order to make your students study better.

Songs is a very good tool to motivate the student’s learning

process, it works also as break for the routine songs could be

an essential part of English teaching. It makes the students

more sensitive to the sounds and the classes becomes more

interesting and powerful. (Norton,1989,124)

There are lots of English expression and culture in the songs

so that students can learn and expand their knowledge. Students

can also know how to pronounce theme after listening to such

songs.

Teaching English needs such method to make it easy in

delivering the material. And the songs are part of authentic

materials required for studying about the foreign language.

(Paquette&Rieg,2008.para.1-3).

Songs promote listening exercises practices through different

specific tasks. They are nice way to introduce a topic, grammar

structures. They are useful to reinforce studied linguistic

functions. They are nice way to introduce, practice and review

vocabulary. They are useful to practice writing. They are a way

of developing of language skills.(

Listening to the music’s benefits; students are better able to

make connections to the vocabulary and other grammatical

concepts in class without having to simply resort to the

tediousness of the more traditional methods.(Nation,1985,17)

Many language teachers have described the benefits of using

rhymes, songs and games in foreign language classes as follows:

• Rhymes, poems and songs are very popular with young language

learners who tend to be familiar with this type of literacy

from school or home. Children do not shy away from poems and

songs in foreign languages;

• Teachers are equally familiar with them and thus may find

them a good way into the teaching of foreign languages;

• They promote positive feelings;

• The rhythmical patterns facilitate and accelerate learning;

• They are good means of developing listening, pronunciation

and speaking skills. Pupils do not tire of listening to and

repeating them over and over again. They join in with the parts

they know and acquire more sounds, words and sentences with

each successive performance until they gradually master the

text;

• These forms of literacy help pupils get into the rhythm of a

language and learn to pronounce sounds and words confidently,

accurately and with expression;

• Pupils are more likely to remember the new words and

structures because they are repetitive, meaningful and

presented in predictable patterns and larger chunks. The

internalization of sounds, words and sentence patterns brings

learners a step closer to using these in other contexts;

• Rhymes, poems and songs can initiate a range of activities:

listening, reading, drawing, performing actions, playing and

enacting, performing in front of an audience and practicing

intonation, pronunciation and structures;

• Poems or songs about typical traditions or cultural artifacts

are helpful in developing pupils’ cultural awareness and

understanding;

• Besides, many teachers take advantage of the popularity and

repetitive structure of songs to practice key vocabulary in an

enjoyable way.(Keskin,2011.para.1-5)

5.THE INFLUENCE OF SONGS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Songs are extremely adaptable and can suit any age, sex,

taster, mood or level of ability. Why we should use songs, the

answer for this question for one reason is that the students

need something fun and easy to access the vocabulary quickly

when it is required to use. The techniques of teaching

vocabulary like substitution drills and memorizing words do not

make students interested in English lesson. The kinds of these

exercises also make the students passive in developing

sentences. So they are not interested in studying more and

there is improvement in vocabulary.

Another reason for using songs in teaching vocabulary that

music is effective and helpful in teaching learning process.

Teacher however must look for more effective technique to make

learning vocabulary easier and more pleasant so the students

become easier in understanding and learning English.

(Keskin,2011,para.1-5).

Songs are provided as a tool to predict the sentence so that

the students can glean the meaning of particular sentence with

their own interpretation.

Songs are regarded to be beautiful and nice to hear or listen.

When something is interesting –for example beauty- it will

remain long mind of someone. Teaching English through songs

can be applied not only to adults, young people, but also to

children.(Paquette&Rieg,2008,para.3)

“Songs can be used and written to help students learn and

reinforce content information.”

( Paquette&Rieg,2008,para.7).

Teaching English through songs can be applied every time and

everywhere. There some benefits of using songs to teach English

to children. First, songs give enjoyment. As we know that most

people around the world like singing. Songs make the world are

full of colours and enjoyment. Second, songs avoid children

from boredom in the classroom. When children look tired after

do some activities like writing or drawing, it is better to

give them rest by singing, for example. So the children do not

get bored easily. Third, songs give children new vocabularies.

Many new words are found in every new song. So why don’t the

teacher or parents start from now to teach children English

with songs? Fourth, songs train children to speak and listen

English well. Because most children like singing. They

automatically listen the songs carefully and finally they try

to sing the songs by themselves. So they try to pronounce each

word everyday.

Songs contain authentic language, are easily obtainable,

provide vocabulary, grammar and cultural aspects and are fun

for the students. They can provide valuable speaking,

listening, and language practice in and out of the classroom.

Songs not only can motivate students but also contain rich

linguistic information, including pronunciation, vocabulary,

grammar and language sense.(Atak Damar,2004,14-16)

Singing song is a great way to get better at speaking English.

Songs are very popular with young people and can help them

learn basic vocabulary while having fun. They are very popular

with children and help them improve their counting skills.

When listening to music, it evokes certain emotional states. As

such, it enhances the learning process as the student begins to

make connections to the learning based on the enhanced

emotional state one is feeling. If this mood can be enhanced ,

then it only follows that the learning will as well be

enhanced.

Songs have advantages. These are; affective reasons, cognitive

reasons, linguistic reasons, classroom atmosphere and etc.

The influence of using songs in language classroom;

- to present a topic, a language point, lexis, etc.

- to practice a language point, lexis, etc.

- to focus on common learner errors in a more indirect way

- to encourage extensive and intensive listening

- to stimulate discussions of attitudes and feelings

- to encourage creativity and use of imagination

- to provide a relaxed classroom atmosphere

- to bring variety and fun to teaching and learning.

In this context the value of songs in motivating students to

learn English and enhancing learner involvement is widely

acknowledged by English teachers. Both teachers and students

find singing songs entertaining and relaxing. Music can help

development of the skills required for learning that language.

It can activate children’s prior knowledge in the target

language, and hence it can give positive inputs.

(Natıon,1985,17).

6.WHY USE SONGS IN PRIMARY CLASSROOM?

Teaching English through songs can be applied not only to

adults, young people, but also to children, especially

children. It can be carried out every time and everywhere.

Concentration helps children remember what they have seen,

heard and read. One of the best way providing concentration is

music education. Because, music requires attention because of

its interior discipline. The skills of being able to

concentration with music reflects to other areas in child’s

life in a positive way.(Keskin,2011para.1-5)

There are many kinds of teaching techniques to be used to teach

English more fun and easy. It can be chants, songs, games and

others. Among of these, songs are regarded to be the most

effective way to teach English to children.

Songs can help learners because the rhymes in songs provide

listeners with repetition of similar sounds, and when the

students choose to listen to songs time and again, they are

indirectly exposing them to these sounds , repeating them,

getting better at recognizing them, and finally producing them.

(Ostojic,1987,50)

Most children enjoy singing songs, and they can often be a

welcome change from the routine of learning a foreign language.

For the teacher, using songs in the classroom can also be a

nice break from following a set curriculum. Songs can be taught

to any number of students and even those teachers with the most

limited resources can use them effectively. Songs can play an

important role in the development of language in young children

learning a second language. Yet songs may be used relatively

ineffectively and the potential for language learning is not

maximized.(Paquette&Rieg,2008,para.3-5).

7.SONGS ARE A FUN WAY TO LEARN ENGLISH

Probably the most obvious advantage to using songs in the young

learner classroom is that they are enjoyable. Most children

enjoy singing and usually respond well to using songs in the

classroom, but there are more significant benefits to using

songs other than just being fun. First, songs can bring variety

to the everyday classroom routine. This variety stimulates

interest and attention, which can help maintain classroom

motivation, thereby helping learners to reach higher levels of

achievement. Secondly, songs, in particular choral singing, can

help to create a relaxed and informal atmosphere that makes the

classroom a nonthreatening environment. By reducing anxiety,

songs can help increase student interest and motivate them to

learn the target language. Students often think of songs as

entertainment rather than study and therefore find learning

English through songs fun and enjoyable.

Why music is fun? Music builds language skills vocabulary,

structures, etc. Music builds esteem. It helps to develop motor

skills. It builds listening, playing, creating, moving, singing

and later on reading skills.(Keskin,2011,1-5)

Music sets a tone and good atmosphere in the classroom. It

creates an environment that is very much conducive to learning.

This atmosphere, created by music can enhance the ability of

students to easily remember vocabulary words; therefore,

shortening the study time for the student .

(Paquette&Rieg,2008,para.2).

8.THE CRITERIA FOR SELECTING SONGS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Although there are many reasons why songs can be considered a

valuable teaching tool, there are some issues to consider. As

mentioned above, the teacher needs to take care in selecting a

suitable song for his or her class. The language, vocabulary,

and sentence structure of some songs can be quite different

from that used in spoken English. .(Çiçek,2000,11-12).

While using songs in language classroom, the language of that

songs, age and language level of the students, areas in which

students and the teacher are interested in should be taken into

account.(Keskin,2011,7)

It is listed four elements to be considered while choosing a song to

be used in the class as follows:

1. Classroom environment (number, age and interests of students;lesson hours)

2. Teacher (teacher’s age, interest in music and aim to use the songin the class)

3. Classroom facilities (flexibility in lesson plan, classroomequipment

4. Music (lesson plan and equipment such as the volume, sources ofmusic, copying machine, board, etc.)

As also mentioned above, songs are essential sources to be utilized during language teaching. Besides positive effects, there are of course difficulties encountered while using songs in language teaching. lines these difficulties as follows: 1. Pop songs are not scientific. Therefore, some teachers and students do not think that they are effective tools in education. 2. As each student has a different way of learning, some students may have difficulty in studying through music. 3. Inefficient sound systems in schools may cause problems while listening to songs. 4. The types of music favoured by students may not be matching with each other. 5. Songs which are not grammatical or those involving complicated sentence structures may confuse students. 6. In some songs, there may be embarrassing parts which cannot be explained to students. 7. Repetition of a limited number of words may cause the song to seem boring or ineffective. ( Terhune citied in Keskin,2011, para. 6).

We should be careful in choosing songs that:

-Contain simple, easily understood lyrics;

- Link with a topic or vocabulary that you are studying in

class; -

Are repetitive ;

- Children can easily do actions to (to help emphasize

meaning).

There are a number of different ways that songs can be

presented to children. Often the first step is to introduce any

key vocabulary that may be unfamiliar. Props, such as real

objects or pictures of objects, can be used to present the key

vocabulary for a song. Actions can also help children learn

unfamiliar vocabulary. The props and actions not only help

children remember the words and meanings of new words but also

help children remember the context or situation depicted in the

piece of verse. Once the key vocabulary has been presented,

teachers find it useful to introduce YLs to pieces of verse one

line at a time. The teacher says one line of the song using the

props or actions that illustrate it, and then the children

repeat the line. This procedure continues until all the lines

of the targeted piece of verse have been said and repeated.

Next, the learners repeat the entire selection of verse using

props or actions to help them remember the words.

(Norton,1989,126)

There are some recommendations regarding these activity stages

and what kind of activities a teacher can use in these stages.

-Pre-listening: This stage is to prepare the learners for what

they are going to hear, just as we are usually prepared in real

life. You should not tell the learners to listen and then to

start the cassette. Some teaching ideas for this stage are:

discussing a relevant picture or experiences, associating ideas

or vocabulary with the topic, predicting information about the

topic, and writing questions about the topic.

-While-listening: this stage is to help the learners understand

the text. You should not expect them to try to understand every

word. For example, you may ask them to listen for three pieces

of information the first time they hear the recording, and to

tell you about the attitude of the speakers after the second

time they have heard it. In general, you should help your

learners understand rather than testing their understanding the

whole time. Some teaching ideas for this stage are: identifying

the exact topic, or an aspect of it, noting two to four pieces

of information, answering questions, completing sentences,

tables, maps or pictures.

-Post-listening: This stage is to help the learners connect

what they have heard with their own ideas and experiences, just

as we often do in real life. It also allows you to move easily

from listening to another language skill. For example the

learners may practice speaking by role-playing interviews

similar to one they have heard. Some teaching ideas for this

stage are: giving opinions, relating similar experiences, and

role-playing, writing a brief report or a similar text, and

discussing the topic.(Keskin,2011,para.11-14).

The listening activities should be completed after the songs.

They are suitable to all proficiency levels.

(Montalvan&Murphy,?,7)

9.MUSIC USE AS A TOOL FOR EFL LEARNERS

Songs are powerful means of teaching English and teachers can

use songs as a classroom activity to enrich their students’

English vocabulary, to improve their grammar and accents.

Music used properly, in addition to traditional methods, music

can be a beneficial tool when it comes to the learning of

music. The main difference however, students seem to enjoy

learning more by listening to the music than without. This

would have a direct impact on the motivation of wanting to

learn. As for the teacher, it allows him or her, the

opportunity to create a learning environment that is enjoyable

and more conducive to productive learning.(Keskin,2011,1-5)

Music skills require discipline and concentration. It can help

develop warm and loving relationships. It helps build social

skills. It is emotionally fulfilling.

While the many methods of the teaching and learning of a

language can provide to be successful tool, it would seem,

music can a very important and powerful tool. The mind,

susceptible to retaining information for long periods based on

musical melody, would seem to be the method most suitable in

the acquisition of a language.

Songs, melodies that tend to remain in our mind, can contain

information that would be easily more accessible than

information relied on drilling.(Paquette&Rieg,2008,para.1-5).

10.METHODOLOGY

Questions

This study aim to answer the following questions:

1.What are contributions of music in the language learning.

2.Does music incr ease the students motivation in the language

lesson.

Participants

A total of 50 Turkish pre-intermediate EFL learners participated in this study. It took place in Uludağ University.The participants whose ages were between 18 and 22 were studying in different departments. 25 of the participants were female and 25 of the participants were male.

Data Collection

Data source was participant questionnaire. Questionnaire consisted of one parts. The part of the questionnaire sought behavioural information on previous learning experience. These questions were used for gathering of what learning goals learner have or what skill areas they are interested in. Also the participants were asked factual information such as their age, gender and departments. While the questions were being prepared , the articles and questionnaires about music were investigated and according to them, the questions were designed.

Procedure

The study took place in Uludağ University and the questionnairewas fulfilled in one week. The questionnaire was carried out bytwo students of English Language Teaching Department.Quantitative research method were used, including questionnaires.

Data Analysis

A questionnaire was distributed to 50 students to discover their motivations in Second Language Learning(SLA). The questionnaire items focused on their opinions and previous learning experiences about English and the factors that affect their language learning. Quantitative research method was used. In compiling the results of close-ended questions , quantitative research method was used. In analyzing the close-ended questions , responses were given a particular numerical value.In these questions , each response was given a number (e.g strongly agree =1 , agree = 2 , disagree = 3 strongly disagree = 4 ) and these numbers were treated as interval scales. The results were described in percentages and frequency.

Results

As it was noted earlier , questionnaire was distributed to 50 students. The questionnaire contained close-ended questions.In the section, likert-scale was used for the questionnaire ( 1 represents strongest agreement and 4 represents lowest agreement). In the part, 10 different questions which were about music were asked. The results of the 10 questions were reported below:

1. It is given enough importance to listening skill.

According to the chart student of 25 percent who participated in the study think that , it is not given enough importance to listening skill.

2. Music expands memory of vocabulary in English lesson.

The vast majority of students, 97 percent, agree this opinion.

3. It is the most enjoyable material using in Englishlesson.

According the students,99 percent, music is the most enjoyablematerial using in English lesson.

4.Language learning makes me happy with music.

This result shows that most of the students enjoy learning English with different materials ,enjoyable activities. From the this view point, we understand that English is necessary and enjoyable to learn.That’s why the students are more motivated to learn English as a foreign language.(99 percent)

5.English teachers are enough efficient to use music as a material

The results are nearly equal.This result shows that there are insufficient teachers but at the same time there are still well-qualified teachers.Because the teachers are not enough forteaching English , this decreases students’ motivation toward English.

6. I think that Music provide interaction with foreign language.

80 percent of students think that music provide interaction with foreign language.

7. I think that learning English with songs will develop my pronunciation skill.

72 percent of students think that music help to develop pronunciation skill.

8. Music is enhance motivation in teaching foreign language.

For students motivation is the important factor to learn English and music provide this.So 98 percent of students agree this opinion.

9. Music develops our speaking skill.

Considering that some students(78 percent) speak beter with music, this result shows that it can affect music of students to learn English.

10. Thanks to music, we are more active in language lesson.

More students(94 percent) think that it helps them to be more active in English lesson.

Discussion

This study also reveals that in the EFL classroom, using musicin the classroom is a great way for teachers to achieve successwith L2 learners. It is a significant source for students todiscover and to understand the culture of Target Language andit significant source for them to get rid of fear of studyingwith language. Music is the way for children to experience richlanguage in a pleasing way. It has proven to provide many morebenefits to children and adults than simple entertainment.

11.CONCLUSION

This article evaluated students’ language learning with musicand its influence on the pedagogical process. This research tried to find the answers of the questions below:

1. Is the music one of the most important factor in language learning?

2. How does the musicaffect students’ language learning?

3. What are the roles of the music in language learning?

Firstly this article defined English learnning with music.Previous researches were investigated to illustrate English learning with music and utilized for preparation of this article.Questionnaire which was distributed to 50 studentswas used as a instrument.Data which were collected from questionnaire was analyzed carefully.Research questions were tried to respond.

In this study, which was carried out by taking these effects of

songs as basis, activities that can be used with songs in

English as a foreign language classes are given and certain

sample activities are recommended. For foreign language

teaching, if songs are carefully chosen by taking the audience,

objectives, language level of students and song content into

consideration and if deliberate activities are carried out, it

is possible to make use of songs effectively. Utilizing songs

this way provides an enjoyable experience not only for students

but also for the teacher. Using songs along with such

activities will have many advantages such as saving the lesson

from being boring and monotonous and improving student

motivation. According to results, lack of motivation causes students to get

bored in lessons,increase their affective filter, create

negative attitude toward learning English.So, teachers should

not only focus on English course books, they should benefit

from opportunistic teaching, peripheral learning etc. as

well.On the other hand they should vary and differentiate

activities.They can use music that it will help the student to

understand the lesson. Also, music will create positive

atmosphere in classroom and make the lesson enjoyable.Teachers

should try to interact with students as much as possible.If all

of them are carried out , students can convert input to intake

easily.It is seen that songs are used for many reasons by

methods adopted in

foreign language teaching. The facts that music soothes students and that melodies, rhythms and rhymes in a song facilitate language learning improve students’ reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Besides, music and songs are all authentic texts.

This article deals with music that affect students’ foreign language learning.Other factors that affect students’ learning second language can be researched as a further research.

Appendix

Please read the sentences in the column and circle it accourdingly your answer’s degree.

Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

1 2

3

4

It is given enough importance to listening skill. 1 2 3 4

Music expands memory of vocabulary in English lesson. 1 2 3 4

It is the most enjoyable material used in English lesson.                                      

1 2 3 4

Language learning makes me happy with music. 1 2 3 4

English teachers are enough efficient to use music as a material. 1 2 3 4

I think that Music provide interaction with foreign language. 1 2 3 4

I think that learning English with songs will develope my pronounciation skill.

1 2 3 4

Music is enhance motivation in teaching foreign language. 1 2 3 4

Music develops our speaking skill. 1 2 3 4

Thanks to music, we are more active in language lesson. 1 2 3 4

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