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Songs: A useful medium for language and skills practice

2011; English Australia; Volume: 27; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

2202-6169

Arizio Sweeting,

Second Language Learning and Teaching

As surprising as it might seem in times of globalisation and increasingly advanced technology, many international language learners still seem to have a rather limited knowledge of songs and music artists from the English-speaking world. Although many learners are often able to list their favourite music genres such as rock, pop, classical music and others, when it comes to identifying the title of a commonly-known English song, or the name of a famous singer or band, learners often appear to possess a rather insular musical repertoire. Does this happen because the learners' taste in music is somewhat restricted to certain cultural boundaries? Or is it simply a question of them lacking adequate exposure to English songs in classroom settings? Regardless of what the answers to these questions may be, the usefulness of songs for English language instruction is unquestionable, especially as songs are a good medium for helping learners activate their musical intelligence to improve learning. However, as Vettorel (2007, p 25) suggests, music-based intelligence is often overlooked in language teaching and should be included in language activities more regularly. In this article, a few ideas for using popular English songs in the English language classroom will be presented as a way of demonstrating that songs can not only provide learners with a very enjoyable musical experience, but also function as an instrument for language and skills practice.