Using Music to Enhance Second Language

Transcript:Using Music to Enhance Second Language:
Using Music to Enhance Second Language Acquisition: From Theory to Practice. SATEAL Conference University of Edinburgh 17th March 2018 Silvia Fiddes Ortiz Perea EAL Aberdeenshire Council Music and Second Language Acquisition Introduction and Background Troubadours and minstrels Chants/adverts From an early age, music and songs in the form of nursery rhymes are encouraged by the Scottish Government in junction with the Scottish Book Trust, Bookbug program in local libraries Jolly Phonics Music Box and Abricabeats Baker (2014) in his A Parent’s and Teacher’s Guide to Bilingualism states: “Children singing nursery rhymes or acting out a folk tale are not only learning language, enjoying the drama and having fun, they are also picking up part of the culture allied to the language. The language is becoming anchored” Music and Second Language Acquisition: benefits and advantages Songs enhance the receptive skills as well as the skills within the skills, traditionally listed as pronunciation, extent of vocabulary, correctness of grammar, the ability to convey exact meaning in different situations and variations in style Phonetics, History and culture Learning the lyrics of a song helps you expand your vocabulary and teach you slang, typical phrases, grammar and idiomatic sentences among other things Singing can actually help you to reduce your “foreign-sounding” accent and teach you about different accents making Phonetics easier Music connects across cultures and generations plus it can break down barriers (Ice breaker in class/ blog) Motivation is a pivotal factor when teaching a second language (Baker/Krashen) Music and Second Language Acquisition: benefits and advantages Music activates certain regions in your brain which are involved in movement, planning, attention, learning and memory (dementia patients) Music releases a chemical in your brain called dopamine, which improves your mood and reduces anxiety. It also induces pleasure, joy and motivation creating positive emotional experiences. Another advantage of using music in your lessons is that you can take music with you anywhere and learn and practice it on the move thanks to your MP3 player/Ipad/ mobile phone/ internet access. Using songs provide a valuable source of authentic language and there are hundreds of ways to exploit them in the classroom (Life performance by John Langan) HOW I CLASSIFY SONGS SO THAT THEY BECOME EFFECTIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING TOOLS+ ACTIVITIES Group 1: Songs and music that contains a lot of useful vocabulary, phrases and expressions. “Technologic” by Daft Punk used to teach vocabulary about technology and computers.