"We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school"

Bruce Springsteen, No Surrender

English, in all its complexities, at the end of the day, can crossover language barriers and cultural divides through the power of music. Music in the classroom provides students of all ages the opportunity to experience the English language through a stimulation that touches both the mind and the heart. From culture, which I believe is an important part of language learning, to speech (syntax, pronunciation, cadence), songs of all genre types can prove to be both a fun and effective educational tool.

Let’s analyze the bridge between music and learning English.

Multi-syllabic words and unfamiliar sounding syllables can be a pain to pronounce, moreover use in a sentence, conjugate, and still maintain a confidence to use and speak comfortably. Such a word or syllable, as hard as you try, refuses to role off your tongue the way the teacher insists it sounds. Music though helps work past these pronunciation struggles. Lyrics put together by a musician with a rhythm in the background helps complicated words flow from the student’s mouth. It even helps generate a comfort using the word in conversation. Perhaps, rock stars are not such bad teachers after all.

Culture is evidently important in both music and language. While culture sets a context for learning, it’s important to learn English within these contexts. Using British English and American English as an example, you may note that there are well over one thousand words used exclusively in each dialect, and yet there are many of the same words that are used in both tongues that have different meanings. This is not to say that someone who speaks British English could not get by in the States and vice versa, but there is a difference to note and it comes from heritage and culture.

As mentioned, music has its natural place in culture. Looking at all three (music, language, and culture) you can see how they find their way to the classroom: culture - language - music - teacher/student.

Music is an explanation of feelings, of attitudes, of convictions. While learning English, music can assist by providing an understanding of how the words are used and why.

Briefly, it’s stated that music is a functional educational device, but is it practical? I would say ‘yes’. To begin with it’s fair to say that music is fun. We dance to it. We sing to it. Most importantly, we listen to it.

Music facilitates the learning process and does so swimmingly. The teacher has a limited amount of time to transfer knowledge: to teach vocabulary, grammar, etc. Songs have an already determined length. They can be the heart of the day’s material or used to break up exercises. Either way, a professor’s one-hour class can have a pre-determined time structure. It’s this approach that will keep students from dazing off at day’s end; able to follow along a song, they will keep energized throughout the length of the course.

A list of website provided below can be used to gain further understanding of music in the classroom:

Graham Bearden