07-16-2011, 08:23 PM
[COLOR="#800080"]How to Use Music to Learn English
Worldwide, English is spoken by more than 330 million people in 115 countries, as of 2011. While memorizing vocabulary and drilling grammar exercises are necessary evils for learning any language, you can add a little fun and variety to your studies by using music. Songs are often used as mnemonic devices because their catchy tunes make them easy to remember--think of the ABC's and the Hokey Pokey. Whether you are teaching children their first language or learning English on your own, music can help make the process a little easier and more enjoyable.
Instructions
1
Learn and sing basic children's songs, such as nursery rhymes and mnemonics. Start with the alphabet, then work your way into very simple rhymes like the "Itsy-Bitsy Spider," "Humpty Dumpty," "London Bridge" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." From there, proceed to simple songs that also involve dances or actions, such as "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" or "Hokey-Pokey." Many of these songs have actions that correlate with a word, helping develop associations.
2
Listen to recordings of children's performers and try to write down what you hear. When you have written down all the lyrics, sing them out loud yourself. Look up any words that you do not know. As your skills progress, move on to harder songs.
3
Listen to more complicated music in English that suits your tastes. Try to recognize words and phrases and piece together what the song means, even if you do not understand everything that is sung.
4
Write your own songs using the vocabulary words or grammatical constructions that you want to learn. Setting them to music and using them in sentences will make them much easier to remember.
5
Participate in a musical performance, such as a holiday concert or a theatrical production. Young students can extend their vocabulary and practice their enunciation by learning songs to sing to their parents, and older non-native speakers progressing towards fluency will benefit from submerging themselves in English and memorizing their lines.
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Worldwide, English is spoken by more than 330 million people in 115 countries, as of 2011. While memorizing vocabulary and drilling grammar exercises are necessary evils for learning any language, you can add a little fun and variety to your studies by using music. Songs are often used as mnemonic devices because their catchy tunes make them easy to remember--think of the ABC's and the Hokey Pokey. Whether you are teaching children their first language or learning English on your own, music can help make the process a little easier and more enjoyable.
Instructions
1
Learn and sing basic children's songs, such as nursery rhymes and mnemonics. Start with the alphabet, then work your way into very simple rhymes like the "Itsy-Bitsy Spider," "Humpty Dumpty," "London Bridge" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." From there, proceed to simple songs that also involve dances or actions, such as "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" or "Hokey-Pokey." Many of these songs have actions that correlate with a word, helping develop associations.
2
Listen to recordings of children's performers and try to write down what you hear. When you have written down all the lyrics, sing them out loud yourself. Look up any words that you do not know. As your skills progress, move on to harder songs.
3
Listen to more complicated music in English that suits your tastes. Try to recognize words and phrases and piece together what the song means, even if you do not understand everything that is sung.
4
Write your own songs using the vocabulary words or grammatical constructions that you want to learn. Setting them to music and using them in sentences will make them much easier to remember.
5
Participate in a musical performance, such as a holiday concert or a theatrical production. Young students can extend their vocabulary and practice their enunciation by learning songs to sing to their parents, and older non-native speakers progressing towards fluency will benefit from submerging themselves in English and memorizing their lines.
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