Music in the Classroom
Thursday June 4, 2009
Six years ago researchers reported that people scored better on a standard IQ test after listening to Mozart. You might be surprised at how much music in the classroom can also help English learners.
This ESL music lesson plan focuses on using short excerpts in class to develop creative and descriptive writing skills.
Comments
I have been teaching English in China for over three years and find the use of musuc and mind maps an excellent accompanyment for learning. We use the medium of art as well with visuals, maps and posters./ Chinese class rooms are usually white, in this university my colleague and I are the only ones who accessorise our rooms and play music.In addition to Mozart we find that Trance music has a similar effect and the students like it.
I have been teaching English in Iran for thirteen years.I have always heard of the effect of music on learning languages. but there has never been a practical way on that.what type of music is more appropiate for which groups of learners?( the article doesnot specify)and how long should it go?
I have been learning En in Iran.And I have founded music as good way for learning it.
I’ve taught English in Mexico for almost seven years, and some of my students enjoy working with music, but sometimes I can fit the music to the activities. This article highlights about the music required for each activity and it is very useful. Thanks for this kind of articles.
This is true. Being an ESL teacher, i find this method efficient and effective. My students keep on singing the song even after the class plus they use the new expressions learned from the song
I have been teaching English at Azerbaijani school about 14 years.I did my best teaching my students very well. Now I begin teaching English to my students by music. I have prepared a lesson about negative form in English and Azerbaijan language in some parts of speeches. I used music about negative form at this lesson. I play myself thes music.
I have been teaching ESL in China for four years now, and often teach songs to my students. They really enjoy learning new English songs such as “Yellow” by Coldplay. I also sing some Chinese songs by Ado for them and time to time entertain on the trumpet. The right brain activation is important to get them into a relaxed frame of mind, so they are not afraid to make mistakes. Don’t be shy just try…we enjoy losing face..sometimes..ha!
I live in Argentina and I have been an English teacher for twenty years. I completely agree music fosters students to learn. I don’t use music everytime. I use music as a “reward”. After a written test, we listen to different songs -which have been previously prepared by me to work with- and I focus on different things: pronunciation, meaning, vocabulary, tenses, etc. It’s a different, and more relaxing way of working!
I have more than 30.5 years living in Mexico. I had to learn Spanish in the streets. For many years, I helped children with their English homework. About 10 years ago, eventhough we used music, English songs, English movies and Chants in classes at the language school where I worked, I had an experienced with a student and I decided to use classical music, no just Mozart, and 5 or 10 meditation at the beginning of the class. The results were fantastic, even the birds outside the classroom window started coorporating everyday, the students from mid-term raised their grades to A and A+ at the end of the course. I now teach ESL in a factory in Mexico City. I continue to use music in the classroom especially “Hands of Light” CD when the students are in exam. I now have also started using mental maps to help students remember vocabulary words. Also good results in this. I love this form of communication and feel I profit greatly in improving my teaching. An excellet day to everyone filled with love and happiness.
Children enjoy participating in musical activities. I was a former music and ESL teacher for over 20 years. I found that my ESL students thrived on a program enriched with music. My former principal was a music teacher and also saw the strong connection. Children love music!
I teach at a university in Peru. For my advanced English students I use a song with a story line. The students listen to the song, write down the details of the story, and then we can discuss the story. I find that American country music is very good for this.
Besides being an English teacher, I’m also a musician, I play the piano. Music is a great tool to help your students activate their creativity, not to say its always enjoyable…
I’ve been teaching in Ecuador for over ten years at a state university. I find that giving students the lyrics or writng them on the board is ocunterproductive. Students don’t learn the words this way. Best not to teach the song by removing words,or with word search schemes or any means where words are taught independently either. In most songs,all the words run together,as they do in conversation.
Frankly repetition or mimes work better. Understanding the lyrics doesn’t necesarily help either,they ususally don’t make much sense anyway or the message is beyond learners. If students like the beat or if the song is slow enough that the students can understand it, the better the chances they will earn it. Eternal Flame, My Heart Will Go On or Dust in the Wind are good choices.
I’ve been teaching English for more than 20 years now in the Philippines ( college and pre-schoolers ). Music is a method to give life to a lesson. I use tunes of popular songs to practice vowel sounds, and pronunciations, choose a relevant song for college students to analyze after listening to it. The teacher should be creative enough to relate the chosen music to the topic for discussion. Music also breaks boredom about a dull lesson.
music is the food of life,love and soul.so you will find it very useful in the classroom where you are teaching the students how to live.
I teach English in Peru and I suggest teachers to include Music in their classroom. I would suggest to turn you classroom into a karaoke’s. I do this very often with students and they always get a lot of fun. Although We don’t have microphone yet I prepare the lyrics with a series of strategies for them to complete. Ex: I write the lyrics but in disorder then I put a list of verbs and take them out from the lyrics and make students to put them in the correct place and so on. Hope this info will work for you. Have fun. Alonso