Learning by Singing

Learning by Singing

So many people such as language experts have already told us that learning language, namely English, can be reached with many ways. One of them is singing. Yeah, singing is an amazing way to dramatically improve your language learning strategy. No matter how bad your voice is, just sing it. Our prime goal is practice, right? To prove to you that is true, here are some karaoke song videos taken from YouTube site for you to start with.

And here we have got to know seven (7) reasons why you should sing to learn languages.

Reasons to sing

a. Music connects across cultures and can break down barriers. When you have sung people songs they wouldn’t expect you to know and that they like, it has instantly broken the ice.
b. Getting to know the music is getting to know the culture and language and sometimes learning languages is like learning a musical instrument.
c. Learning the lyrics of a song helps you expand your vocabulary and teach you some slang/typical phrases.
d. Singing can actually help you reduce your foreign-sounding accent! A music teacher taught some students more about sentence rhythm, pronunciation, tones and beat of Portuguese than a foreign language teacher ever would have been able to.
e. As described in the free chapter of the Language Hacking Guide, you can use music and singing to help you learn to speak simple basic essential phrases to get by in a language much quicker.
f. You can take music with you anywhere and learn and practise it on the move thanks to your MP3 player / mobile phone. While it’s pleasant to have music in the background, make sure to actually pay attention to the words if you want to learn something beyond just being able to hum the tune!
g. It’s fun! You can put your whole body into singing if you like and let your hair down a lot easier than you would in many speaking situations. You can really enjoy yourself by singing and it helps to improve your mood. Life would be way cooler if people sang more! Did you ever notice how happy everyone is in musicals?

So don’t be shy, and don’t worry if you don’t have a good singing voice, if you don't think Sony Records are going to be rushing to sign a contract with you based on the voice you have produced, but that isn’t the point, is it? Just enjoy yourself!

If music has helped you improve your language skills, share your story with me and let me know of even more reasons why people should sing to improve their language skills.
Want more songs? Just don't worry, please come back here very soon....

 

Why is singing good for learning?

A £10m national campaign has been launched to get primary school children and their teachers singing more. How can it help learning?

It's not often pupils are encouraged to raise their voices in school, but that's what the government wants them to do.

Over the years singing has almost disappeared from the classroom but a £10m national campaign has now been launched to get pupils in primary school singing - and their teachers.
Experts say that singing not only building children's confidence, it is also a valuable teaching tool. Why?
Music can be used to reinforce challenging concepts, numeracy, motor skills and language development, says Howard Goodall, composer and the government's singing ambassador.
"When children are singing they are taking in information and training the brain but they don't think they are, they think they are just having fun."

WHO, WHAT, WHY? A feature to the BBC News Magazine - aiming to answer some of the questions behind the headlines

Rhythm is a good example. When a child is taught about it they also learn about mathematical concepts like ratios, fractions and proportion. Rhythm also translates in other subjects, such as talking about heartbeats in science.
Learning song lyrics can improve mental agility and reading skills.
The medical evidence is also there. Singing is an aerobic activity that boosts oxygenation in the bloodstream, increasing mental alertness. Experts also believe that the variety of skills needed for singing, including coordination and listening, help develop the brain.

With one voice
Oxford Gardens Primary School in west London is part of the Voices Foundation programme, which aims to teach the music requirements of the National Curriculum through song.
Young children are encouraged to sing as much as possible during lessons - including English and maths. One class is even learning German purely through singing.
Head teacher Liz Rayment-Pickard says singing has made a positive impact on all areas of the pupils' learning. Teachers have seen more academic success and an improvement in pupils' behaviour and concentration.
"I'm passionate about singing in schools," she says. "We have seen amazing benefits from using it in lessons. It's changed the school dramatically. Everything is much calmer.
"The children have learnt to listen to each other, to have the confidence to sing solo. These skills are very easily transferred into learning to read and work in maths."
And everyone is involved, she says, not just those with musical ability.

This writing is adapted from the sites of: Fluent in Three Months (http://www.fluentin3months.com/sing-to-learn-languages/) and BBC News Magazine (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6267665.stm)