Using Music for Developing Language Skills in the English Language Classroom
Balachandran Vadivel
Abstract
From the birth of humanity to religion and science, music has been an integral part of the existence of mankind. Music, whether natural or man-made, has undeniable impacts on the psyche and the overall wellbeing of an individual. It is only natural that in the field of learning too, music can have an impeccable influence. In almost every sphere of life, we can feel the presence and importance of music. Language, like music, is a mirror of culture and society. It evolves with time while capturing diverse aspects of cultures and civilisations. Since speech functions and music functions depend on each other, it becomes fairly obvious, that music impacts neural pathways in the human brain, thus influencing human’s ability to communicate. Music and language are vibrational in nature. Musical hearing is essential for acquiring, processing and producing language. Several independent language learners pick up language items from songs. A lot of essential skills can also be developed among learners. Students with certain learning disabilities can enormously benefit from learning through music. This article will cover each of these areas and will explore practical ideas and approaches of implementing music to teach language. A sample lesson plan, comprising stages and tasks, is analysed, along with a list of suggested songs for different language structures. On the whole, this article aims to capture the importance of music in human life and its prominence in language acquisition.