MUSICALL: Music Assisted Language Learning & Teaching English to speakers of other languages

Abstract

Music these days literally surrounds us. It is found everywhere: on social media, in the car, at home, on the radio, television, smartphones, portable mp3 players, in movies, nightclubs, cafés and the list goes on. This wide availability of music, which many times is also time and place independent, makes it an ideal language learning assistant. The purpose of this study was to investigate the different ways music is used in teaching and learning the English language, to what extent it is used, the learners’ reactions towards its use and its benefits and challenges. We define Music Assisted Language Learning (MUSICALL) as the use of music to help learn languages. Depending on its environment of use, MUSICALL may overlap with Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) if used on a mobile phone or tablet, Technology Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) or Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) if used on a computer or as part of a game, and Social Media Language Learning (SMLL) if used on Social Networks Sites (SNS) like Facebook and YouTube. However, the scope of MUSICALL extends beyond these since it does not necessarily require computers or mobile devices. For instance, a group of students going to a live music concert, a teacher playing the piano and singing to the learners, or the learners simply listening to songs all fall under MUSICALL. In order to accomplish the purpose of the study interviews were carried out with teachers who are Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) as a Second Language (TESL) or Foreign Language (TEFL) in the UK, Cyprus, and Greece. The results show a plethora of reasons for using MUSICALL in TESOL, TEFL and TESL. All of the participating teachers make use of MUSICALL however the extent of their use varies from once-a-month to once-every-other-lesson. MUSICALL activities in the classroom include filling in the blanks, putting the lyrics in the correct order and discussing the meaning of lyrics, whereas MUSICALL activities outside the classroom include the students playing karaoke and singing along to their favorite tunes. The teachers describe the reactions of the learners towards MUSICALL as being very positive. They find that the learners get more engaged in the lessons, become happier, laugh more, enjoy the lessons more and have more fun. The learners also find it relaxing and can relate to it. Additional benefits for the learners include the enhancement of their listening skills and overall exposure to the English language and an immense selection of free and/or paid for music online. In addition, MUSICALL makes it easier for them to learn and memorize content which also helps improve their vocabulary. As far as the benefits for teachers, these are also vast. They include building good relationships with their learners, helping with the overall classroom environment, easily grabbing the attention of the learners, getting them more involved and keeping them engaged and interested for longer periods of time. Furthermore, the teachers report that employing MUSICALL is relaxing for them too and is a fun way of teaching. Challenges include the need for teachers to keep up with new music and to know and use a variety of genres so that they can accommodate all of their learners’ music tastes. In conclusion, the use of MUSICALL is rapidly increasing since it can be used inside and outside the classroom, it can assist young learners and adults, and it benefits both the learners and the teachers.