Songs in Language Learning

Abstract

Most children enjoy singing, and songs are often a welcome change from the routine of classroom activity in learning a language. Pleasure for its own sake is an important part of language learning, a fact which is often overlooked by the teacher in his quest for teaching points, or by the course designer focussing on presentation or repetition. Songs make the experience of learning English a child-centered and enjoyable one. Yet the accessibility of songs should not encourage us to be indiscriminate in our use of them, for they may help or hinder the learner in a number of different ways. They help when they reinforce the teaching. In this way they can be a useful aid in the learning of vocabulary, pronunciation, structures, and sentence patterns. They hinder when they interfere with learning, when they establish irregular sentence or stress patterns which have to be corrected when used in conversation. These facts should be kept in mind when considering the role of songs in language learning.

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