When it comes to the most effective language learning method, you can’t beat true immersion in the country where it is spoken. However, using music to learn a language is a great way of creating a powerful immersive learning experience wherever you are.
How Music Helps in Learning New Languages
Greater Retention
To remember new words you have to encounter them multiple times. Songs are therefore a fantastic way to hear the same words over and over again. Think about how many times you’ve found a song you love and just listened to it on repeat.
Moreover, how many times have you still been singing a song long after it’s finished? This happens because our brains retain information better when associated with a rhythm.
Evoking emotions (which often happens through music) also makes learning a new language with music more meaningful and memorable.
Expanded Vocabulary
Music and language acquisition go hand in hand when it comes to increasing your vocabulary.
But it’s not just individual new words, songs are also a brilliant tool for learning new common metaphors, idioms, abbreviations and slang in your target language.
Not only can you actively listen to music in your target language as part of your physical language studying. But you can also just pop your favourite album on while you are driving or cooking for example to let the language seep deeper into your brain.
Increased Motivation
Learning a new language can be a bumpy ride and music is just inherently incredibly fun. So whether you're an older or younger language learner, if you’re in a bit of a funk about a study session, one of the best things you can do is stick some mood boosting tunes on.
Furthermore, having a hobby such as music that you can pair with language learning means that you are more likely to stick at it and put the hours in required to reach fluency.
If you love music and are learning English, a trip to visit some of the best music landmarks in London will not only deepen your understanding of British culture and the English language, but will also be really good fun.
Better Pronunciation
When it comes to tips for learning a new language, listening to music is a brilliant way to improve pronunciation. This is because it provides lots of examples of things like connected speech, word stress, weak vowel sounds and intonation.
Moreover, singing along with your favourite artists and mimicking their pronunciation and cadence will help develop both a more natural and authentic accent and your confidence.
Cultural Insight
Listening to music in your target language also helps to increase your cultural awareness. That is because it reflects a lot about the culture, history, and traditions of the country.
To really understand a language, you need to be able to understand its people. And as music is such a deep rooted part of a culture, it's a perfect window into what makes its people tick.
Foreign political or protest songs in particular provide great insights. In turn you can use them to create interesting discussions with fellow language learners, homestay hosts or teachers.
How to Learn a Language Through Music?
Listen To Music You Like
When it comes to music and language learning, there’s so much choice. And thanks to the development of streaming services, music from different countries is accessible from anywhere.
So if you like rock music, don’t choose folk music. That way you will enjoy it so much more and can create a playlist of your favourite songs and artists.
Read The Lyrics
When learning a new language with music you can supercharge your study session by also giving your reading skills a workout. Spotify provides lyrics on screen for most of its songs.
In addition, try searching for the music video with lyrics on screen on YouTube as this can further help to remember words and phrases within a real-life context.
Seek a Translation
Through translating the lyrics to songs you will gain a further insight into the culture of the artist and the country they are from. There are plenty already available online, or you can have a go at it yourself. Just beware there may be no direct translation for some expressions.
Break It Down
While you are listening try to break songs into sections and pick out the chorus, which is usually the easiest to grasp first. And choose songs that are at, or slightly above your current level.
If you try to listen to music with complex lyrics, it can actually set you back because it will make the language seem too hard. You can always come back to them later.
Keep a List
Pick out words and phrases from songs that you might use conversationally in your day to day.
Also note down sentences that you find interesting. You can use them to generate discussion with your language buddies or homestay host family and develop critical and creative thinking in your new language.
In Conclusion
Using music to learn a language can, however, only take you so far. To become fluent you will also need to pair it with other learning techniques.
Read lots of books, watch lots of movies, but best of all take a trip to a country your target language is spoken in and spend time immersed in the culture with the people who live there.
Register for free to find a unique language holiday with Lingoo today.