Advanced TESOL Centers

Songs in the classroomThe use of songs in the classroom, in my opinion, is a subject, which merits greater attention and investigation by teachers. In our everyday lives we live constantly with music in varying forms yet we try to shut it out or off the moment we begin work or enter our workplace. All of us have musical hooks on which we hang our memories, associations with good and bad times, emotional situations or simply to recall a product advertised with a piece of identifiable music. A fantastic example of this association is a military march, written by a czech composer, Julius Fucik. All over the world, in any circus, you will hear this piece of music and whilst you may not know that it is called the Entry of the Gladiators, you certainly will recognise it as the music of the clowns. This association with music, was used by Dr. Georgi Lozanov and Evelyna Gateva during the 1960’s, when they conducted research into ways to increase memory abilities. Their successes caught the attention or the world and led to the development of the multi sensory technique of ‘accelerated learning’. Within this doctrine and using Lozanovs proposals, two different methods for the use of music to create effective learning environments, called concerts, were developed. The Active Concert activates the learning process mentally, physically and/or emotionally while the Passive Concert is geared to place the student in a relaxed alpha brain wave state and stabilize the student's mental, physical and emotional rhythms to increase information absorption. Both teaching methods result in high memory retention and used together the two concerts provide a powerful learning experience. Another facet to the accelerated learning technique, and following Lozanovs methods, is the creation of a learning ambience and student comfort experience, using different types of music on entry to, exit from and whilst in the classroom. This leads us into the “three A’s”,- Attention, Attitude and Atmosphere. Certain music will create a positive learning atmosphere which helps students to feel comfortable in participating wholly in the learning experience. In this way it can also have great affect upon students' attitudes and motivation to learn. The rhythms and tempo of musical sound can assist in setting and maintaining attention and focus by perking us up when we are weary and helping us find peace and calm when we are stessed or hyperactive in some way. Choosing and playing a ‘class song/theme’ at the start and end of a lesson, will aid in building a community bond and create a classroom ritual. By playing a specific musical piece, at a specific point or as background music during lessons, we can establish by association the start/ end of teaching. We can aid information absorbtion by using songs which adress the subject being taught, for example, if you were teaching a lesson about Peru, indigenous peruvian peoples or even llamas…., playing traditional ‘Andean pan pipe’ music in the background would aid the students in memorising the topic, making that lesson an ‘Active Learning Experience’. In Active Learning Experiences, the music creates interest and activates the information mentally, physically, or emotionally. Music can also create a highly focused learning state in which vocabulary and reading material is absorbed at a great rate, especially when information is put to rhythm and rhyme. In Focus and Alpha State Learning, the music stabilizes mental, physical and emotional rhythms to attain a state of deep concentration and focus in which large amounts of content information can be processed and learned. Baroque music, such as that composed by Bach or Handel or music which has 50 to 80 beats per minute creates an sense of focus that leads students into deep concentration in the alpha brain wave state. Learning vocabulary, memorizing facts or reading to this music is highly effective. On the other hand, bright,bubbly energizing Mozart music assists in holding attention during sleepy times of day and helps students stay alert while reading or working on projects. According to studies, playing ‘reflective’ music such as clasical or contemporary style solo piano, whilst students are writing essays increases dramatically the attention span and productivity. In one particular study, the students wrote twice as much with music as without. Another associated tool is the actual writing of specific lesson content and facts related songs, rhymes, raps and chants which improves memorisation and recall, especially if the students compose them as a classroom pairs or group activity. This creativity stimulates the ‘musical intelligence’, one of the eight ‘intelligences’ proposed in 1983, by Howard Gardner, a Harvard psychology professor. His theory, based on years of studies, maintained that intelligence is not one but several distinct ‘intelligences’. The musical intelligence involves developing an ability to respond to musical sound and the ability to use music effectively in one's life. Multi- intelligence teaching methodology, strives to stimulate and broaden students familiarity and skill levels in each area by emphasising education for understanding rather than rote memory or the mimicking of skills. Practical hands-on skill development is coupled with factual knowledge and the ability to apply skills and information in real-life situations thus enabling the students to make meaningful contributions to society. To summarise, music helps us to learn because, according to my research and reading; it stimulates, energises and changes brain wave patterns, it creates a positive learning ambience, it focuses and maintains attention and concentration, it can create a community identity encouraging inspiration and motivation and injects a fun element to lessons. If it actually does all that, it is certainly worth the effort to learn how and when to use it effectively.