New ideas for the new teacher

PSYCHOLINGUISTICS in music:

Definition: Music developing the learning of the following: Language, Listening, Speaking, Comprehension, Listening Fluency and Accuracy and Critical thinking involving imagination, reflection, judgment or appreciation of intention and purpose in songs.

Why music? Are we suggesting abandonment of textbooks? Certainly not!

“Teachers are boring,” learners say. They (the learners) must be boring too. But it is our duty and obligation to make learning interesting, exciting, fun and worthwhile. Do you remember the first time you listened to a speaker to whom English was a mother-tongue (varungu . . . white people in general . . . let us call them)? I am sure we remember how challenging, difficult or stressful it was to follow a conversation involving a murungu. And how you were afraid to join in the conversation because you were scared to make mistakes or simply didn’t want to sound ridiculous!

I am sure some adults today still feel coldly uncomfortable talking to a real murungu. They grow goose pimples all over the body as they try to make a conversation fluent, easy and sensible.

Is this not the way most of our English learners today feel in class?

Today I want to introduce to you my dear English teachers, and learners as well as those who want to take a short cut by learning straight from me, a series of programmes to promote the strategic use of music to motivate learners as they practice and produce the target language and actively participate . . . to stimulate critical thinking in the learning process from a psycholinguistic point of view.

Music stimulates thinking and helps improve skills such as verbal and auditory memory (English Teaching Forum Vol. 56 Number 1, 2018)

The field of psycholinguistics opines that there is a noticeable relationship between the spheres of music and language during brain development that can begin even before the age of two. The brain, psycholinguists claim, can understand and then organise the rhythm and syntax of music and language (McMullen and Saffran 2004). Both music and spoken language involve the use of complex sound and enhance the encoding of linguistic information at the brain-stem (Wong et al 2007, 420).

To explore this idea, Wong and his team researched the question of whether music or music related experiences activate codes in the brain-stem and therefore strengthen all auditory functions such as listening. These researchers established or found out that musical ability predicts the ability to produce and perceive sound structures of a second language. The finding therefore suggests that more exposure to music both in and outside classroom could have advantages for L2 learners as they process and produce the target language.

An obvious advantage of music is that it is universal and loved by people of all ages and cultural backgrounds, so it is an excellent way to engage learners.

According to the United States Department of State for teachers of English, Music provides:

◆ The reinforcement of aspects of rhythm in a language.

◆ An opportunity to examine culture and diversity through authentic songs and other materials and

◆ A way for learners to explore human vocal expression and communication, from speaking to singing.

Using songs in the classroom can improve comprehension and provide pronunciation practice. Moreover, learners acquire vocabulary and idiomatic expressions and can even review grammar points.

“Music appeals to practically everyone,” argue psycholinguists. “Although keeping learners engaged can be challenging, using music as a teaching tool is a way to bring the class together and inspire interest in the lesson.”

The theory is simply that music enhances linguistic development, exposure to culture and diversity and experience with multiple ways of human expression and communication. I am personally excited about this theory. I strongly believe music is a strategic choice that increases learner motivation and awareness in the classroom. It is a way to gain access to authentic materials even from a specific psycholinguistic social and cultural context.

While a song or the song is playing, students may be asked to indicate how they feel about it . . . in the process developing their listening, speaking and critical thinking skills through informal group discussions. Aside from the fact that students get to listen to the song, students enjoy the opportunity to share their own ideas and opinions and learn more about their classmates. Are we as teachers of English not tired of the traditional Public Speeches and Debates? And are we not tired of boring our learners? Imagine a public speaking or debating session based on songs! Excitement, fun, learning, critical thinking in one! Wait and see! I will lead, command, this English learning revolution and everyone including sceptics will love it. (Brig. General MM) Just wait and see! We cannot remain in the past when today is here with us to give learning excitement and fun! Tired of thinking? Everything else is changing in the world except teaching and learning methods!

The phones, the education curriculums, the syllabi, the church doctrines, the names of courses and careers, even the prices of everything are changing in the shops (including the cost of haircuts as if our heads have become larger) — why are we still subjecting our students to old boring methods of learning? One huge reason for poor performance in schools is boredom.

School is boring-period! The teachers, most of them, are sickening and poisonous to say the least! They are dull, uninteresting, dreary, wearisome, humdrum, uninspiring-all of these! We all seem to know, ‘‘Education, schools must be child-friendly,’’ but we forget ‘‘It must be fun, interesting, stimulating, electrifying, thrilling, fun!’’ We only know ‘‘child friendly!’’

Next week I will give you several specific activities that you can use in your English classroom to both inspire and motivate an appetite for learning English and development of critical thinking. I am a witness and living example of one poor country boy whose English Language was developed to a large extent by careful, accurate and fluent listening, almost an obsession to pop music in the late sixties and early seventies: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Bee Gees. Otis Redding, Wilson Picket, Percy Sledge, Dobie Grey . . . the list is excitingly endless. Clearly this did not replace my appetite for wide reading but it joyfully provided enormous fun and captivation in my love for and learning of English Language. Music developed my sense of imagination, reflection and judgment, all which are pole Literature skills. My sense of judgment today enables me to tell the difference between sensible and nonsense music.

In the same way class textbooks are carefully chosen, the songs for classroom practice would have to be carefully and intelligently chosen. We cannot forget that other side of music.

Until next week, enjoy every minute of trying these ideas. I know students are not only music lovers . . . they are critical thinkers. They love to listen, speak, reflect, imagine and make judgments about music.