Music and Songs to Promote Participation in the ESL Classroom

Scientific studies indicate that music has positive effects on the cognitive, creative, intellectual and psychological development of children.

Music has even been shown to stimulate the left hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for learning language, numbers, and the use of logic.

Listening work with melody and timbre benefits the ability to concentrate and the learning of other languages.

Because it favors learning.

Because it stimulates creativity.

Because it allows links between what is heard and social and / or personal life.

Because the right musical style encourages productivity.

Because it facilitates concentration.

Because it allows you to learn in an entertaining way.

But essentially, the best reason for teachers to incorporate music into their schedules and lessons is the improvement it achieves in student achievement. Through it, a more pleasant and relaxed environment will be generated to study.

The digital natives that today make up the classrooms of different educational centers are used to dealing with various types of stimuli, so resorting to these when training is an ideal method to capture their attention.

To select the appropriate way to incorporate music into the classroom, each teacher must devise their own strategy and test those methodologies that work best for them.

This is the ideal companion for studying, as it allows creativity to fly, achieve a higher level of concentration, and even generate instances of relaxation in times of great stress from preparing an exam or studying a difficult subject.

For others, the opposite is true, and any sound when studying generates distractions.

However, within the classroom, it can be used as an educational tool by teachers. Used in the right way, it will have a positive impact on all students, even those who reject it in times of study at home.

Considering the great importance that music can have as a tool within the learning process both when it comes to learning vocabulary, as when we consider the study of structures or pronunciation, as well as to show our students that English is a living language.

In addition, through music we can bring our students closer to the culture associated with the language they are studying, in our case English, and which in many cases is represented in the lyrics of the songs we use. Therefore, it is a great way to bring our students closer to the cultural reality of English-speaking countries.

Music can be considered as a bridge element between the listenings (listening exercises) and writings (writing activities) that we do in class since it combines the song itself with the lyrics of it and everything that this entails.

The use of songs can also be a starting point to promote the use of the Internet in the classroom in order to find information about a singer or a group.

Therefore, we must consider music as an integral instrument within the educational process.

When we are going to make the decision to choose the song we have to take into account that in order for it to be the most correct.

Colloquial English full of slangs and / or with continuous cultural references that require a concise explanation should be avoided as this will lead us to spend excessive class time.

Appropriate to perform actions: This is especially important when we work with young children who often support their learning in physical movements coordinated with music.

Avoid songs with verses that are too long: If the song includes excessively long paragraphs, we will have no choice but to repeat the song an excessive number of times so that our students have the option to assimilate it.

Music influences our mood in a number of ways: it can bring relaxation, make us feel melancholic, and it can make us feel happy and energetic.

Music therapy has an effect on the brain in an emotional, cognitive and physical sense. And many studies have shown that it is useful both in rehabilitation, education and in programs for the improvement of well-being.

Boost memory

A positive environment in the classrooms

Excellent academic support

Energy and vitality

Learn all kinds of things

Left hemisphere of the brain

New lenguages

Cognitive development