It is no secret that using music in the ESL classroom has many benefits. While some of the criticism of pronunciation teaching is that it is thought to be boring and imperialistic (i.e., imposing a monolithic and unreachable North American and sometimes British standard on the rest of the world), music can address both of these concerns (Bergam-Miyake, 1973). Music, especially popular music, can offer a wide range of different kinds of English through different genres and styles such as reggae, gospel, rap, hip hop, jazz, country, and more. And perhaps the most compelling argument for using music in class is the fact that it is deeply enjoyable, relaxing, and holds students’ interest and attention. Music can also be an effective tool for lowering the affective filter by reducing the stress and anxiety linked to speaking English. (Bergman-Miyake, 1973).

Aspects of pronunciation that can be addressed through popular music:

• using songs to focus on target sounds, including rhyme
• using songs to focus on words and syllable stress
• using songs to focus on reductions and elisions in connected speech
  
  

The research about music and language is extensive. There is a relationship between music and language in the brain--which is to say, the same parts of the brain that are used when learning music are engaged when learning language. Engaging with music can help students identify and use speech sounds and patterns. Music participation and rhythmic performance transfer easily to making literacy gains. Pop music can also be an effective tool to teach the recognition and use of stress at the phrasal level (Ditter, 2013).

Studies show that stress plays a large role in intelligibility. Negrin-Cristiani (1997) focused on the ability of Spanish-speaking adults to pick up English stress patterns without direct instruction. The study claimed that because native speakers acquired stress patterns easily they are less aware of the patterns. Native speakers are less likely to forgive a nonnative speaker for these types of errors, which, according to the author, can lead to nonnative speakers being misjudged on their intelligence, sincerity, assertiveness, or personality (Ditter, 2013).

Music helps demonstrate that, as opposed to a syllable-timed language like Japanese, English is a stressed-timed language, meaning that English has a rhythmic beat that moves from stress to stress, regardless of how many syllables are in between. Cook (2012) addresses this concept brilliantly in her book, American Accent Training (Chapter 9: Grammar in a Nutshell). She lays out in chart form a condensed exercise to practice simple intonation with a wide range of verb tenses. This chapter, along with her self-described “Miracle Technique,” is a “desert island” exercise: If all you had was a sheet of paper with these two exercises, you could get a lot of English teaching done.

Selecting Music for the Adult ESL Classroom

• Song lyrics should be clear and loud, not submerged in the instrumental music.
• The vocabulary load for the song should be appropriate to the proficiency level.
• Songs should be prescreened for potentially problematic content, such as explicit language, references to violent acts or sex, or inappropriate religious allusions.
• Short, slow songs are best for beginning-level students and useful activities may include creating song word puzzles, drawing a song, or showing related pictures.
  
• With higher levels, it is best to use songs that tell stories, then move toward short, fast songs, and finally, longer, fast songs that have fewer high frequency vocabulary items.
• Finding copies of song lyrics is not difficult. Many are available on the Internet, and many recordings contain lyric sheets.
• Because teachers will show care and effort when presenting songs they are especially fond of, their favorites are also good.
• Finally, students are often strongly motivated to learn the lyrics of a new pop song or an old favorite they have heard and never understood, so their choices for classroom music should not be overlooked (Lems, 2001).
  
  

How Do I Use Popular Music in the Classroom?

The following is one of the most popular presentation projects from my intermediate-level Accent Reduction class.

Student Preparation

1. Each student picks one popular song (any style) that he or she would like to present to the class.
2. Students choose one or two lines of the lyrics and write the lines in phonetic symbols.
3. Ask the students to find and define between three and five new and interesting words from anywhere in the song. They will share these words and definitions with the class. They must also give the phonetic spelling of the new words.
   
4. Students write a summary of what the song is about and what it means to the student: Why did they choose that song?
5. Ask students to do some research on the singer/band who wrote/performed the song. We spend some time in the computer lab doing research and writing the presentation.
   
   

Teacher Preparation

1. During this time, prepare a list of all the songs to be presented, and download them onto your computer or mp3 playing device. If you can find videos, download these as well. Print out all the lyrics to every song chosen and make a packet for each student.
2. Find out which lyrics students are using to write phonetically so you can point out particular target sounds and other aspects of pronunciation including rhyme, connected speech, reduced sounds, rhythm, intonation, and word stress.
3. If desired, create a cloze exercise with the lyrics or a crossword puzzle, word find, or other worksheet activity using the lyrics or information from the presentations.
   
   

Presentations

1. Once the students have prepared their presentations, have them present one at a time, first having the student tell the class about the singer and the song.
2. The student writes the lyrics phonetically on the board as well as the new words.
3. As a class, discuss the target language objectives for each set of lyrics, and, finally, listen to the song and/or watch the video.
4. The students should have the lyrics sheets and are all encouraged to sing along.
   
   

This activity is highly motivational and memorable for the students. It introduces them to new music based on the interests of their classmates while offering the opportunity to improve certain aspects of pronunciation including individual sounds, connected speech, and new words. By learning about the artists who make the music, it also introduces them to American culture.

The Final “El” Sound

When addressing particular sounds in English that are difficult for most students, it is helpful to choose a popular song that repeats those target sounds. One successful example of this is a lesson I have developed targeting the final /l/ sound using the song “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen (Crowe, T., Jepsen, C. R., and Ramsay, J., 2011). I also expanded on this pronunciation lesson to include a content objective that allows the students to construct a conversation using pick-up lines and break-up excuses. This is a great lesson to use around Valentine’s Day. The following is a breakdown of the lesson, along with a worksheet I created for the building the role-play conversation.

If you are using American Accent Training (Cook, 2012), do this lesson after completing Chapter 16 (and beginning review Exercise 16-11 on page 122).

The Lesson

1. Look at the lyrics for “Call Me Maybe.” Have students underline all the final /l/ sounds.
2. Have students recite the lyrics.
3. Check for interesting new words.
4. Listen to the song, then sing the song.
5. Have each student choose a (different) lyric to write phonetic symbols above the vowels (review). (Quick write/Turn and Talk/Group share) Each group will choose one lyric and write it on the board.
6. In a longer lesson, we would listen to the song again or watch the video before moving to the next part.
7. Hand out pick-up lines/break-up excuses handout. And have a discussion about dating.
8. Students create a short dialogue using the pick-up lines, break-up excuses, and lyrics or vocabulary from the song.

Another fun and interactive activity that could be used with “Call Me Maybe” is to create a parody song with video. With the proliferation of parodies created for this song, students can be shown several examples including my personal favorite, “Me Want Cookie, Share It Maybe.”

Then have the students come up with a topic for the song and, using the rhythms and rhyme patterns in the song, write a new parody. Provide a lot of modeling for this process. Then the students can prepare and shoot a video in the classroom or in the area. It helps to provide a lesson on how to create a music video as well. In the end, students can create a fun, interactive, and ambitious project that will keep them motivated and engaged in the language acquisition and production process.

Sources of Songs, Lyrics, and Videos

• Lyrics Training: An easy and fun method to learn and improve your foreign languages skills through the music videos and lyrics of your favorite songs.
• EFL Classroom: Videos and lyrics for many songs.
• ESL Listening: Songs in English
• Isabel’s ESL Site: Songs and ideas for how to teach them.
• Lyreach. A website that helps you find a song if you only remember a few of the words.
• ESL videos: Songs and other video resources, activities, quizzes and lesson plans.
  
  

References

Bergman-Miyake, S. (1973). Pronunciation and music. Retrieved from http://www.jrc.sophia.ac.jp/kiyou/ki24/miyake.pdf

Cook, A. (2012). American accent training. Hauppage, NY: Barron’s Educational Series.

Crowe, T., Jepsen, C. R., and Ramsay, J. (2011). Call Me Maybe [Recorded by Carly Rae Jepsen]. On Curiosity [CD single digital download]. Richmond,British Columbia, Canada: 604 Records. (May-July 2010)

Ditter, K. (2013). Pop music as a teaching tool: Increasing recognition and use of suprasegmental features. St. Paul, MN: Hamline University.

Lems, K. (2001). Using music in the adult ESL classroom. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. Retrieved from http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/music.html

Negrin-Cristiani, J. (1997). Do non-native speakers of English acquire English stress patterns? Retrieved from ERIC database (ED422718).

Anna Grace Carter is the academic director and instructor at a private intensive English program in the heart of New York City with more than 10 years of experience in the classroom. She received her Associate of Fine Arts in Music from Young Harris College in 1999 and her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religion from Berry College in 2001 before beginning her teaching career as a high school drama teacher. Anna holds both a TEFL and an ESL teaching certificate. In 2006, Anna traveled to China, where she lived and taught English and drama for 4 years. Anna brings great enthusiasm into the classroom and encourages learning through participation and action.