Meaning and Lyrics: Proposed Ideas for Enhancing the Use of Music in Language Learning

Who can deny that at some point we have wandered halls and streets with a catchy tune stuck in our heads?  Perhaps, trying to sing along even though you are not entirely sure what the real lyrics are?  Many an argument has been had over “lock the cashbox” or “rock the casbah.”  Even more intriguing is the prevalence of Spanish songs such as La Cucaracha, Feliz Navidad, and La Bamba in American society. Almost every American has heard these songs, recognizes the toe-tapping beat, but has barely an idea about what they really mean.  (Other than the use of Feliz Navidad only during the holidays – that does help provide some clue). 

Many people have cited music as an integral part in their second language practice. I do agree with the usefulness of having a tune in a foreign language that you can sing along with. While great for becoming acclimated to the phonetics of a language, this has quite limited use for helping learners acquire true meaning, especially when considering the high number of metaphorical and poetic uses of the language in music.  

Kindle Paperwhite Dictionary tool

Let me jump to another useful tool for just a moment. While not focused on language learning, I have recently discovered the joy that is Kindle reading.  Of course it's lovely to have novels so portable, so weightless and always within reach.  But my intrigue has been most greatly piqued by the ability to click on a word and have the dictionary definition provided, all in a single touch.  

The interesting thing is that following extended use of this feature, I found myself attempting to use it in other respects - where of course - it did not work.  The primary instance of this has been during work when I listen to Spanish music on Pandora in an attempt to augment my language skills.  I often opt to expand the lyrics section to read along while I listen. 

The interesting part is I found myself wanting to click, even trying sometimes, to select words within the Spanish lyrics and hoping that the translation in context would pop up, the same as a meaning in the form of a dictionary entry would pop up in my Kindle books.  I would remember that this is not Kindle and resign to looking up the phrase elsewhere.  

Yet on this thought, I offer the situation as thought for future language educators and developers.  What if we could listen to popular music in our target language, read along with the lyrics, and have access to meaning-in-context via translation for further assistance?






**Addendum: June 22, 2014

As of recent I have connected with some wonderful people over at Linguistadores. It is a terrific new startup for people looking to learn a language from home at their own pace. The site has integrated a feature that allows you to watch/listen to a song, follow the lyrics, and see translations of the lyrics as you go.  Pretty much exactly the feature I was suggesting in this blog. I am so excited to see this and look forward to working with them.

I will likely write a post dedicated to this site soon, but in the mean time, please take a second to check them out.

Searching For Answers Proves Search Is the Answer

I'm sure anyone who has ever taken a language class heard the demanding voice of a teacher commanding that the Internet will feed us lies, make us dependent, and is never to be trusted.  Of course, the few times someone did attempt to use a translator the results were almost immediately caught by those same teachers.

However, with the growing accuracy and intuitive nature of the Internet (and a little direction from instructors), we may be able to harness this power for good.  We often snicker at the silly, surprising, yet often times incredible accuracy of Google's autofill feature in search.  While it can be very entertaining, there are limitless benefits to reap form Google's recent transition to a more natural style search.

Google teaches that "necesito" can be paired with infinitives, nouns, and comparatives

As this feature became more and more expected, I found myself relying on it to fill in gaps in my knowledge.  Google's reach has undeniably grown in breadth and accuracy.  Yet many forget to account for the rapid international spread as well.

I have found myself able to account for use of pronouns and phrasal structures in Spanish by starting to type a phrase and allowing autofill to complete the phrase.  Of course, as per our instructors, this is still not ideal for full sentence or paragraph translations, but can be incredibly helpful for those working through an assignment and hoping to look for help from home.

Of course, there are also various other lovely sources that were largely underutilized in my early years learning a language.  Along the same lines of using the search engine itself, students can use reference sites such as Linguee and forums like on WordReference to utilize the same concept - the wisdom of the crowd.  In this way, students are not denied use of the Internet, but instead use it to find for themselves what is really used by native speakers and can see the "translation" in context.

In a way, search can serve as a sort of artificial at-home tutor.  It is just as stubborn toward giving us the answers, but always eager to provide instructions and encourage us to draw conclusions for ourselves.  Search provides definitions across countries, corpus style examples taken from all types of media, as well as real life input and commentary by native speakers.  I could easily see this being implemented in classes and encouraged to supplement course content and am eager to see how teachers will address student use of the Internet moving forward.

Second Life Making the Most of Life

I recently came across an article that cited a shocking dynamic. Although each day more and more people are seemingly glued to their smartphones, laptops, and tablets, the number of young people actively pursuing a knowledge of computer science has been dropping. I can cite from experience that despite the nearly impossible job market, at least in my South Florida region, there are increasing pleas for students in tech-related fields.

Educators have thus begun attempting to bridge this crevasse and have turned to venues that were previously considered to be distractions for help. Rather than fight the interest students have in spending hours on various games and websites, many professors are utilizing virtual realities such as Second Life as supplemental class time. I have personally had the pleasure of working together with a handful of brilliant people who greatly contributed to generating digital learning realms within Second Life and exploring the extents of their use in foreign language learning, Spanish in particular. Teachers are able to invest in "land" in the digital world and build a reality best suited to fit the learning goals.  A hacienda style villa, such as that developed by Dr. James Abraham, can provide cultural context for learning Spanish, with tasks designed to practice forms.  But this is only the beginning, with larger universities expending resources on building virtual libraries and resource centers for their students and creating distance learning modules.

Practice Spanish Screenshot

There is certainly something to keep an eye on in the realm of realities such as Second Life, that allow students a glimpse into the themes and concepts they study in class.  Such realities are spurring waves of role playing serious games, such as the "Practice" series by McGraw Hill and the "Practice Spanish" installment that I have the opportunity to advise on.  I am truly excited to see how the increase in these games affects the educational scene and curious as to what impression teachers and students alike will have to their use.

For those still wondering and with reservations about creating an account to view Second Life, the "Practice Spanish" demo is available here.

References:

Ritzema, Harris. The Use of Second Life for Distance Education. 2008.