Series: New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education

Issue Title: Artistic Ways of Knowing: Expanding opportunities for Teaching and
Learning in Adult Education
Chapter Length: 3300-3700 words

Music Works: Music in the Adult ESOL Classroom

In twenty years of teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) to

adults in a number of instructional settings and at a number of levels, I have found that
one truth continues to reverberate resoundingly across time and space: "music works."
Almost without exception, music-centered classroom activities I have engaged in yield
untold treasures for all involved, including the individual students, the whole class, and
for me, the instructor. The chapter, based upon my own lived practices as an educator,
and supplemented by reading and reflection, will explore only a few aspects of this rich
topic.
My chapter is composed of three parts: a summary of research findings on music
and second language learning, particularly with reference to adults; a set of some
learning objectives which can be addressed using music, and a description of sample
activities that could serve each of the objectives; and finally, a few personal reflections
about music in my own classrooms, and some unanswered questions about the relative
scarcity of music activities in adult ESOL. There is a short glossary of abbreviations at
the end of the article, followed by references.

The Research: Limited, but Promising

Experimental research on music and second language learning --adult or otherwise-- tends to
reside in the fields of psychology and special education, rather than in the two fields directly
concerned with it, linguistics and music. For example, interesting case studies of bilingual adults
with head injuries or learning disabilities have explored how musical receptiveness correlated with
their cognitive or linguistic functioning. Research has been done on music's role in therapy and
rehabilitation for adults who have various incapacitating conditions, although very little of it has
included second language issues. As new instruments for mapping human brain activity emerge,
the psychology and neuroscience professions have increasingly attempted to figure out exactly how
music and language learning interrelate, and educators, in turn, are studying the findings and
beginning to discuss what they might mean to a classroom setting.
However, the vast majority of writing about music and second language learning is not
experimental at all, and focuses on a description of successful classroom activities, with only a brief
nod to research. Researchers and pedagogues seem to be on parallel, non-intersecting paths, rarely
citing works using the other approach.
I have read and thought quite a bit about both approaches to the subject of music and
language learning, and, in an attempt to help them cross-fertilize each other a bit more, I will
summarize results of a few studies involving music and second language learners, and then
describe successful classroom methods using music and language learning.
 Recent developments in brain-based research note that central features of music and
language are housed in nearby areas of the human brain, suggesting they may share features of a
"grammar" which orders musical elements and language elements in a similar way (Maess, 2001).
To put it another way, a cognitive scientist states: "[music and language] are similar enough -- they
both consist of discrete elements combined in hierarchical sequences -- to serve as foils for each
other" (Benson, 2003, p. 33). In both music and language, units of sound or visual symbols occur
across time in an ordered sequence, in what could be described as "building structure in time"
(Ibid.).
Classroom research suggests these similarities may affect some learning. Working with
second language (L2) learning children, for example, Lowe (1998) found that students in a French
immersion program in Canada who learned music concepts and patterns daily along with their
language study did significantly better in both foreign language study and music study than their
peers who did not study music. Medina (1990), working with second grade English language
learners (ELLs), found that children who were taught vocabulary using supplementary music and
pictures learned more words than those in groups using one, or neither, of the artistic
enhancements. Shunk (1999) had a similar experience with second grade ELLs, who learned more
new words when music and sign language supplemented vocabulary lessons.
Although there is precious little experimental research in the area of adult L2 learners,
there is some. Murphey (1992), who has used music extensively with adult EFL learners,
theorized that lyrics in pop songs are especially effective in boosting language production,
for several specific reasons. For one thing, such songs contain high frequency vocabulary --
the words every learner needs to know -- along with very few referents to place, time,
pronoun, and gender. Along with the high frequency vocabulary and ambiguous pronoun
references, songs tend to contain universal themes which make song lyrics easy for people to
identify with, while at the same time creating an opportunity for "involuntary rehearsal" of
the new language within the brain.
Whatever didactic properties may be inherent to the use of songs themselves,
there is a resounding consensus that using them motivates and inspires adult learners.
Green (1993) surveyed 263 intermediate level Puerto Rican college ESL students to see
which among 17 communicative and non-communicative activities they considered
enjoyable, and which they considered helpful (effective). Listening to a song ranked at
number one for enjoyableness, and singing a song ranked fifth. Although not ranked at
the top for effectiveness, the two musical activities were still ranked as solidly effective,
and among the upper 50% of techniques chosen. Interestingly, the highest correlation
between enjoyableness and effectiveness of the 17 variables used was for singing an
English language song (r=.760 at p <.05). In student comments on the survey items
excerpted by the author, one said listening to a recorded song "is a complete learning in
English" (p. 6).
When Oxman (1975) used music in a special pullout program for at-risk high
school aged ELLs, she found no significant difference in student performance, but
noted a greater interest in school activities for the students who received the music
curriculum. Puhl (1985) also found that using instrumental music in EFL activities for
South African miners resulted in "more vitality" in the experimental group. In fact, all
articles I have read on the subject of using music with adult L2 learners make the same
claim: students enjoy, open up to, and feel more relaxed with music. As an in-class
motivator, it's hard to find any activity that surpasses music and songs.

Learning Objectives and Music Activities: the Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts

Many discrete goals can be included in musical activities; however, music's effect
and power cannot simply be broken into little pieces. Clearly, here is an example of the
whole being greater than the sum of the parts. Like any discussion of the arts and their
"use" to society, their value goes beyond arguments and words because they inhabit a
different realm. Music cannot be reduced to words; it is, finally, music. Still, words
dominate education and all other domains, so words are what we have to use. How I
wish this book would allow music to play softly as you read it!
The following are some of the areas in which music has been commonly used in
the classroom.

For Positive Attitude and Affect

When teaching adults, it is widely understood that what adults bring to the
classroom is at least as important as what the classroom offers to them. An adult who
hears music has a rich frame of reference from their own lived experiences, and it is no
less rich if the adult has been out of school a long time or hasn't gone far in their formal
education.
Similarly, when an immigrant adult is transplanted to a new cultural and
linguistic environment, that adult has many resources to draw upon, but it is hard to
express them due to the language barrier. Enjoyment of music, however, is universal,
and flies over boundaries, creating a welcoming embrace for all, including those who
can't yet find those words. Any person can enjoy a melody, whether by listening,
humming, whistling, singing to it, or even dancing along with it. Music, in its joyful
din, welcomes all learners in, gets toes tapping, hands clapping, heads nodding, and
faces smiling. It is in plentiful supply for minimal cost, and can relax a whole roomful
of people, during or before a test, during silent reading, or in breaks.
For creating "atmosphere," many teachers swear by classical instrumental music.
Baroque music is played in the halls of my daughter's high school during every passing
period; however, other kinds of music can also create an upbeat, productive soundtrack
for students' lives. The key is to let students know when they will hear the music, what
they will hear, and allow them to listen to it regularly.
To make my adult Polish immigrants feel comfortable, I bring CDs of Chopin's
piano music and play it in the background. Whether they have any training in classical
music, whether they are laborers or former doctors, there is a universally positive
response. By playing Chopin, I am telling them that I know about one of the great
artists of their culture, and honor him. They, in turn, discover that something they
cherish from their homeland is still available to them, and acknowledged as great by
others.

For Listening Comprehension

 Listening to songs is a tried and true method of helping students' listening
comprehension in a new language, but used as a guided activity, its value is
maximized. Improving listening comprehension is probably the use to which music is
put most often in the ESL classroom, and there are innumerable sure-fire ways to
organize the activity.
One common lesson that can be used with any age is to choose a song, type
several copies of its lyrics in large type, laminate them, cut the lyrics into lines, put
students in small groups, and have them arrange the lines in the correct order as they
listen to the song. In order to maximize the benefits of the listening, the song lyrics
should be just slightly above the students' current proficiency level, but not much
(Vygotsky, 1978). The activity can also be done as a race among several groups, to see
which one can order the lyrics first. When long tables are not available for laying out
the lyrics, they can be placed on the floor in various corners of the room, with students
clustered around them on hands and knees.
Usually, playing the song twice is enough time to put the lines in order, but a
more challenging song might be played four or five times. A variation on this approach
is to see how many lines can be put in order even before hearing the song, on the basis
of the structures or narrative line. Then the listening becomes confirmatory, and
reinforces a hypothesis already made by the students - a powerful activity.
Picking songs is an art in itself, and many articles have been devoted to this
topic. Talking about different criteria and caveats for choosing songs could swamp the
remainder of this chapter, and still not exhaust the subject. After all is said and done, I
would simply advise that the instructor pick a song he or she really likes, and leave it at
that, because if a teacher likes a song, the preparation of the lesson is usually clever and
thoughtful, and the enthusiasm the song generates in the teacher carries over to the
students.

For Oral and Pronunciation Practice

For adult students who are already literate in their first language, reading
English can result in confusion because of the mismatch between the sounds they
expect alphabet letters to represent, and the actual sounds they hear. Reading along
with a song is a great way to bridge that gap and, at the same time, improve
pronunciation. For example, students can be asked to circle all of the occurrences of the
American "flap" sound as they listen to a song (the flap is the distinctive "t" sound in
American English which occurs between two vowels or a vowel and an r, such as the
words "city" or "party." This unusual pronunciation throws off students in an American
English-speaking country, until the sound has been explained and practiced.
Song lyrics can easily be chanted or sung, which aids oral fluency and
pronunciation. At the same time, the rhythmic contour of the song usually (but not
always) matches the natural stress patterns of spoken English, and aids students in
developing their oral expressiveness through natural practice.
In addition to examining small parts of a song, songs can be learned from
beginning to end. Since I am a teacher who enjoys singing in class, I often give students
a thin stapled packet of song lyrics at the beginning of the quarter, and teach them a
new song from it every week. By the end of the quarter, the students can sing about ten
new songs without assistance. Sometimes they even memorize them. By the way, if
you plan to give out songsheets, I strongly urge you include complete written credits
for every song, and indicate exactly how students can buy a recording of someone
singing it. These days, that is an easy task, with Internet options available for
purchasing most recorded music. Building up the idea of supporting musicians by
buying their CDs and songbooks is one important way to keep our precious
songwriters fed, so that they can write more great songs.
Other teachers ask me how I "get" my students to sing. Often, the issue is not
really that students won't sing, but is a reflection of teachers' own discomfort at the idea
of singing. I'd urge American teachers to think twice about their fear. Singing in the
classroom need not be thought of as a performance, but as a "daytime indoor campfire"
instead. In many years of teaching songs to adult learners, I can count on the fingers of
one hand students who would not take part in the singing. Anyway, if a student isn't
singing, it doesn't mean they aren't listening, or learning, or enjoying the song. It just
means they aren't singing. Most cultures of the world are far more comfortable singing
aloud than is our current American culture; that being the case, teachers of immigrant
and foreign students can increase their own enjoyment of music by singing along with
their students.
For those irrevocably opposed to singing alone, I would suggest buying a set of
singalong tapes, such as the wonderful "Wee Sing" series which can be found in any toy
store. The reasonably priced tapes come with booklets, and contain many different
themes, including a lot of "Americana." If there's a will, there's a voice.

For Writing Activities

Another activity that works is giving students a chance to free-write, or even free
draw, as they listen to music and songs. Drawing or writing to exciting and dramatic
music, such as Tchaikovsky, Moussorsky, or other 19th century composers, can be
followed by reading the writing to the class, or showing the drawings. If the course
follows a more grammar-based curriculum, students can do more structured, sentence-
level writing, or if they are at a beginner level, follow a template.
For example, after introducing my high-beginner level students to the song "El
Condor Pasa," a lyrical poem by Paul Simon set to an Andean flute melody by Daniel
Robles, I ask them to complete sentences using the structures:

"I'd rather be ___________________ than __________________" and

"I'd rather ________________________ than _______________."

The first sentence uses the verb provided (be) and only requires two nouns or
adjectives, and the second sentence adds the option of choosing two verbs as well.
From this seemingly limited, restrictive activity, I have received such delightful
sentences as the following:
 "I'd rather be water than a fire,"
"I'd rather be unknown person than famous," and
"I'd rather stay in childhood than grow up."

Even sentence-level writing such as that found in these three short examples can
be very expressive, and song lyrics, like poetry, can bypass small talk and get to deep
feelings straightaway.
Another fruitful assignment is to ask students to write compositions on musical
topics. Sometimes I ask them to write a composition about their favorite piece of music.
I ask them to give a little background, explain why it is special to them, and then bring a
recording of the piece of music to class and share it. They can read the composition
they wrote about it to the class as the music plays, or after or before it.
It is also possible to use a music topic in a computer-assisted assignment, such as
comparing the biographies of a favorite rap star at two or more different fan sites, and
arranging the information from them into a Venn diagram (see figure below). Then the
students can use critical thinking to evaluate the information in the two sites for
reliability or bias, leading to discussions about issues including questioning authors,
and writing for a purpose.

For Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Building

There are few texts better than song lyrics for capturing a student's interest. The
enormous popularity of lyrics websites is testament to this. Once lyrics are available,
however they are introduced, the words and phrases in them can be probed and put to
use. Like poetry, lyrics can be examined on (at least) two levels -- for features of their
structure, and for their literary themes.
American songs are one of the richest sources of contemporary idioms and
cultural references, and, in fact, many concepts and traditions have entered American
culture through the medium of song. Consider the following representative examples
of the pervasive influence of songs on the culture:

 It was through song lyrics that Americans got the widespread tradition of tying a
yellow ribbon around a tree to remember someone (from the song "Tie a Yellow
Ribbon")

 Song lyrics introduced the concept of cheerful determinism to listeners around

the world in "Que Sera, Sera" (from the song by the same name sung by Patti
Page)
  We learn that we can demand not just generic respect, but "R-E-S-P-E-C-T,"
spelled out in full, when we want to be sure we get it (from the song "Respect"
sung by Aretha Franklin)

 Songs introduce colorful characters not originally in written text, like Rudolph
the Red-nosed Reindeer, or the seductive "Mrs. Robinson," from the song of the
same name by Paul Simon.

Introducing songs with useful phrases and concepts enables an adult ELL to
have access to those concepts and helps them adjust to their new setting. Also, listening
to songs is a way for immigrants and foreign students to access pronunciation and slang
found in dialect groups and subcultures, in particular those speaking Black English,
which is strongly represented in pop music. Finally, being familiar with a number of
songs simply gives students a ready topic of conversation with native speakers, which,
like "the weather," is pleasant and safe.

For Culture Study

Music is able to take ELLs in two directions: it can bring them closer to the new
culture in which they are living, and, at the same time, it can give them the opportunity
to bring their home culture and its music to others. When students have an opportunity
to bring music from their homeland into the classroom, it honors their cultural roots,
and provides continuity with their new experiences.
Songs can be played during class parties or breaks even if they don't have a
single word of English in them. In my classes, I sometimes set up a schedule in which
each student has a chance to bring a favorite CD to be played during breaks. This has
led to many animated exchanges as students seek information about musicians they like
who are from cultures other than their own. Recently, a student brought a CD by a
British group called "Cold Play." I was dubious that it was a real band because I had
never heard of it. Sure enough, a huge billboard on a busy Chicago street now
advertises that a certain radio station plays a lot of Cold Play. The students are not the
only ones whose horizons are expanded!

A Call for More Music

A browse through the table of contents of ESL/ESL readers reveals that music is
a very common reading topic. Apparently, publishers have found that students really
enjoy music topics, and such articles abound. They range from music's power to heal,
to bios of the stars, to songs made by animals, to the effect of music on appetite. Yet,
there is only one song-based curriculum for adults, called "Sing It!" by Millie Grenough,
and it is no longer in print. In addition, there appears to be little institutional support
anywhere for putting music at the center of an ESL program. In fact, aside from my
own workshops, I am only aware of one music-based ESL course at an American
University, English through Music, an elective taught by Lorene Cleary at University of
California Santa Barbara extension. Somehow, despite its power to enthrall and inspire,
music is not on the short list as a content area topic for English learners. And, since
there are no adult programs which put music at the center, it's hard to come by research
showing the power of music as a teaching tool. And thus the cycle continues: everyone
likes using it, no one dares take the next step, and thus there is no "proof" that music
helps with English. It's time to break the cycle and offer some music-based adult ESL
courses, carefully collecting information on the results.
As I ponder all of the ways in which music has enlivened and animated my
classrooms over the years, I keep coming back to the same simple observation: I like to
be around people when they are experiencing music. They have a certain magical aura
as they listen, as they sing. I've watched a tough Ukrainian mechanic with dirty
fingernails transformed into a compelling, soulful singer before his astonished
classmates. I've seen a shy young Chinese woman, covering her mouth as she laughed,
finally stand and sing a Chinese folk song with spirit. I have watched a Mexican
student introduce the class to Selena's music, and cry as she reexperienced Selena's
untimely murder. I've watched a disaffected Polish punk rocker, complete with hair
spikes, bring in a large heavy metal CD collection and reveal that he knew much, more
more English than he had ever let on.
At the parties I always hold on the final day of class, music is part of the closure,
the farewell, which leaves us all quite literally with a song in our hearts. I wouldn't
have it any other way.

Glossary

L2 - second language (not necessarily English)

ELL - English language learner (the learner)
ESOL - English to speakers of other languages (the subject, not the learner)
ESL - English as a second language (in an English-speaking environment)
EFL - English as a foreign language (in a non-English speaking environment)

References

Abbott, Marilyn. (2002). Using music to promote L2 learning among adult

learners. TESOL Journal 11(1), 10-17.
Benson, E. (2003). Making sense of chords and conversations: New research is
exploring how the brain processes music and language. APA Monitor on
Psychology, 34(7), 32-36.
English Courses. (2003). University of California, Santa Barbara Extension. Retrieved
Nov. 1, 2003 from http://www.unex.ucsb.edu/ip/english/courses/#
Gardner, Howard. (1993). Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. New York:
Basic.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York:
Bantam Books.
Green, J.M. (1993). Student attitudes toward communicative and non-communicative
activities: Do enjoyment and effectiveness go together? The Modern Language
Journal, 77(i), 1-10.
Lems, K. (2001). "Using Music in the Adult ESL Classroom," ERIC Digests, ERIC
Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics.
Lems, K. (2002). "Music hath charms for literacy...in the ESL classroom." Indiana
Reading Journal, 34(3), 6-12.
Lowe, A.S. (1998). L'enseignement de la musique et de la langue seconde: pistes
d'integration et consequences sur les apprentissages. The Canadian Modern
Language Review, 54(2).
Maess, Burkhard, Koelsch, Stefan, et al. (2001). Musical Syntax is processed in Broca's area: an
MEG study. Nature Neuroscience 4, 540-45.
Medina, S.L. (1990). "The Effects of Music upon Second Language Vocabulary
Acquisition." (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 352834).
Moll, L.C. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to
connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132-41.
Murphey, T. (1992). "The Discourse of Pop Songs." TESOL Quarterly, 26(4), 770-
74.
Page, Nick. (1995). Music as a Way of Knowing. York, Maine: Stenhouse
Publishers.
Vygotsky, Lev. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological process.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.