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GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

CHRISTMAS
MUSIC

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1 Warm up

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Do you have a favourite Christmas song?

2. Are there any Christmas songs that you truly cannot listen to anymore?
3. Do you enjoy singing Christmas songs?

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2 Key words
Match the terms on the left to the definitions on the right.

1. airing (n) a. (informal) trying too hard to be funny, sweet, emotional or

sentimental
2. hum (v) b. a very catchy song or tune

3. earworm (n) c. a group of musical notes sounded together at the same time

4. cheesy (adj.) d. a set of musical notes based on one particular note (e.g. C
major)
5. chord (n) e. sing with closed lips

6. key (n) f. a great liking for someone or something

7. fondness (n) g. a transmission of a programme, song or video on television

or the radio

3 Before you read

You are going to read a short article about our love-hate relationship with festive songs. Before you
read, discuss in pairs what you think about each statement below and decide whether they are true
(T) or false (F).

1. Half the Christmas songs we hear are annoying.

2. Regardless of our preferences, Christmas tunes bring people together.

3. Songs full of sleigh bells are generally regarded as cheesy.

4. "Under the Mistletoe" by Justin Bieber is the best-selling Christmas song of all time.

5. When people hear a new song for the first time, they usually do not like it.

Now read the article and listen to the recording to confirm or correct your answers according to the
information in the text.

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)
CHRISTMAS MUSIC
Christmas earworms
The science behind our love-hate relationship with festive songs
1. In the run-up to Christmas, we’re exposed to a
shower of festive music – on the radio and television,
in shops, train stations, restaurants, pubs and bars.
In the UK, our favourite old bands are being played
everywhere along with newer singers like Kelly
Clarkson and Justin Bieber. And, of course, Britain’s
two most popular Christmas songs by Mariah Carey
and The Pogues are getting their annual airing.
2. So are you humming Jingle Bells or All I Want for
Christmas while you wrap your presents? Catchy
music, "sticky tunes" or earworms, as they have
become known, are songs that get stuck in our heads
– and while about two-thirds are pleasant, some can
become quite annoying.
3. Musically, earworms seem to come more often
from songs which have fairly conventional melodic
patterns together with something unusual – a key
change, or unexpected repetitions.
4. There’s a popular article written by journalism
professor Adam Ragusea, who claims to have
identified a mysterious "Christmas chord" that might
explain the popularity of Christmas songs and
why they give us earworms, although not all
commentators are entirely convinced. But research
suggests that even though there could be some
common features, the specific songs that become
earworms are different from person to person.
5. What’s different about Christmas music is that we are
all listening to a much smaller pool of musical options
at this time of year. Because of the dominance of
Christmas music in public places such as shops and
bars, we all get a lot more exposure to the same
Sources: The Conversation, The Guardian
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songs than we do at other times of year. So we could
argue that Christmas music helps bring us together –
whether we love it or hate it.
6. Dreaming of a hit record
Among the cheesy sleigh bells-filled tunes, there are
some great Christmas classics – and it’s interesting to
note that White Christmas by Irving Berlin is not only
consistently one of the most well-known Christmas
songs but is the best-selling song of all time. It also
has the characteristics of an earworm, and it contains
that funny "Christmas chord". But how does a song
like that maintain its popularity over the decades?
7. According to some theories, when we first hear a new
piece of music, we tend to not like it very much. But
repetition sparks liking – and repetition both within a
song and through repeated listening over days, weeks
and months will usually increase our fondness.
8. There’s a limit to this repetition effect. Too much
of it sends liking down the other side of the curve,
meaning that when we have heard something too
much we eventually, and quickly, get quite fed up
with it. In one research study, we find that people
regulate their own exposure to their own music over
very long periods of time.
9. A lot of Christmas music, whether we think it’s good
or bad, will be more popular than it might deserve to
be as it usually only gets aired a few months of the
year. By the time we’re taking down the Christmas
tree in January, we’ve all become fully sick of Mariah
and so we put it away in the attic with the tree, to be
dusted off and enjoyed again next year.
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CHRISTMAS MUSIC

4 Checking understanding

Answer the questions about the article.

1. Musically speaking, how are Christmas ‘earworms’ constructed?

2. According to professor Adam Ragusea, why are Christmas songs so popular?

3. Why do we tend to listen to fewer songs during Christmas?

4. What other theory explains why Christmas songs are popular?

5. What is the downside of this?

5 Find the words

Find words or phrases in the text which mean:

1. the period before an important event (phrase, para. 1)

2. repeated again and again in our minds (phrase, para. 2)

3. cause (people) to be friendly with each other (phr. v., para. 5)

4. activate, cause to start (v, para. 7)

5. a line that bends continuously, not straight (n, para. 8)

6. annoyed or bored with something (phr. v., para. 8)

7. removing decorations (phr. v., para. 9)

8. prepare something for use, especially after a long time (phr. v., para. 9)

6 Talking point

Discuss any of the questions below in pairs or small groups.

1. Do you enjoy Christmas music? Why/why not?

2. How do you feel about the commercialisation of the Christmas season?
3. Do you decorate the inside and outside of your home for Christmas?
4. Do people celebrate Christmas in your country? How?

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TEACHER MATERIALS · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

CHRISTMAS MUSIC

Transcripts

3. Before you read

Narrator: Christmas earworms. The science behind our love-hate relationship with festive songs.

Narrator: In the run-up to Christmas, we’re exposed to a shower of festive music – on the radio and
television, in shops, train stations, restaurants, pubs and bars. In the UK, our favourite old
bands are being played everywhere along with newer singers like Kelly Clarkson and Justin
Bieber. And, of course, Britain’s two most popular Christmas songs by Mariah Carey and
The Pogues are getting their annual airing.

Narrator: So are you humming Jingle Bells or All I Want for Christmas while you wrap your presents?
Catchy music, "sticky tunes" or earworms, as they have become known, are songs that get
stuck in our heads – and while about two-thirds are pleasant, some can become quite
annoying.

Narrator: Musically, earworms seem to come more often from songs which have fairly conventional
melodic patterns together with something unusual – a key change, or unexpected
repetitions.

Narrator: There’s a popular article written by journalism professor Adam Ragusea, who claims
to have identified a mysterious "Christmas chord" that might explain the popularity of
Christmas songs and why they give us earworms, although not all commentators are
entirely convinced. But research suggests that even though there could be some common
features, the specific songs that become earworms are different from person to person.

Narrator: What’s different about Christmas music is that we are all listening to a much smaller pool
of musical options at this time of year. Because of the dominance of Christmas music in
public places such as shops and bars, we all get a lot more exposure to the same songs
than we do at other times of year. So we could argue that Christmas music helps bring us
together – whether we love it or hate it.

Narrator: Dreaming of a hit record

Narrator: Among the cheesy sleigh bells-filled tunes, there are some great Christmas classics – and
it’s interesting to note that White Christmas by Irving Berlin is not only consistently one
of the most well-known Christmas songs but is the best-selling song of all time. It also has
the characteristics of an earworm, and it contains that funny "Christmas chord". But how
does a song like that maintain its popularity over the decades?

Narrator: According to some theories, when we first hear a new piece of music, we tend to not like
it very much. But repetition sparks liking – and repetition both within a song and through
repeated listening over days, weeks and months will usually increase our fondness.

FOOOOTERAPPENDIXRIGHT
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CHRISTMAS MUSIC

Narrator: There’s a limit to this repetition effect. Too much of it sends liking down the other side
of the curve, meaning that when we have heard something too much we eventually, and
quickly, get quite fed up with it. In one research study, we find that people regulate their
own exposure to their own music over very long periods of time.

Narrator: A lot of Christmas music, whether we think it’s good or bad, will be more popular than
it might deserve to be as it usually only gets aired a few months of the year. By the time
we’re taking down the Christmas tree in January, we’ve all become fully sick of Mariah and
so we put it away in the attic with the tree, to be dusted off and enjoyed again next year.

FOOOOTERAPPENDIXLEFT
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CHRISTMAS MUSIC

Key

1. Warm up

5 mins
This part gets students to think about how they feel about Christmas songs in a general way. There will be a
further opportunity later to look into the topic in more detail.

2. Key words

8 mins
This introduces some key vocabulary which is used in the reading task. Ask students to complete unaided in the
first instance, but allow them to use a dictionary later if needed.

1. → g. 2. → e. 3. → b. 4. → a. 5. → c. 6. → d. 7. → f.

3. Before you read

10 mins
Ask students to predict the answers in pairs. After they finish, ask them to read the article, check your answers
and underline where they get the answer.

1. False. "(...) while about two-thirds are pleasant, some can become quite annoying."
2. True. So we could argue that Christmas music helps bring us together – whether we love it or hate it.
3. True. "Among the cheesy sleigh bells-filled tunes..."
4. False. "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin is the best-selling song of all time.
5. True. "According to some theories, when we first hear a new piece of music we tend not to like it very much."
Sources:
theconversation.com/christmas-earworms-the-science-behind-our-love-hate-relationship-with-festive-songs-89268

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/24/christmas-music-annual-scourge-or-holiday-delight

4. Checking understanding

10 mins
Ask students to complete the exercise individually in the first instance and then to check their answers with their
partner.

1. They have fairly conventional melodic patterns together with something unusual: a key change, or unexpected
repetitions.
2. They use a mysterious "Christmas chord".
3. Because of the dominance of Christmas music in public places such as shops and bars, we all get a lot more
exposure to the same songs than we do at other times of the year.
4. They are repeated so often.
5. We can get fed up with the songs.

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5. Find the words

7 mins
This highlights useful vocabulary phrases on the topic that students can use. Ask them to skim read the whole
text again and underline the words when they find there.

1. the run-up to 2. stuck in our heads 3. bring together 4. spark

5. curve 6. fed up with 7. taking down 8. dust off

6. Talking point

5 mins
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

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