Language teachers use a variety of strategies while teaching. The focus and choices around such strategies range from pedagogical reasons and language development, to concerns around students’ needs and the class environment. One of these strategies has been the use of music to support language learning and help students cope with language and learning issues.
Music can support language learning because music and spoken language are connected in a variety of ways. Both share common characteristics such as ‘pitch, volume, prominence, stress, tone, rhythm and pauses’ (Fonseca-Mora, 2000, p. 147), while processes used to make sense of a language are like the skills needed when listening to music – for instance, when making the distinction between melody and rhythm. A current investigation of the music practices of teachers worldwide sheds light on these practices and how teachers are employing music to assist language learning. The most-discussed practices for music based on data collection for a PhD project I am currently undertaking were background music and listening to songs, which will be discussed here.
