Specialized education of the republic of uzbekistan karshi state university

THE MINISTRY OF HIGHER AND SECONDARY

SPECIALIZED EDUCATION OF

THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

KARSHI STATE UNIVERSITY

FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY

The Course Work on The Theme:

The role of music and songs for improving listening skills of A1.

Level learners of the material of Kids English 1.

Done: Tuychiyeva Feruza

Supervisor: Kiyomova Guzal

Karshi 2020
Contents
Introduction

Chapter1-Theoretical foundation of the problem ……………....……….

1. 
   Music and songs……………………………………………
   
2. 
   Music methodologies………………………………………
   
3. 
   Language learning textbook methodologies…………………
   

Chapter 2- Practical part…………………………………………….….…...….

2.1 Results of the survey……………………………………………………..…

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………….

Bibliography…………………………………………………….…………....….

Appendices ………………………………………………………………

Introduction

Everyone knows that English is a world language nowadays. English is the most widespread language on the earth and a major world language. A great number of people around the world try to learn it because English gives them a lot of opportunities: for example, they can travel all over the world, make friends from other countries, get a quality education, find an interesting and well-pay job.

The English language covers a great variety of things: from television, radio, newspapers and magazines to the Internet. English is also a main language of international conferences, airports and air traffic control, medicine, diplomacy, and international competitions. No doubt we should study it.

Today, there are many different techniques, technologies and methods for learning the English language. Do you enjoy listening to music? Do you have many English songs in your music collection? Why not start using songs to help improve your English language skills? It is actually an excellent method to understand foreigners better. Listening to a piece of music can be inspiring as it conjures up all sorts of emotions. They contain many aspects of the English language, including common expressions, everyday language, descriptive terms and slang. Songs with English lyrics can also be a useful way for listeners to be more familiar with the language. The relevance of our work is due to the necessity of using songs in the process of language study to remember the lexicon better. On this basis, we put forward the following hypothesis: the English songs help us to learn the language better and have a very good motivating effect. The purpose of our work is the determination of the English song’s role in the language learning. The object of the study is the process of foreign languages learning. The subject of the study is the English songs and its influence to the learning of English. To confirm this hypothesis we take following aims:

1. 
   to study and analyze the necessary literature on the research problem;
   
2. 
   to define the essence of the main concepts;
   
3. 
   to identify the conditions and techniques of the English learning process ;
   
4. 
   to study the effect of English songs in remembering the words.
   

3

We used the following research methods: observation, questionnaire, conversation with students and the analysis of modern student’s books.

The theoretical significance of our work is that we studied different kinds of literature on this issue, identified and clarified key concepts, revealed specific features of foreign language acquisition with the help of songs.

The practical significance is that we selected the diagnostic methods and conducted researching work to identify the role of songs in the English language’s learning.

Our research work consists of introduction, two chapters, conclusion, bibliography, appendices.

Practical significance: this work will be useful and interesting for students and for teachers too.

Chapter 1- Theoretical foundation of the problem

«Songs and music are a tie that binds all cultures and languages and, therefore, the best way to make learning English fun»,

says Jeremy Harmer

We cannot disagree these true words. Music is a universal in human culture. We come into contact with music throughout our lives. Music plays a significant role for us. We hear it everywhere: in streets, in shops, in cafes and at home. Music follows us from childhood and we can’t live without it. We listen to music when we are happy or sad, we dance to it and we learn to play music too. Music is not just a combination of sounds, it is a real art. Language and music are the two ways that human beings use to communicate and express themselves through sound. Studying profound and intense relations between language and music throughout history, we are bound arrive to the Greeks. There is a belief that first musical instrument appeared as early as speech, which means that the language of words and that of music were formed in parallel, completing an enriching each other. That is why language of words shows so much similarity to music. Both speech and music are characterized by rhythm and melody. Close associations of language and music have rooted in people’s mind very deeply. Language and music are the two ways that human beings use to communicate and express themselves through sound. Studying profound and intense relations between language and music throughout history, we are bound arrive to the Greeks. There is a belief that first musical instrument appeared as early as speech, which means that the language of words and that of music were formed in parallel, completing an enriching each other. That is why language of words shows so much similarity to music. (Jowett 271). Other famous people, Palmer and Kelly, suggested use of music for richer encoding of language. When songs and words match in stress and accent, the learner can experience gains in comprehension of word stress, attention span, anticipation of new text, and memory (Palmer & Kelly 539).Until recently, research on the use of music and songs as a pedagogical tool in the foreign language classroom has been rare. As Falioni (1993) states, music’s use in the foreign language classroom has been relegated to recreation and entertainment states(p.98).

The intention to use songs in the classroom has often been met with ridicule and a cautionary statement that although learners were enjoying a class, they were not learning. Some of the scientists suggested that music must be used rarely and with care, because it serves as enjoyment only- to enrich the class.

Songs as a language learning tool are only recently being recognized as a methodology to be used in the foreign language classroom on all levels, regardless of the age of the learner. Jeremy Harmer in his book "How to Teach English" emphasizes the importance of music as a learning tool by stating that music is a strong incentive for student engagement because "it speaks directly to our emotions while still allowing us to use our brains to analyze it and its effects if we so wish" (Harmer 319); ); and it plays a multifunctional role in the process of learning a foreign language, it has the power of creating a propitious atmosphere, "it can amuse and entertain, and it can make satisfactory connection between the world of leisure and the world of learning in the classroom" (Harmer 319). Tim Murphey, indicates two chief assets in the usage of music and songs in relation to language learning: "music is highly memorable; it is highly motivating, especially for children, teenagers, and young adult learners" (Murphey 4). Teachers who want to keep their students interested and motivated should use songs and music activities, since, according to Larry M. Lynch, it has lots of advantages:

-songs almost always contain authentic, natural language;

-a variety of new vocabulary can be introduced to students through songs;

-songs are usually very easily obtainable;

-songs can be selected to suit the needs and interests of the students;

-grammar and cultural aspects can be introduced through songs;

-time length is easily controlled;

-students can experience a wide range of accents;

-song lyrics can be used in relating to situations of the world around us.

(Lynch, "9 Reasons Why You Should Use Songs to Teach English as a Foreign Language.")

Songs and music are invaluable in teaching English at elementary level. The repetition of monosyllabic words in children's songs can help improving vocabulary acquisition. There are songs which can be used as the basis for dramatization.

Tim Murphey states that at elementary level the dramatization of the song can be useful to express, through gestures, the meaning of some actions. Songs can be a good source of topics for discussion and different classroom activities. The plot of the song is a good basis for story telling while characters in the song can serve as a basis for role play. By interpreting and converting song lyrics into prose and discussing the style of the song students have a chance to develop their productive skills - speaking and writing. No other materials give the teacher such a broad range of possibilities for teaching various aspects of English. An illustration of language in action, the song can be subjected to linguistic analysis or turned into an exercise. Through the use of songs English pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar can be effectively taught.

Pronunciation

Singing along with your favourite English songs will help you to learn how to pronounce English words correctly and will also help to reduce your accent. You will learn more about the rhythm of sentences and how to link your words together.

Vocabulary

Listening to music will help you to learn more vocabulary quickly. You are also more likely to remember new words and English expressions if you listen to them in a song than if you read them or learn them in your English class (especially if you sing along!) .

Grammar

You might think that grammar needs to be learnt in a very structured way but listening to music will help you to remember grammar patterns and learn how to use grammar correctly in everyday conversation.

Music Methodologies

There are numerous indications that people believe in music as seen by the increase in methodologies that now use songs to teach a foreign language. This first segment is devoted to an overview of methods that incorporate songs as a pedagogical tool for language learning. Many of these programs were typically designed to teach children through song. Methods that will be discussed are Suggestopedia and the Contemporary Music Approach.

Suggestopedia

An unusual foreign language methodology for the classroom was introduced in 1978 by the Bulgarian psychotherapist and physician Georgi Lozanov. His method, called Suggestopedie (Suggestopedia) and it uses classical music to relax the student. Lozanov (1978) suggests that the relaxation techniques help learners tap into subconscious resources to aid in acquisition and greater retention of vocabulary and language structures. Suggestopedia is described as a holistic method that directed learning to both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Soft lighting, baroque music, cheerful room decorations, comfortable seating, and dramatic techniques aim at totally relaxing students, a state which heightens mental activity and concentration.

The Contemporary Music Approach

In the Contemporary Music Approach (CMA) methodology was begun by Anton Rubinstein (1990), song is used as a memory prompter. Anton believes that "music is one of the most effective memory aids available to us, especially for recalling grammatical structures” (p. 1169). The CMA method of teaching various grammatical structures of the language through different styles may accompany any textbook (See http://www.viamc.com/About.htm).With CMA, different styles of music and rhythms are correlated with the various grammar lessons, because Anton believes that a certain beat reminds students of the song, and the song in turn reminds them of the grammar. He discusses the approach as a way of combining singing and psychology with language learning. The CMA uses a step-by-step approach to combine active and nonverbal processes of the right hemisphere of the brain with verbal and logic-based processes governed by the left hemisphere to reduce inhibitions and allow the student to learn and remember certain grammatical features.

Language Learning Textbook Methodologies

It is one of the earliest teaching methodologies .This method, consisting of a well-presented book and a cassette, employs useful phrases from everyday speech set to well-known tunes. Another early method called the Audio-Singual Method by Kind (1980) uses familiar songs to teach the English language. According to Kind, “It has been found that foreign languages can be taught more rapidly, more

effectively and with greater recall through the use of song, rather than the mechanical classroom drills” (p. 49).Foreign language publishers have also begun to supply teachers with alternate methods for introducing content, which include materials for using songs in the classroom. Songs are incorporated into the methods with varying degrees of commitment, from a minimal supplemental entry to the complete basis of the instruction. Particular attention should be paid to the choice of songs. Mark Hancock thinks that a student might not choose to listen to a certain song outside the classroom, does not mean that the student would not enjoy it as part of a learning activity. Teachers are not advised to present the song as something students are supposed to like. Thus, any song could be used for teaching purposes. According to Tim Murphey, any song can be useful and motivating, however teachers should use the students' choice of music and song as much as possible (Murphey 14). Another important issue is whether teachers should always use authentic songs or not. According to Jeremy Harmer, listening material as well as the kind of tasks which go with it is determined by the level of students (Harmer 319). Music and songs in English classroom are important and useful tools. This is a great formula for keeping students always interested in the language they learn. With their help students can not only learn English but also relax and enjoy their class. There are benefits to using songs in the classroom; however, more often than not, songs are used relatively ineffective, often as activities between learning. No matter how enjoyable or memorable singing songs can be, it will not teach learners to use the language and will not give them the ability to communicate in another language. Reframing songs into tasks according to preparation, core, and follow-up stages enhance song's potential as teaching and learning tools. Songs and music can be used for practicing different aspects of English, and all learning skills can be improved.

To sum up the theoretical part of our work we can say, music and songs in the learning of English are important and useful tools. This is a great formula for keeping people always interested in the language they learn. With their help students can not only learn English but also relax and enjoy their class. There are benefits to using songs in the process; however, more often than not, songs are used relatively ineffective, often as activities between learning. No matter how enjoyable or memorable singing songs can be, it will not teach learners to use the language and will not give them the ability to communicate in another language.

Reframing songs into tasks according to preparation, core, and follow-up stages enhance song's potential as teaching and learning tools. Songs and music can be used for practicing different aspects of English, and all learning skills can be improved.
Chapter 2 – Practical part

In the first part of our research we tried to find out the role of the songs in the learning of the English language only theoretically. But it is not enough to make the conclusion of our scientific work. That’s why we took several research methods to get reliable results. We used observation, questionnaire methods for teachers and pupils. Our research was spent among teachers and students of lyceum № 11,Rossosh town, Voronezh region (5 English teachers and 58 pupils took part in it).

In order to identify the attitude of English language teachers to the usage of songs in the classroom we used questionnaire method. We have proposed a questionnaire that teachers were supposed to fill by selecting the appropriate answers. The questions are given in Appendix1. The results of the questionnaire are reflected on the diagram 1.

The attitude of the teachers to usage of the songs in the lessons (%)

According to the first diagram we can see that 100 % of teachers believe that the songs make a good effect on the studying of the English language. All the teachers use music in their lessons and consider it is one of the most effective methods in teaching.

We interviewed students from7 «А», 8«A», 10«А» grades. We gave them some questions and used the methods of observations and questioning.

According to the results we made such conclusion: in the playlists of the students dominate the songs in English. This fact proves the advantage of English songs and gives us hope that the songs we have chosen carefully will be useful and valuable for teenagers and popular among them. According to the survey the most popular songs with teenagers are which have pleasant and catchy tune - 75%, then, good lyrics – 66%

.These results made us think of the certain criteria for selecting songs in English. So, songs should be well-known and popular and have a nice melody with correct grammatical structures. Important in the survey for us was the fact that only 6% of students always translate texts of foreign songs, 15% of them try to
translate lyrics sometimes and 54% of pupils do not do it at all.

The following facts surprised us: 2% of the pupils can sing more than 10 songs in English, 14 % of students know the lyrics and can sing from 2 to 10 songs, 67 % of them know 1-2 songs.

We think the singing competition "Eurovision" which is held in our lyceum every year will help students to improve their English. All the pupils believe that it is a nice way for learning English.

70% of schoolchildren consider that English songs will be useful to them in the future. The most popular answer is for pronunciation practice (85%), to expand the vocabulary (54%), then comes “to write works and compositions” (33%), after that goes “to communicate” (25%). Based on the results of our survey we have created and definited four main features for selecting songs which are worth to learn by heart to improve and to practice English:

-the unique words in a song;

-useful and the most widespread grammar constructions;

-useful topics;

-pronunciation .

In order to select the songs we looked through the lyrics of 50 English songs, 10 of which have been selected according to the criteria above.

1. 
   “My Heart Will Go On” Celine Dion, 70 unique words; grammar structures: the verb to be in Present Simple, Present Future, Past Simple; the topics: relationships, recognition, promises.
   
2. 
   “Go Down, Moses” Louis Armstrong, 44 unique words; grammar structures: imperative mood Let smb do smth., subordinate clauses with conjunctions if, when; the topics: Biblical story, historical facts.
   
3. 
   “What a Wonderful World” Louis Armstrong, 69 unique words; grammar structures: I see (watch) smth. (smb.) do (doing) smth.; expression of admiration What a ...!; the topics: nature, the beauty of the world, what do people around you.
   

4. 
   “I’ve just Called to Say “I Love you”, Stevie Wonder; 100 unique words; grammar structures: negative before the noun, Present Perfect, Interrogative sentences with a question word, Comparison with like, modal verb Could; the topics: nature, holidays, events, people's feelings.
   
5. 
   “Yesterday”, The Beatles, 58 unique words; grammar structure: positive and negative in Past Simple for descriptions of events in the past, modal verb Have To in Past Simple; the topics: love, relationships between people, thinking about actions.
   
6. 
   «The Logical Song», Supertramp, 26 unique adjectives, grammar structures: Present Simple, Past Simple, to be (Past Simple), adverbs, the topic: relationship between people.
   
7. 
   «I don’t Want to Miss a Thing», Aerosmith, 65 unique words, grammar structure Present Simple, Present Continuous, modal verb Could, Future Simple, short form –because « cause» the topics: love, people's feelings.
   
8. 
   «You’re beautiful», 56 unique words, James Blunt, grammar structure Present Simple, Past Simple, to be ( Present Simple, Past Simple), Future Simple, modal verbs: must, should, the topic: love, people’s feelings.
   
9. 
   «Shape of my Heart», Sting, 43 unique words, grammar structures: Present Simple, Past Simple, modal verb May, Reported Speech, Infinitive, structure with if, the topics: peace and war, people's feelings, love.
   

10) «Apologize», Timbaland, 37 unique words, grammar structures: Present Continuous, Present Simple , modal verb Can, Need, Reported Speech, the topics: freedom, people's feelings, love.

The received information gives us the opportunities to make the following conclusion that the usage of songs contributes to mastering of the English language for young language-learners, pupils better. Other advantages are reduced to that we can remember the words unconsciously while listening of the English songs. That’s why teachers often try to use them.