The Pilot and His Daughter’s Way to Learn English Through Songs
Tung-An Kao is an officer in the Taiwanese Air Force who lives in the United States as part of his job. He talks about his daughter’s first week in American kindergarten. Her start in kindergarten was not easy, every day she would come home and share that she had no idea what happened during the day, she couldn’t even tell the teacher she was thirsty. His daughter’s great frustration made Tung-An realize that he had to find a solution to the problem.
He remembered the method he himself used to learn English when he was young. Learning English in the Taiwanese education system was a failure. So Tung-An realized that he was on his own to learn English and found that learning English through the music he loved – hip hop, helped him improve his fluency, motivation, and confidence.
The Method for Learning English Through Songs: Motivation, Music, and Language
Learning English through songs, according to Tung-An, achieves two main goals: the first is connection and relationship with the learning material and the second is ensuring that the learning material is always available.
Connecting to English: One of the biggest challenges in learning any field is to create interest and motivation for learning. Learning English through music allows to build a real connection between the child and the English he is learning.
Availability of Learning Material: One of the important goals in language learning is that the learning material should be available. When access to learning is challenging, motivation suffers. Music is available to us at any given time of the day and on any platform.
The Method: Three Steps for Learning English Through Songs
- Choosing the Music
The first step focuses on the music itself. It is important for the child to choose the type of music he prefers. Let the child explore styles and songs, so he will understand what interests him and what bores him. If he finds what excites him – this is the ideal learning material for him.
- Analyzing the Songs
At this stage, the child needs to analyze the songs by deciphering the lyrics. It is important to make sure that the translation sources are reliable and preserve the poet’s intention. It is recommended that the child write down new words he has learned himself.
- Understanding the Cultural Background
At this stage, the child explores and understands the context of the songs he loves. Of course, this part varies depending on the child’s age. In any case, this stage is important for creating a strong connection with the musical genre and thus also with English.
Tung-An found that learning English through songs using these three steps strengthens a sense of success, motivation to continue learning, and self-confidence. All of these help to reduce anxiety, difficulties and other challenges.
Learning English Through Songs with SingIt
SingIt turns the theoretical idea of learning English through songs into a reality at your fingertips. On the innovative SingIt platform available for download, you can learn and teach your child English using the songs they love the most. This will also strengthen their motivation and self-confidence. SingIt combines music and education and makes the learning experience enjoyable and meaningful. With over 100,000 active users, SingIt is proving itself to be the future of learning English through songs.
The article is based on the research: “Learning language through music: A strategy for building inspiration and motivation” by Tung-An Kao and Rebecca Oxford. The article was published in “System” – an international journal of educational technology and applied linguistics.
Mateo Rivas
Music & Culture Editor
Mateo Rivas is a Music & Culture Editor who explores how songs, artists, festivals, and pop culture can make English easier to remember.
