奈良教育大学学術リポジトリNEAR
Teaching English through Songs : A Feasibility of Exploitation of Songs for English Teaching
著者 UEMURA Morito
journal or
publication title
奈良教育大学紀要. 人文・社会科学
volume 33
number 1
page range 31‑38
year 1984‑11‑26
URL http://hdl.handle.net/10105/2237
Teaching English through Songs :
A Feasibility of Exploitation of Songs for English Teaching
Morito UEMURA
(Department of English, Nara University of Education, Nara Japan) (Received April 23, 1984)
Students'motivation and interest are very important in learning a foreign
language. In this respect, carefu一ly chosen English songs, especially pop and
folk songs are very effective, not merely because the melody of the songs strongly appeals to students and makes them interested in the words of songs, but also because many good songs have their own original authentic cultural contents. The purpose of this paper is to give some suggestions on exploiting songs for teaching English to university students in Japan.
1. Japanese University Students and English
Almost all Japanese university students have to take at least four English classes as Hhisshu eigo (English as one of the compulsory subjects) or "kyoyo eigo" (English as part of the libral arts), no matter what the nomenclature may be. An ordinary English class is usually composed of some 50 students, more or less, and some of them are strongly motivated towards learning English, that is, they are lovers of English, while many others are unmotivated at all, that is, haters of English. In an ordinary class, they take 25 to 30 lessons per year. (Each lesson is 90 to 100 minutes long.) In teaching English to students who attend such a class, songs can be very effective materials, as will be shown below.
2. Importance of Selecting Suitable Songs as Material
Understandably, if the words of a song are too slangy or dialectal or special, the song will generally make a poor material for teaching English to Japanese students with some rare exceptions. For instance, many songs which belong to the genre of Hpunk rock" are inappropriate as material for teaching English at school because the words of a song in this group are very often too simple and highly slangy, and besides, the sound of punk rock is usually rather violent and noisy, making it difficult for us to follow and compre‑
hend the words.
But once a good song or poem is chosen, it will become a good material for foreign students who may not have a perfect command of English.
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3. Poetic Language and Everyday Language in English
As Yoshiyuki Fujikawa points out in his book,'" in modern English poetry, there is no strict distinction between the language of poetry and that of prose, that is, we cannot tell the poetic words from the words of daily expression. This makes a sharp contrast to the French language, in which, especially in the symbolist poetry, the words that can be used in poetry are strictly distinguished from the words of prose.
James Kirkup also says that most English poetry His composed of naturally‑accented or stressed lines containing a certain number of feet, and this gives to our poetry some of the spontaneous feeling of natural speech rhythms."(2)
This feature of the English language, i. e. that most English songs and poetry can convey "the spontaneous feeling of natural speech rhythms", ensures the validity of using a song as a teaching material. However, the teacher ought to be careful when he chooses traditional or old songs as text. For example, in =Greensleeves", a very popular traditional song, we find several outdated words and expressions such as 'Alas'; 'thee'; 'thou wouldst
not love me'; and ̀thou my constancy may'st see.' Needless to say, the teacher is required to not only point out their being archaic in their usage, but also try to keep students from inventing new sentences as a daily expression by using these words and phrases.
4. Easiness of Memorizing English Sentences through Songs
The words and sentences of songs are generally terse and easy to memorize. Many songs are a sort of poetry, having stress, rhythm (metre) and rhyme. This peculiarity helps students to learn and memorize the words of a song without difficulty.
The melody of songs are so popular to students that it can be very helpful to make them interested in the words and contents of the songs and it will very likely make it easier for students to memorize them. I have heard many students say that they are glad to fully understand a song by knowing the exact meaning of the words, since they had enjoyed the song for a long time by just listening to the melody without trying to make out the meaning of the words.
It seems that many students, especially those who are not good at English, know and enjoy famous English songs by the melody only, without so much as trying to bother about the meaning of the words. So it might be possible to make the enemies of English more interested in English lessons through the tune of the songs they know very well.
5. Improving Students'Pronunciation through Songs
Students'pronunciation can be bettered through songs. The rhymed words contribute
to improving students'pronunciation which is often heavily influenced by the Japanese
way of speaking or accent. For example, there is a following passage in the welトknown
American traditional song, …Clementine" :
How I missed her, how I missed her, How I missed my Clemetinene.
But I kissed her little sister And forgot my Clementine.
The last two words of the first line, ̀missed her', rhyme with the last word of the third line, ̀sister.' That is to say, the two words of the first line (̀missed her')are expected to be pronounced as 〔mista〕 in orderto rhyme with ̀sister'(〔sista〕) of the third line. Many
Japanese students tend to pronounce ̀missed her'in staccato, like this: 〔mist hる:〕 or〔mist h6:〕. In ordinary daily speech, however, this type of pronunciation, 〔mist h6:〕
or 〔mist hd:〕, is rather strange, whi一e the pronunciation with the elision of 〔h〕 sound,
that is, 〔mistG〕, is more natural. Thus, by taking notice of rhymed words, pronunciation of students can be corrected.
The rhythm of songs also can make students comprehend the correct rhythm of speech. Again in "Clementine", there is a sentence as follows:
Though in life I used to hug her, Now she's dead I'll draw the line.
A lot of Japanese students are apt to say this sentence in monotony and staccato, giving stress on every word, like this‥ 〔石6u in lえif云i jii:st tii hAg h6:/n丘u ^i:z ded云il dr5:苛5 1云in〕 Actually, however, trochaic tetrameter (i. e. four repetitions of one strong beat followed by one weak beat, ′ー′ー′)′つ runs through the lines of this song. Therefore the two lines quoted above are to be pronounced in this way: 〔苛6u in l云if芝i jii:stァhAg
o03./n云u巨z dedえi】 dr5: 35 lain〕 This way of saying is far more natural in daily
speech than that flat, staccato pronunciation I have mentioned earlier. In this way, the rhythm of a song or a poem can be very effective m language acquisition.
In connection with this, Carolyn Graham, Professor at the American Language In‑
stitute of New York University, published two interesting textbooks, that is, Jazz Chants (1978) and Jazz Chants for Children (1979), in which she exploits the "tempo and beat in jazz" in order Hto develop the student's appreciation of the rhythm and intonation patterns of Spoken American English."U) Her idea is expressed as follows:
Just as the selection of a particular tempo and beat in jazz may convey power‑
ful and varied emotion, the rhythm, stress, and intonation patterns of the spoken language are essential elements for the expression of feeling and the intent of the speaker. Linking these two dynamic forms has produced an innovative and exciting
new approach to language learning.(5>
And W. S. Allen says as follows:
Music has its stress in the regular recurrence of beats; it has its own Rhythm;
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and melody is its Intonation. Spoken language behaves in a broadly similar way.' Both C. Graham and W. S. Allen point out the importance of stress, rhythm and mtona‑
tion of music and spoken language and at the same time they take notice of the simi‑
1anty between the spoken language and music in these specific features.
In discussing the effectiveness of using English poetry as a teaching material for foreign students of English, James Kirkup, who is an English poet himself, says as follows:
… reading English poetry aloud observing the punctuations, the pauses and the
sensible grouping of words into natural speech rhythms, is the best possible exercise for improving one's pronunciation and rhythm, (p. 13)
He also says that "you can learn to speak English with perfect rhythm if you practise the reading of poetry aloud" (p. 17).
What Kirkup says in the passages cited above holds true perfectly, I believe, even if we use a song, instead of a poem, as a teaching material. It is because words of English songs take, in most cases, a poetic form. In short, we could say that a song is a poem accompanied with melody.
6. Sung Dramatization
Students can enjoy role‑playing in the pseudo‑dramatic situation by dramatizing a song. For example, a humorous English traditional song, entitled "0, No John , can be used as a material of semi‑drama, in which a male wooer speaks with a daughter of a sea captain as iolows:
(Man:) Upon that hill there stands a lady, Who she is I do not know,
I'll go and court her for her beauty, She must answer Yes or No.
(Girl:) O, no John, no John, no John no.
(Man:) Madam, I have come to court you If your favour I can gam.
Come and sit yourself down beside me, For fear I should never see you again.
(Girl:) O, no John no John, no John no.
(Girl:) My father is a Spanish captain, He went to sea but a month ago, First he kissed me then he left me.
Bid me always answer No.
O, no John, no John, no John no.
Shanties also can make good materials for a dramatization, because they have a strong rhythm and were originally sung by workmen and sailors while they were actually work‑
ing themse】ves. And at an elementary leve一, as Mario Papa and Giuliano Iantorno say,
"the dramatization of the song can be useful to express, through gestures, the meaning of some actions."(7) "If you're Happy", for instance, serves for this purpose very well as is shown below:
If you're happy and you know it Clap your hands,
If you're happy and you know it C】ap your hands,
If you're happy and you know it And you really want to show it, If you're happy and you know it Clap your hands.
If you're happy and you know it Snap your fingers,
If you're happy and you know it Snap your fingers,
If you're happy and you know it And you really want to show it, If you're happy and you know it Snap your fingers.
7. Inventing New Sentences by Applying Words and Phrases of a Song
Students can invent new sentences by applying words and phrases of a song they have learned. For example, there is a following passage in HTake me Home, Country Roads", a well‑known country‑and‑western by John Denver:
The radio reminds me of my home far away.
Drivin'down the road, I get a feelin' That I should've been home yesterday.
After directing students'attention to the usage of the verb phrase of ̀remind someone of something'in the first line of the passage quoted above, the teacher can make the students invent such new sentences, for instance, by using this verb form, as follows:
1. This photo reminds me of those happy summer days.
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2. The seaport reminded us of San Francisco.
3. The man reminded me of a badger, with his sparse sidewhiskers, dark skin and big eyes.
The modal auxiliary phrase of ̀should have been (past participle)'in the third line of Denver's song cited above will also make a good material for encouraging students to make such new sentences by using this form as follows:
1. You should have seen that wonderful film.
2. She shouldn't have done such a rude thing to him.
3. As he drank beer yesterday, he shouln't have driven his car.
8. Presentation of Aspects of the Foreign Culture through Songs
Songs often tell stories about life in the countries they come from and every song has its own complete content. This means that at every lesson where one or two songs are to be taught, students can perfectly understand the story or the content of the song. This
makes a marked contrast to the …time‑lag" caused in a class where students read one or
two stories in one academic year and it is not until the end of each story that they know the outline or the general idea of what they have read, and besides, by that time, several weeks or many months may well have elapsed.
Through the songs, students can learn some important aspects of the English speak‑
ing societies. For example, HCockles and Mussels", a traditional Irish song, tells a sad story about a poor girl who was a fishmonger and died of a fever and, =Clementine" tells us something about the famous gold rush of 1849. The following is a list of other songs which can be used for this purpose:
1.日Go down, Moses" (Traditional Negro spiritual)
2. "Take me Home, Country Roads" (Country‑and‑western about coal mining West Virginia)
3.日Little Boxes" (Protest song about housing problem)
4.日Yankee Doodle" (Traditional song about American Revolutionary War)
5. "The Skye Boat Song" (Scottish traditional song about the tragic revolt of 1745)
6.日Waltzing Matilda" (Australian folk song about a swagman)
7.日Johnny, I Hardly Knew ye'つIrish traditional song about a terribly crippled soldier)
8. "Lili Marlene" (Pop song about a soldier of World War II)
9. "House of the Rising Sun" (Ballad about a ruined girl of New Orleans)
10.日Manchester and Liverpool" (Pop song about industrialised big cities)
∫ stop here although the list can go on a】most endlessly.
9. Fun of Learning English through Songs
Depending upon conditions, students can enjoy the song they have learned by singing along with a tapeィecorder or to some musical instrument such as guitar or harmonica.
But this singing along can be a noisy disturbance for the people of neighbouring class‑
rooms. Particular attention has to be paid, of course, in order that neighbouring cl畠sses should not be troubled by the big sound which arises from not only playing a song with the tape‑recorder but also reading or singing a song aloud in chorus. It is likely to cause a dilemma, however, because it is not so easy to drive the musical sound away from the class of songs.
The pleasure of learning English through songs is great and everlasting as Mario papa and Giuliano Iantorno say in the following sentences :
‥.we should not forget that singing is an exceptional teaching tool: in fact, stu‑
dents will take songs outside the classroom and will go on performing them long after the lesson has finished, purely for their own pleasure. Songs are unforget‑
table. Unlike drills, which usually slip from students (sic) minds as soon as they leave the classroom songs can last a lifetime and become part of one's own culture.
(p.vm)
10. Conclusion
When proper and authentic English songs are given as material for teaching English, they can be exploited in such various ways as I have indicated in this paper. The point is that not all English songs are good or effective in teaching English to Japanese students and that the teacher should select the authentic songs with greatest possible care. Once the good and suitable song is selected as a material, having an Englsh lesson with the song becomes valid as well as enjoyable for both the teacher and students.
Notes
(1) Yoshiyuki Fujikawa, Foo‑kei no Shigaku ("Poetics of Landscape ) (Tokyo: Hakusuisha, 1983), pp. 167‑68.
(2) James Kirkup, What Is English Poetry'(Tokyo: Eichosha Shmsha, 1968), p. 3.
(3) ̀り signifies a strong beat.
̀̀ '" signifies a weak beat.
(4) Carolyn Graham, Jazz Chants: Rhythms of American English for Students of English as a Second Language (New York : Oxford University Press, 1978), p. ix.
( 5) Carolyn Graham, Jazz Chants for Children: Rhythms of American English through Chants, Songs and Poems (New York : Oxford University Press, 1979), p. ix.
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(6 ) W. S. Allen, Living English Speech (London: Longman, First published 1954; New edition 1965), p.xi.
(7) Mario Papa and Giuliano Iantorno, Famous British and American Songs: and their Cultural Background (Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex : Longman, 1979), p. x.
References
Allen, W. S. Living English Speech. London : Longman, 1954.
Fujikawa, Yoshiyuki. Foo‑kei no Shigaku. Tokyo : Hakusuisha, 1983.
Graham, Carolyn. Jazz Chants : Rhythms of American English for Students of English as a Second Lan‑
guage. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979.
Jazz Chants for Children: Rhythms of American English through Chants, Songs and Poems.
New York : Oxford University Press, 1979.
Kirkup, James. What ls English Poetry,つTokyo : Eichosha Shinsha, 1968.
