Singing

Yes, singing.

I reckon it is one of the keys to language learning.

When I was about 15 I decided to learn some Welsh; my Dad was from a Welsh mining town called Blaenavon. I learnt the entire Welsh national anthem and to this day can sing it from memory, even though my knowledge of Welsh is far less advanced.

In a similar way, my daughter, who is learning Spanish, can sing the whole of "Valiente" from memory. She has only a few words of Spanish so far.

So why is singing so useful when it comes to language learning?

1. It's easy to listen over and over again and just join in when there are words you can discern. You don't have to understand them all.

2. It is an easy-entry way of picking up the pronunciation, rhyme and rhythm of a language.

3. Singing helps you memorise the words - far better than a list. Just as a tune can get 'stuck in your head', so can the words.

4. It doesn't feel like study; you can just listen and join in to relax or when you are doing something less. 

So, where do you start? Well, you can find a radio station. That's easy now with the internet. You want one which plays songs all the time. Alternatively, you can go on youtube and find something. If you don't know what to search for, ask your stickler for songs that everyone knows and likes. You could even pick a children's song. If you are a Christian, a go-to choice would be a worship song which has been translated, but later on you will benefit more from one that has been written in that language. That has been a major help for me learning Kyrgyz, for example, as they love singing (rather like the Welsh, actually).  

So, let's say you have your song and you are listening to it, what next?

1. Listen to it and trying to 'catch' words you know. Start to sing along.

2. Once you have listened to the song a few times, work out what all the words are. You can find a copy of the lyrics doing a search on the internet. If you want, you can look up words you don't know and analyse the grammar etc. but I would make sure this doesn't start to distract you; it's okay to repeat something, even if you don't understand it 100%.

3. Learn the song by heart. You will surprised how easy it is. Having said that, as foreign language learners we can mishear and misremember things. Sometimes it can be quite funny. So find a way of checking what you have learnt. Maybe your stickler can help you again.

4. Move onto the next song.

There you have it. A really simple enjoyable and effective way to work on your language: sing!

If you are interested in language learning, follow this blog.

My name is Russell Phillips. I offer online video language tuition for English and Russian - and also German, Italian and French.

My rate is GBP 9 (nine pounds sterling) per block of 15 minutes (a typical lesson might be 45 minutes), payable in advance.  

Contact me via www.facebook.com/russelljamesphillips or on email at regnavit[at]gmail.com