There are many benefits to speaking more than one language. It can increase your job opportunities, improve your social life, and even help your brain. If you want to learn a new language, you can find many resources online and in your local libraries. While most people will use language-learning apps or hire a tutor in order to learn a language, music can be of great help too. This article explores how music can improve language skills, so consider reading until the end.
4 Ways Music Can Improve Language Skills
When learning a new language or trying to improve your skills, there are a number of things that can help you. Music is one of them. To help convince you, here are 4 reasons you should learn a language with music:
- Remember words more easily
- Hear native pronunciations
- Improve hearing skills
- Learn about the culture
1. Remember words more easily
Music has a rhythm to it that makes us dance and enjoy ourselves. There are times when you might have found yourself tapping your feet to music that wasn’t even playing or humming the lyrics of a song in your head. When listening to music in a particular language, this ability to remember words will prove very useful. Of course, you have to pick the right songs that contain enough lyrics but are still nice enough that you’ll end up enjoying them. Remember, the more rhythmic the song is, the more likely you will remember it.
2. Hear native pronunciations
Unless you can afford a native tutor in the language you’re learning, you’ll have to rely on language-learning apps or watch videos online. While these learning methods are good, music will let you experience how the average citizen pronounces words in their native language. Some educational videos will teach you to pronounce certain words very slowly. Even worse, language learning apps often pronounce words with robotic-like tones. These are not the ways in which native speakers will interact with you. So, unless you’re learning a new language to watch TV without subtitles, you should aim to get an authentic experience when it comes to word pronunciation.
3. Improve hearing skills
It’s common knowledge that songs these days can be very fast-paced. You’ll have to pay attention to distinguish between a word and any background music. While this might not be easy at first, practicing will lead to better results. Often, beginners that are learning a new language will complain about how easy it is to confuse words. This is one area that music will help you with, so consider downloading some tunes in a foreign language today.
4. Learn about the culture
Music is very much a part of society’s culture. Looking back at the 1980s, you’ll see that a lot of the music had to do with the racial injustice people were facing and other political affairs. Music will also sometimes include popular slang and might even show societal trends. So, if you’ll be living where the language you’re learning is spoken, you should aim to learn as much about your surroundings as possible. Knowledge of the culture is one of the criteria that The Word Point uses to select the best translators. You can trust this website to handle any and all of your translation needs. Aside from being native speakers, their writers understand the cultural background of the language they are translating. This will help prevent any mistakes in translation.
Final Thoughts
Learning a new language can take time and effort; this is why it’s important to get all the tools you need. Music is a great tool that’s relatively free, available, and fun to use. However, music shouldn’t be the only tool at your disposal. Have an open mind to learning opportunities, and you should find yourself speaking your favorite language in no time.
Author’s Bio
Charlotte Banks is an English tutor and freelance writer who speaks 3 different languages comfortably. Aside from dedication, one of the tools that help her quickly and easily learn the two other languages she speaks is music, among other things. Charlotte actively looks for ways to be useful, which is why when she isn’t working, you’ll find her providing free tutorials online.
