LETS LEARN SPANISH WITH MUSIC!
Have you heard yourselves humming or singing a piece of a song? I bet the answer is yes!
There is a reaction from our brain. It is called Audition (or musical) “worm”. This thing is guilty of our musical taste and our music preferences. So, it doesn’t matter the language the song is, we tend to repeat and remember and may help when learning another language. In this way, the connection (or obsession) with a song, will be the first approach to a foreign language.
Until next year the song “Despacito” (slowly) from Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee had one of the most viewed in Youtube (5.146’716.008 views) not only by Spanish speakers, but from people from different cultures and languages who, not knowing Spanish, searched for the lyrics and the translation, interesting in the meaning of the song. Due to this, we could think “Music has the Power” because allows us to be in contact with another culture (and Languages) and help us to enhance pronunciation, and obtain linguistic skills, and improve listening. Today’s publication is entitled to learning Spanish through songs.
WHY MUSIC?
It’s easy, practical, and we listen to music almost all day. Human beings can learn any Language easily if they enjoy its learning, because they take it as a fun thing and not as a mandatory thing. And music is rhythmical and sometimes are catchy. They bring a lot of benefits:
One: We learn new words and new vocabulary when we search for those words we don’t know or don’t understand.
Two: We can educate our hearing. For listening many times the song we like, we will remember some words, learn new ones and look for the meaning of the ones we ignore.
Three: Getting to know more of the Spanish speaking culture through different expressions, images, and so on.
Four: Get to know local slang and sayings from every Country.
Five: Copy pronunciation and try to make the accents as equal as possible.
5 TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND.
You may like hip-hop or rap, but knowing your level it’s better to start from zero. Maybe a ballad or a not so difficult-to-understand song. Maybe you don’t like this gender, but it is important that you understand the language before understanding a fast and complicated song. I invite you to follow these steps:
💓Choose music that make your body move. These are the ones we most like and we can listen them without a break and not getting bored.
💓Choose songs you can sing or understand some words. As higher your level of Spanish is, you will go a longer way.
💓You will get to sing the whole song and understand it. But in the meanwhile, always have the lyrics so you can sing along and look for words you don’t know.
💓You can find songs in English that have been translated into Spanish, it’s easier to star with a known melody and you will have the time to look for words and expressions. (Some of Roxette’s, Bon jovi, Bryan Adams, Scorpions, Robie Williams, songs have been translated to Spanish).
💓When you look for songs in “youtube” or “vimeo”, write the name of the song/artist and add lyrics. For example: David Bisbal (Spain) Lyrics. So, it will show all his songs with lyrics. You can do this with other artists.
RECOMENDATIONS
BASIC LEVELS : The students in this group will listen to the song you chose and identify those words you don’t know from the ones you know. Then you must look for their meaning and learn them. This way you will educate your hearing to pronunciation and stress of each word. Some examples: Sebastian Yatra (Magdalena), café Tacuba (Eres).
INTERMEDIATE LEVELS : You can explore more these elements: 1) What’s the song about? Is there a message? (a story or an argument). 2) Getting to know and study some colloquialisms used in many songs. 3) Remember and study vocabulary and new terms. 4) Study grammatical forms, verb tenses, and so on in chosen songs. 5) Enhance your listening. Some examples: David Bisbal ( a partir de hoy),
ADVANCED LEVELS: Students in this group can reinforce listening, slang, and cultural contexts. Some exemples : Chocquibtown, Silvio Rodríguez, Mercedes Sossa, Reik (tu mirada).
WRITTEN BY
Adriana Martinez
October 2, 2018
