TEFL Leping

In 1996, I was given an assignment to memorize "Frente a la teacher" in my spanish class. While I was apt in memorizing texts, the task felt very boring, much like learning the Preamble to the Constitution. It also felt like a slightly unnecessary exercise as I didn't feel it would teach me anything-it would simply be a combination of words and syllables that by nature of the assignment I was not even required to comprehend. As I was just starting to learn guitar, I made the choice to turn the assignment into a song. I gave it some simple chords and when I showed up to class with my guitar, I was a little embarrassed. We were required to write the poem down, but I asked if I could sing mine. “Of course!” was Mrs. Cermak’s response. And so I sat in front of the class-shaking-and played the song. And it was flawless. I felt comfortable, connected and afterwards I felt very accomplished. I felt the poem was given some life and the poet’s art was held with more respect than a simple reciting. This is when I felt the power of music, and also realized how it can aid in learning. “Music stimulates all of the senses and involves the child at many levels .” Many children or students of a foreign language may feel daunted by the task at hand and in the beginning stages may feel little connection to what they are learning. Without stimulus on varying levels, a student lacking in self-confidence or typical learning tastes may falter when bombarded with vocabulary and phrasing. Introducing music into the curriculum will exercise the parts of a student’s mind that are not typically awakened in classroom settings. Many traditional songs are also used as a way to teach lessons to students. “Do Re Mi” gives visual cues as to the notes in the major scale, just as teaching the alphabet in a foreign language with it’s own melody will help students memorize the fundamentals of that language in more ways than simply memorizing each individual letter with no other sensory aid. As learned in Unit 20 of the tefl course, many times a teacher will come across reluctant students who are less inclined to participate in class . A shortsighted way of looking at these students could be that they are not as smart as their peers, or they simply do not want to learn. But growing up in a school that did little to encourage the arts (or the artists), I have seen brilliant students falter in traditional schooling only to break away from the pack and go on to do wonderful things with their art. As those who learn should not be left behind, I firmly believe that integrating arts into everyday lesson plans can not only stir the academics of an otherwise reluctant student but also further involve the students who may not be as artistically inclined. Music is often called a universal language for it’s multi-sensational way of speaking to people, animals and even elements of nature . As I believe that hand crafted flashcards and worksheets form a closer connection to the using student than standard course book illustrations and printouts, I believe that adding an element of self and creativity to the classroom through music can be incredibly helpful in helping students learn. Make vocabulary assignments into poetry! Teach students lessons with the aid of applicable songs (whether authentic or created). These approaches to livening the minds of students in the classroom-in my opinion-are what are missing in the common idea of how students can learn in the classroom. And as a lover of music and its power to give voice to those without it, I think songs being a part of the classroom’s environment is a wonderful, effective and exciting idea I hope to use.