When the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote that, “Music is the universal language of mankind” in 1835, he wasn’t referring to the worldwide success of One Direction! Even though the music we listen to has changed dramatically over the last two centuries, Longfellow’s words are probably even more valid in today’s connected world.
Music is one of life’s simple pleasures, but did you know that it can also help you to learn English? Here’s how music can be an invaluable tool when learning a foreign language:
English pronunciation
Trying to pronounce new foreign words can be embarrassing and daunting, particularly if you’re a teenage or adult learner. When you’re singing along to a foreign song, you’re concentrating more on the pace and tone than the words themselves, which can help in overcoming self-consciousness.
English word boundaries
When speaking fluently, we generally don’t pause between words. This can be challenging for a non-native speaker. A recent study discovered that we are able to distinguish between words much quicker when they are set to music.
English vocabulary
There is a strong link between music and memory – similar areas of the brain are activated when listening to or playing music and speaking or processing language. Research from the University of Edinburgh found that singing words or phrases in a foreign language makes us twice as good at speaking it later.
With this in mind, we wanted to find out what English language learners across the world are listening to. Just under half (48%) of the 6,000 people we surveyed said that the Beatles are the band they listen to help them learn English. We found that those in Mexico and South Korea are particularly fond of The Beatles, who received nearly two thirds (69%) of the vote. In the female artists category, 23% of English learners overall prefer to listen to Adele, with Madonna coming in a close second at 22.1%. However, in Russia Madonna retains her Queen of Pop status – the majority chose her over more current artists such as Rihanna or Katy Perry.
As for the male artists, U2 frontman Bono is more popular than anyone else in Poland, Brazil and Mexico, and teen pop sensation Justin Bieber is the favourite in China, India and Japan. But it is Justin Timberlake who holds the overall crown, with 28% of global respondents choosing him over other artists.
Check out our music survey results infographic here.
Do you agree with our findings? Which artists or bands have helped you learn English? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #InspiredtoLearn.
