Music in the foreign language classroom: How and why?

Abstract

Despite a positive attitude towards the use of music in the foreign language classroom, teachers rarely integrate music into their lessons. Studies suggest two main explanations for this discrepancy: a limited knowledge of adapted material and a lack of theoretical grounding to support the use of music in the foreign language classroom. This article aims at examining how and why music can be used in the foreign language classroom. The first section describes some musical methodologies frequently used for language acquisition over time and provides references to resources containing music-based exercises for foreign language learning. The second part reviews research studies about the potential benefits of music-related methodologies for language acquisition and for specific linguistic skills.