Job Discussion Forums

[7969]

on celta training, they sometimes tell you that when students are doing work in class, preparing a role play or doing some other preparation in the classroom, that the teacher can put some mellow type music on in the background to break up the monotony somewhat. does anyone here ever really do that? i'm thinking of giving it a go tomorrow. the students might think i'm crazy.

7969

[cj750]

I often play Iggy Pop....and then dedicate "I wanna be your dog" to the brightest ....

[7969]

[carken]

I used music in my classrooms here in the States, but I can only imagine how loud you'd have to turn it up to even be heard over the loud drone of 40 - 50 or more students in a Chinese classroom. BTW, then it wouldn't be mellow, would it?

I think not.

[cj750]

Hey I just found out that the stooges will record a new disc....fresh classroom music....Iggy education materials are on their way...

[clarrie]

What might seem like a good idea to you and on the face of it a good idea for the students (in China), will usually mean that one or many of them are running to some higher authourity figure to complain about the crazy foreigner who is wasting time by having music in his/her class.

If you are very secure about your position and all is going well, I suppose you could stick with it, but be prepared for mention of this when they start looking for reasons not to re-employ you, extend your contract or when they just want to get rid of you!

Regardless of this, how the hell do you select appropriate music for a bunch of college/university students? And ask yourself, 'Do you work well with music in the background?'

[brsmith15]

Make it just at the lowest level of hearing. Oooops. Forgot, For Chinese that'd have to be a sound equal to that of a pavement breaker. (Jackhammer to you of the construction-uninitiated.)

[dajiang]

i've used background music at the start and end of lessons when I still had my own classroom.

This way students came into my classroom and from the start they could feel and hear they were in a different environment from the one they were used to. bit of a cultural divide marker.

This would then manifest itself in a change of lesson participation by the students as well. You know, from collective to individual, from a big gap in student-teacher distance to a smaller gap, that sort of thing.

i like to think it worked, truth is i dont know. hard to test this.

[smalls]

I once visited a small school in the Ohio countryside, and when I walked into the school, Beethoven was blasting - well, its melodious notes drifted calmy through the many little voices that crammed the hall at breaktime. I asked the prinicipal why, and her answer, helps relax the kids and adds a bit of culture to their lives - usually both without the children actually realizing it. Probably better to use music with actual English in this situation. Maybe try it at breaktime and see how that works first. Like the idea of playing it at the beginning and end of class, too.

[Steppenwolf]

I think some NEw Age tunes are stimulating and may help to hush students and put them in the right mood to participate in the activities; music with lyrics might be too hard for them to understand - either because their English is inadequate or because the language used is too abstract or metaphorical.

Since Beethoven has been mentioned - a real craze was observed a few years back with people subscribing to the idea that listening to Mozart actually improves a child's intelligence...

That was a hugely deceiving, misleading claim but at least some teachers discovered the soothing effects of classic music on the minds of highly energised youngsters.

[grwit]

[vikdk]

[InTime]

Check out the whole-brained edu-movement:

* www.ialearn.org

* http://www.njcu.edu/cill/journal-index.html
Journal of Imagination in Language Learning

Connecting the Powers of Music to the Learning of Languages
The Influence of Affective Variables on EFL/ESL Learning and Teaching
L 2 Learning:Restructuring the Inner World
Mental Holography:The Power of Imagery in Communication
Multiple Intelligences and Second Language Acquisition
Organic Learning:Crossing the Threshold from Conscious and Unconscious
The Role of Emotions in Language Teaching
Teaching English Through Broadway Musicals
Whole Brain Learning and Relaxation Techniques

[cjbaker]

I don't know if anyone else here works in one of the KidCastle chain's schools, but we're required to put the stupid CD on before and after class, and listen to the songs during class. We also have to dance with the music. The kids usually like the dancing and instrumentals better than the English part.

[Noelle]

I've found music and rhythm to be very helpful in childrens classes in both China and Korea.

The kids seem to pick things so much faster through music and often TPR activities. Someone once said the music can lollygag the memory and can be used very effectively in teaching language and mathematics to children during developmental years.

I was a music teacher before I started teaching EFL/ESL, so perhaps I am a little biased! I have just found music to be essential in my own classrooms. [/i]