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Lobster · Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 3:39 pm Post subject:

I've tried playing all sorts of music for my adult students as part of listening comprehension and cultural understanding exercises. They have to do cloze exercises and answer comprehension questions as well as engage in discussions on the messages and motivations of the song writers. In addition, they need to describe the styles of music and talk about the instruments and tone.

Fact is, they hate almost all the music. They hate Jazz, Bluegrass, R&B, Alt-rock, Folk, Heavy Classical, and Country. They hate Hip-hop, Rap, House, Swing and Blues. They hate Soul, Reggae, Fusion, Traditional and Metal. They like sappy Pop and Christmas carols. Everything else flops.

The same applies to the visual arts. They like cartoons and animation, but can't grasp Surrealism, Impressionism, Tribal or Abstract works.

Yes, I've also tried just playing songs without any attached work involved, but I found that they paid even less attention when they knew that they wouldn't be quizzed afterwards. It's a bit ludicrous, because they all initially professed to having a deep interest in western thought and culture.

I have no answer and no strong opinions about the use of music as an adjunct to language learning. I just wanted to vent a bit about my experiences.

RED

Leon Purvis · Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2006 3:33 am Post subject:

When I make an in-class writing assignment, I often play something by jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd. The students enjoy it.

I think that they appreciate the fact that I try to make the class room environment interesting and stimulating. The cuts that I play are from the album "Moments Like This." The most popular cut is "Little Girls at Play."