Tag: music
Shortening Distances
This past year added a new layer to the challenges that language teachers perennially confront with the pivot to online learning. In this article, I will share a semester-long project that took place in...
No More Na Na Nana Na
Prepare to be surprised, shocked, and possibly even angered by what you didn’t know about songwriting. Your all-time favorite songs could very well be the unfortunate examples of all that is banal, baseless and...
Music to All Ears
It is intriguing to realize that at times there is little distinction between spoken languages and musical ones. Consider, for instance, the complex rhythms and slight tonal variations of some Aboriginal tribes who communicate...
Spanish Climbs Charts Online
Thanks to streaming services like YouTube and Spotify, Latin music has been gaining popularity across the U.S. According to data from YouTube, the top three songs of 2018 with the most views were all...
K-pop Inspires Korean Learners
For the first time ever, the No 1 album in the U.S. features lyrics sung mostly in Korean. Love Yourself: Tear by K-pop group BTS clinched the No 1 spot last month, surprising many...
Music & Language Lead to Efficient Brain
A new study reveals that bilinguals and trained musicians utilize fewer resources in their brains while doing tasks involving memory. This means that it’s easier for them to do so. As their brains use...
Yolngu Album Tops Australian Charts
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu has made history by becoming the first artist to top the Australian ARIA charts while singing in an indigenous language, just weeks after his death.
The late singer-songwriter, who was born blind,...
Music Educator Spreads Spanish Through Song
Sara Quintanar, an elementary school music educator, bilingual songwriter, and performance artist, has taken the international community by storm with her songs in Spanish for English-speakers to learn the language.
Her work in bilingual music...
Music to All Ears
Donna Stoering explains how cross-cultural music offers an excellent teaching tool
for K–12 students of languages, literacy, and diversity
It is intriguing to realize that at times there is little distinction between spoken languages and musical...
Music Education Boosts Language and Literacy
New research presented at the American Psychological Association’s annual meeting links music education to increased learning and literacy skills. The findings, which involved hundreds of kids participating in musical training programs in Chicago and...