Description
Music is an excellent tool to engage students in enjoyable lessons and is also accessible anywhere and anytime for language practice.
Song lyrics can provide an input that can be comprehensible, and customizable to the language needs and level of the students.
Music can also be used to teach the culture of the target language, not only its grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Moreover, it helps promote inclusion and cross-cultural exchange and creates a fun and relaxed environment in the classroom.
This course aims to give participants a wide picture of the purposes and the ways we can use music in the classroom as a teaching or learning tool.
During this course, all the activities will focus on Italian music and culture, but the participants will be able to also develop their activities about their musical background.
Additionally, the course will highlight a few ICT resources and apps that can help teachers with lesson design.
By the end of the course, participants will know how to include music in the classroom to develop activities or lessons based on music and lyrics and will have the methodological and didactic skills to teach languages with the aid of music.
What is included
Learning outcomes
The course will help the participants to:
- Understand how music can promote inclusion and integration between different cultures;
- Discover contemporary Italian music, artists, and events;
- Evaluate and create linguistic activities based on music;
- Use ICT tools to develop and share music activities for language classes;
- Design entire didactic units starting from a song or a musician.
Tentative schedule
Day 1 – Course introduction: why music?
- Introduction to the course, school, and external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities;
- Presentations of the participants and their schools;
- The importance of music in language teaching and learning;
- Music as a prominent part of a country’s culture;
- Italian music in the world.
Day 2 – Music and the other arts
- Linking music to literature and painting: examples;
- Linking music to history, traditions, and cultural icons;
- Ways and tools to didactic a song;
- Individual and group activities.
Day 3 – Music as a link to culture
- Connecting music to the food, fashion, and sports culture of a nation;
- National stereotypes in songs;
- Ways and tools to didactic a song;
- Individual and group activities.
Day 4 – Music and social issues
- Travel and migrations as topics in the songs;
- Music for the environment: examples;
- Ways and tools to didactic a song;
- Individual and group activities.
Day 5 – Lesson designing with music
- How to integrate music in courses and exam preparation;
- Individual or group lesson designing and its presentation.
Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities
- Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.
