Listening to music has proven to boost morale, lower stress, and enhance learning and memory. When you listen to music, your brain is engaged and you are actively listening to the lyrics, which helps you memorize them. Because of this, you are constantly putting your brain to work and are able to thrive in high-pressure situations through relaxing and stimulating tunes. When it comes to listening to foreign music, however, the benefits may be even more quantified.
Why do people listen to songs they don’t understand?
For some, it may be strange to listen to lyrics that you don’t understand at all. Many people listen to songs for the lyrics, but others actually listen because the melody simply sounds good. Because of this, people may be attracted to music from different countries, which can come with some very notable benefits. Although listening to foreign music may not be a supernatural method for learning a new language, it can certainly help.
So how does foreign music help?
We have known for a while that musicians and bilinguals tend to have better cognitive performance than others. Listening to foreign music essentially binds the two together and helps the listener understand the beats and melodies that relate to that language and culture as well as the linguistics that make up the song. Not only does this help boost your memory, but it also helps you foster a sense of linguistic composition and general cultural understanding.
Listening to foreign music can benefit you in many different ways. For example, if you are trying to learn a certain language, listening to music from that language can help you memorize the language and speed up the learning process. Think about it like how you learned the alphabet when you were younger; you most likely heard the traditional song that went along with it, and continuously listening to that tune helped your brain retain the order and the letters of the alphabet.
In addition, listening to foreign podcasts, TV shows, and music can help you nail down the accent of that language. Listening to the pronunciation of different words can help you understand how they are said, which corrects the misinterpretation of the way they are pronounced from the perspective of your primary language. Also, listening to foreign music helps you develop an intuitive sense of grammar and how different grammatical elements in the song work in the corresponding language.
Another way that music helps you develop a deeper understanding of a foreign language is by helping you trigger interest in learning more about that language. If you find the music of that language to be appealing to you, you will most likely want to find more songs that resonate with that type of tune. Over time, this sensation may make you want to learn even more about that language so that you can actually understand what is being said. Doing so will also help you develop an appreciation of different cultures as you are more exposed to the type of music that makes up the art of those backgrounds.
How effective is this?
When trying to learn a different language, you obviously will not want to rely on listening to music and podcasts as a means of doing so. Learning a different language comes with different requirements: you have to understand and memorize vocabulary terms, perfect the accent when speaking, learn the grammatical rules of the language, and develop a sense of fluidity when listening and speaking the language. As listening to foreign music can be an easy and notable way of picking up different aspects of a language, it isn’t enough on its own and is more of a way to further enhance your abilities when leisurely spending your time.
Aside from simply taking the time to memorize vocabulary and study grammatical structure, you can easily help yourself by reading books in different languages, listening to foreign podcasts, listening to foreign music, and watching foreign TV shows. All of these things can allow you to improve your ability to interpret and process foreign speech.
Overall, listening to foreign music can be beneficial in a number of ways. With listening to music and learning a new language being proven to boost memory and cognitive efficiency, combining the two can help an individual attain a deeper understanding of the language of the song and have an easy way of learning the elements of a foreign language.
Sources
Harvard Health Publishing. “Music Can Boost Memory and Mood - Harvard Health.” Harvard Health, Harvard Health, 14 Feb. 2015, www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/music-can-boost-memory-and-mood.
https://www.facebook.com/mark.stenberg.79. “You Should Definitely Listen to Music in a Foreign Language.” Study Breaks, 12 Aug. 2019, studybreaks.com/culture/music/foreign-language-music/.
“Keep Your Brain Young with Music.” Www.hopkinsmedicine.org, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/keep-your-brain-young-with-music#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20listening.
Klemin, Jeremy. “Why English Speakers Love Foreign Language Music.” DJBooth, djbooth.net/features/2020-06-29-listening-to-music-in-foreign-languages. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.
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