{"id":1139,"date":"2013-08-29T11:26:31","date_gmt":"2013-08-29T11:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=1139"},"modified":"2013-09-02T15:10:34","modified_gmt":"2013-09-02T15:10:34","slug":"sing-while-you-learn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/sing-while-you-learn\/","title":{"rendered":"Sing While You Learn!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

\"nena-99_luftballons(1)\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I am a great believer in listening to music in order to learn a language more effectively. In fact, somewhere in the depths of my wardrobe I have a tattered old notebook in which I once painstakingly wrote out the words to every Spanish song I could get my hands on. So which songs could help your learning process?<\/p>\n

Spanish: <\/b>Mariposa Traicionera<\/i> \u2013 Man\u00e1<\/b><\/p>\n

If my memory serves me correctly this is on page one in that tattered old notebook of mine. I heard it everywhere I went when I first arrived in South America and I was intrigued by the few words I could catch; \u201cbutterfly\u201d, \u201cmouse\u201d, \u201cwind\u201d. Was it a love song or the soundtrack to a wildlife documentary? Once I finally wrote down the lyrics it all made sense and I even learned a few new words.<\/p>\n

Italian: La Prima Cosa Bella<\/i> \u2013 Nicola Di Bari\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n

One of the strange things about music is that it is easy to enjoy a song even when you don\u2019t have the faintest idea what it\u2019s about. I initially thought that this song was in Spanish and got really worried when I couldn\u2019t understand much of it. I then found out it is in Italian and was pretty pleased that I had understood at least a few words. It is a fine little tune and if you are learning Italian I get the feeling that you will understand it pretty easily.<\/p>\n

French: <\/i><\/b>Non, je ne regrette rien<\/i>, by \u00c9dith Piaf<\/b><\/p>\n

The only words of French I speak were taught to me by an intimidating looking secondary school teacher a good few years ago. However, I have always been intrigued by the title of this song. If you think about it, there are songs which we all grow up with and know inside out. If you grew up in the UK at the same time as me then this probably includes a few Beatles numbers, a bit of Rick Astley and \u2013 Lord help us \u2013 Right Said blooming Fred. For a generation or more of French speakers this is one of the great classics. When you learn a second language you get to tap into the culture and enjoy songs which are not only timeless classics, but which you probably never listened to properly before. This one might even bring a tear to your eye.<\/p>\n

German: 99 Luftballons<\/i> \u2013 Nena<\/b><\/p>\n

When I mentioned those songs we grew up with I forgot this classic. I used to love the bit in the English version where she sings in German. Now you can go a step further and hear the full song in German. Just try not to imagine the singer\u2019s famously unshaven armpits while you sing along.<\/p>\n

Learning a foreign language can be even more fun if you do it with a song. What songs would you recommend to a language student and why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a great believer in listening to music in order to learn a language more effectively. In fact, somewhere in the depths of my wardrobe I have a tattered old notebook in which I once painstakingly wrote out the words to every Spanish song I could get my hands on. So which songs could(\u2026)<\/p>\n

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\n\t \t\t\t\tCONTINUE READING »<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13,15],"tags":[39,40,38,30,35,36,37],"class_list":["post-1139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everyday-language","category-language-learning","category-entertainment","tag-french","tag-german","tag-italian","tag-language-learning-2","tag-music","tag-songs","tag-spanish"],"yoast_head":"\nSing While You Learn! - Listen & Learn<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/sing-while-you-learn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sing While You Learn! - Listen & Learn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am a great believer in listening to music in order to learn a language more effectively. 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