Similar to how many of us learned just about anything when we were children, many language students implement music for a variety of different reasons. Music naturally promotes memorization and speeds up learning. It even has the power to alter your brain in ways that can aid and hasten the learning of new languages.
Think about how many songs you know all of the lyrics to just from it being played on the radio during your commutes to work or school.
Don’t you wish that you could substitute all of this meaningless information for something that might enhance your employment prospects or even your grades at school?
Music has long been a crucial component of language learning amongst younger students due to its usefulness as a mnemonic. Like any infant, you were likely unaware of it when you were younger but each of those songs helped you acquire your mother tongue.
The familiar melody and repeated terminology helped you to remember the information. This can be effective if you are just picking up the German language for the first time. It can also be a great way to spice up your learning and pick up some colloquial terms if you are an advance learning.
Music is among the best supplementary techniques that a German student of any level can implement in their learning. Depending on your respective ability and confidence with the language you can choose whether you want to include children's songs or more advanced German songs.
Whether they are original to the language or translations of well-known songs, just make sure that they are easy for you to comprehend and repeat. Let’s take a look at how music can help you to learn the German language.
There are a number of songs that you can learn to help you learn german.
Learning songs to expand your vocabulary
Music can also be used to expand your vocabulary in a foreign language. You could even experiment with creating your own song in order to memorise a particular topic in your next German exam at school. You can add whatever phrases you like into your song, just remember to sing it in tune and to use the melody as a memory hook.
Learning existing songs is also an effective tool for learning vocabulary for specific topics. Learning songs in German presents you with the vocabulary used in a specific context.
This will present a particular environment, a particular theme and a platform for learning German.
If you decide to learn a love song you will be using words that express longing, admiration and fondness. On the other hand, if you wanted to expand your vocabulary when it comes to expressing negative emotions, you might want to try learning something a little more melancholic.
You would be surprised what even hearing the German language more frequently through your headphones will do for your understanding of the language, regardless if you are entirely familiar with the lyrics or not.
Just remember that for you to retain the vocabulary and store it in your long-term memory, you have to creatively connect them with something else. For example, if you were trying to remember the German word “Danke” (thanks), imagine somebody holding the door open for you. You would like to be able to thank them in their own language right?
Here’s the pathway/connection: Danke and thanks share the same sound, you just have to remember to switch the consonants at the beginning and end. If your brain automatically jumps to thinking like this then you will be much faster in finding your words until it eventually becomes engrained in your mind.
Songs frequently provide these kinds of opportunities for making connections, which is one of the key advantages of learning through music. This is also one of the reasons why songs are so memorable. The lyrics to hundreds of songs can be easily memorized by people who have trouble remembering the names of some of their co-workers.
Starting with the most common German words is a great way to start if you want to excel at the language.
Why it is important to change up your learning
If you are studying German at school or university then you are likely all too familiar with how your time inside the classroom is consumed with extensive note-taking. You will likely be prescribed reading, essays, and comprehension along with various other exercises that you might find inside the prescribed textbook or past exam papers.
While this exam-focused workload may be an effective way to spend your time during the run-up to an assessment period for your German language course it can leave feeling fatigued or even stagnant in your learning.
Practising with a private tutor and working through past exam papers might be the most effective way of improving your grades in German. That’s not to say that supplementing your learning with other methods such as learning through music won’t have substantial effects on your learning.
Learning various songs in German will of course help you to expand your vocabulary, but what many students fail to realise is the many other ways that it can help you to learn the German language.
There has been quite a bit of research on how effective listening to music and learning a language through song can be. This justifies why so many university students who take the German language for their university course or as a module choose to learn through german music.
Using music to help with your German language learning is a learning method that is getting more popular among university students.
Listening to song lyrics in the language will help you to expand your vocabulary if you make sure to write down the new German words that you learn next to the English translation.
The German words that you learn when you study the song lyrics will help you in your German language course at university. The words that you study from the song or music will likely appear on your German language exam. It will also help you to study and prepare for your oral exam since you will be used to hearing the words from your musical study.
Watching German tv shows and series with subtitles is a great and engaging way to learn.
The benefits of learning German through music
If you decide to implement German music and practice various songs in the German language into your learning routine you will be surprised by the effect that you’ll see in your learning.
Switching up your learning by practising music will give you a well-earned break from the endless hours of notetaking and essay writing. This is a great way of supplementing your learning while introducing new aspects to your learning.
Instead of coming home from a long day of school and throwing your bag on the floor and going straight towards the TV to relax for a few hours before making a start on your homework, try sitting back to some German music.
Learning vocabulary in a vacuum is one of the biggest mistakes people make while learning a new language. Having a list that is devoid of applications, examples, and context can be rather meaningless and often ineffective for your learning.
Even if you spent countless hours focusing on two-word columns on a sheet of paper that shows the English translation, you might not learn as quickly as if you were to learn through a more exciting and engaging medium of learning.
The phrases that you have written in your German hardback copy may be held precariously in your short-term memory, so despite your best efforts, you won't be able to retain them for very long.
Even if you find that you are amongst the minority of students who find learning through music ineffective, it will certainly add to your learning experience if nothing else. This can subsequently improve your overall learning experience and may also help you to adhere to your study plan in the long term.
There are a few German books that can’t be missed if you have intentions of learning the language through reading.
Choose your German tutor on Superprof!
A professional tutor may be of significant assistance to students who are unsure of how to study German or who struggle with particular aspects of the language.
Also, you should pick a teacher who you get along with. As confidence is essential when learning a new language, you should feel at ease with your German teacher. The Superprof portal is the simplest way to connect with a qualified teacher if you intend to study here in Ireland.
Most students look for a tutor when preparing for their junior and leaving cert German exams or if they are looking to get some formal qualifications for the language or brush up before they go travelling.
If you’re looking to brush up on your German for one of these reasons or perhaps you have an entirely different ‘why’ then look no further than Superprof!
Millions of tutors from all around the world participate in Superprof's educational community, which has a significant presence in Ireland. With so many experienced German teachers readily available online with only a few mouse clicks, you won't waste any time discovering the best match!
You will also have the option of learning through music if you opt to study a popular German song with your tutor. By taking your time and listening through the lyrics of the song with your tutor you will learn many new words that you can use in your university exams and assignment work.
Your German language module will likely allow you to discuss research regarding the effectiveness of music in the learning of language students and why it is becoming a popular method to learn new words. This is an essay that will surely impress your teachers and will help you to secure high marks in your research module.
You can be sure that your German tutor will be a skilled teacher who understands how to get the most out of you as a learner so that you advance toward your own unique goals. Why not begin your trip with a Superprof German tutor?
You might want to continue your learning and explore German music history, this is a great way to continue learning the language. You also might want to check out any German music festivals.
By using common German idioms you will be able to impress native speakers on your next trip to the country.
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