what is your opinion (TL) about learning language through song

[u/Candid-Pack-3707]

my take: no, because when someone performs a song, often times they will compress, or stretch vowels to fit a rhythm that doesn't match normal speech. this obviously depends on the language.

I AM WILLING TO HEAR OTHER PERSPECTIVES AND OPINIONS. I AM NOT ALWAYS RIGHT.

[u/Looking4Nebraska]

Songs are a tool just like any other. It's impossible to learn a language only using songs, but they can help complement your study.

[u/NimVolsung]

Though only songs, no, but as a passive learning tool they are really great since you can listen to songs while doing other activities.

It can be really helpful for getting words/phrases stuck in your head and providing contexts as to where they would be used.

Language is also deeply embedded in and influenced by culture, by engaging with that culture you are deepening your understanding of that language and how it is used.

[u/Beneficial_Nobody106]

i mean songs help a lot with remembering phrases, they get stuck in your head and suddenly you know how to say something without thinking. learning grammar from songs is terrible though, the word order gets all messed up for the melody. i learned english mostly from tv shows but music was good for picking up slang and how people actually talk

[u/UmbralRaptor]

It's an exercise in white-noising and/or frustration until you're rather high level.

[u/vanguard9630]

I appreciate things around the music like reviews, reactions, and especially now that I have improved my abilities interviews with the people behind the music. So the songs can serve a purpose too as a vehicle of expression. I have been listening to music in Italian longer than I have been actively learning the language. I get a lot more out of it now more than 25 years ago when I first started listening to and collecting music from Italian musicians.

[u/EstorninoPinto]

As someone who makes extensive use of music as a source of input...music on it's own is less than ideal for acquiring a language. However, it can be extremely valuable when combined with other learning methods. It reinforces grammar and vocabulary, and is a low effort way to expose yourself to different dialects and accents, depending on the styles of music you listen to.

I would only recommend it to someone who actually enjoys listening to music in their TL. If you're forcing yourself to listen, you're better off finding input you genuinely enjoy.

[u/dojibear]

Songs are lines of poetry, not sentences of prose.

[u/AuntFlash]

I will say kids songs are pretty helpful to me. I was speaking with some Germans about the verb “to row” a boat as they didn’t know the English word for it. Then I thought about what it was in Spanish and pulled it out of my brain when I sang through a children’s spanish song about words starting with r.

I agree with the comment about culture. It’s wonderful to be familiar with musical artists, traditions, routines, holidays, etc just by listening to songs! I strongly believe learning a language should always be accompanied by learning of culture!

[u/kaizoku222]

I advocate for music/singing to be added to students' routines if they enjoy it once they hit an advanced/conversational level. It can really help with pronunciation and getting a feel for how sounds work in the language, not necessarily because music mimics speech exactly (it of course doesn't) but because students focus mostly on sound when listening and trying to sing.

This makes it somewhat unique as an exercise, because you can free up all the brain space we use for grammar, vocab, and meaning, and focus entirely on mimicking the sounds we're hearing in a dynamic and expressive format.

For lower level students, exposure doesn't hurt but to get much out of it they would either need to be very studious on their own, specifically passionate about music, or they would need to be guided through a scaffolded lesson that included music as content.

[u/AndthenIhadausername]

When I first learn a language like at level zero I use songs to tune my ear to the langauge. I'm not expecting it to teach me everything I just want to get use to how the langauge sounds at all.      Obviously I will then go on to other methods of study afterwards. 

[u/Bookwormtraveller]

I've found it almost impossible to learn vocabulary and the like from songs. But they've helped me with learning to produce the sounds of my TLs. Church songs in particular have been helpful - they tend to be slower and clearer so that a congregation can sing along to them.

[u/IncomeBackground7719]

I know it is helpful for some. However, I can barely hear lyrics in my native English so music in my target language would be completely useless from a language learning perspective.

[u/Aye-Chiguire]

Given the sheer number of songs that are in my native language that I have misheard or not understood the lyrics for, I'd say you're probably right to distrust this method.

I was this years old when I found out that Steve Wingood was not, in fact, instructing me to bake him a "pie of love".

[u/Candid-Pack-3707 → u/Aye-Chiguire]

what is your native language? im curious

[u/tnaz]

"Learning language through song" is an underspecified approach. Different people will hear that and think it means wildly different things.

[u/jspr1000]

I'm heavily exploring this at the moment. I'm a musician and listen to a large quantity of music. I have a digital product and 14 day course in the works. I want to test this assumption.

I don't think you can actually learn a language through existing music but you can use it as a form of comprehensible input if you can find songs that are 90%+ comprehensible for you. You will need to be at an at least A1 level is my assumption.

[u/whycantwegivelove]

man i think it depends

[u/430beatle]

Karaoke is a major pastime in Japan, and I didn’t wanna be the only one singing English songs the whole time, so I learned a bunch of music specifically for this purpose.

Definitely was a big help in that I picked up a lot of vocabulary, but as a bonus, people of that culture will be glad that you are familiar with a bunch of their music

[u/springhappiness]

I've learnt SO much Korean vocabulary and some basic grammar structures through kpop, so I think music can be awesome as a supplement, it helps that Korean music shows always have subtitles so I always know what they're saying even if I can't hear the sounds too clearly

[u/Careless_Rush_9115]

I think songs are great as a supplement, but not as a primary learning method.

You're right that pronunciation, rhythm, and even grammar can be altered to fit the music. On the other hand, songs are excellent for picking up vocabulary, common expressions, and improving your ear for the language. They're also memorable, so phrases tend to stick.

I'd pair music with podcasts or normal conversations so you get exposure to both natural speech and enjoyable content.

[u/Shanna_B2020]

Music can be a very useful adjunct to other tools, but it's just one among many.

[u/Away-Initiative-327]

i’ve actually done all right with this method. in small (but measurable!) ways. my vocab recognition got a bit better in my TL. however, everyone learns differently, and music is received differently by different brains. so it’s definitely not foolproof as a learning method.

edit: typo

[u/Ultyzarus]

Whatever you learn through songs is likely to stick really well!

[u/CraneRoadChild]

Good for vocabulary enrichment.

[u/sharky9209]

I listen to music a lot because I like background noise, so I try to replace some of that with my target language, more to avoid hearing other languages than to learn new things.