Friday, March 6, 2020

Jam On 7 Tuneful Resources to Learn a Language Through Songs

Jam On 7 Tuneful Resources to Learn a Language Through Songs 7 Tuneful Resources to Learn a Language Through Songs Do you think learning a language should be fun?Thats music to our ears.Music and language  go together like peanut butter and jelly but without the risk of anaphylactic shock (unless youre allergic to fun ways of learning).Yes, learning a language through music is a great way to  learn a language at home. Its catchy. Its addictive. And lets face factsâ€"its downright fun.However, finding music in your target language isnt always as simple as finding music in your native tongue, so where can you learn with songs?Check out these seven tuneful resources for pitch-perfect language learning! Why Use Songs to Learn a Language?Songs are fantastic learning tools!Theyre  repetitive. How many words do you actually think are in Biebers Baby? In your native language, this often leads to super annoying earworms. However, in your target language, the repetition is ideal. Since learning a language is usually built on repetition, songs and language learning are a natural match.They invite particip ation. Perfecting a language requires speaking and listening practice, but speaking practice can be hard to come by. Songs, however, make you want to sing along, so you get some speaking practice without even having to focus on it.They help you learn vocabulary and perfect your pronunciation.  Vocabulary is much easier to remember when you can play through a catchy beat in your head to get to the word in question. Pronunciation, too, seems much easier when its conveyed so melodically.They let you  sneak in more language practice disguised as recreation. You can take a study break to listen to music. Itll still feel like a break, but you wont even halt your learning!7 Tuneful Resources to Learn a Language Through SongsLyricsTrainingIf you want to sing along, LyricsTraining has your back.Thats because as you watch music videos, LyricsTraining will highlight the lyrics for you. In karaoke mode, youll be supplied with all the lyrics. For a more challenging option, you can also try a gam e in which some words are omitted from the printed text and youre asked to supply them as you listen. There are four different game levels, so LyricsTraining is appropriate for any level of language learning.Plus, there are plenty of great song options. For instance, Japanese students might enjoy the cutesy Ponponpon by Kyrary Pamyu Pamyu.Available Languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish.FluentULearning a language with music is great, but what if you dont understand all the words? What if you wish you could see a particular word in a different context? Or what if you want to reinforce your learning with flashcards and exercises? If these are the questions that plague you, FluentU might be your answer.FluentU offers a flexible, in-context learning experience appropriate for any level of language student. Using real-world videos, like music videos, movie trailers and news, FluentU enables you to understand what you hear on a deeper level. Thats because all videos are captioned and the captions are annotated to give you easy access to any words definition, example sentences and an associated image. Plus, if youd like to see how a word is used in a different context, just click the word to see other videos that contain it.FluentU also offers learn mode, which takes videos, pictures and example sentences and transforms them into exercises and flashcards to provide you with a different perspective on the language.Additionally, FluentUs lessons are personalized by using a unique algorithm that takes into account learner history. This way, the questions youre presented with are relevant to your studies.Check out FluentU online or download the app from iTunes or Google Play.Available Languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.LyricsGapsCant find a song option thats right at your level? Try LyricsGaps!LyricsGaps offers some of the most flexi ble and specific leveling available. Each song is labeled with the difficulty level. However, you can also set your level of difficulty for gameplay, making it particularly easy to find learning options at your level.With LyricsGaps, youre given the text of the song but a few words are missing. You select the missing words from a drop-down menu as you listen. Plus, you can click any of the provided lyrics to see a words definition (though this might not work with some pop-up blockers). For instance, students learning German might like Wie Schön, Dass Du Geboren Bist, (How Wonderful That You Were Born) a childrens birthday song by Rolf Zuckowski.LyricsGaps also allows you to challenge your friends. This competition can drive language learning (or at least bring out your competitive streak).Available Languages:  A nice array of different languages, including popular options, like Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and less co mmon options, like Basque and Visayan.Language ZenWouldnt it be nice if you could tell at a glance what accent a singer is using? Or maybe you just wish you had easy access to a brief description of the performer. With language Zen, you have this information at the tip of your fingers.Thats because for each song Language Zen features, theres a description of the performer along with the genre and accent, making it much easier to peruse the songs for your ideal match.Language Zen offers six different levels, ranging from Beginner to Advanced Plus. There are plans to include even more advanced levels in the future, so even near-native level speakers may benefit.For each song, youll have two options. You can use the learn mode, which is a quiz-based approach to teaching you a songs vocabulary, or you can opt for the play mode, which shows the lyrics as the song plays. Want to repeat the same line or skip ahead? Just click the line to move through the song as you like. If you prefer, yo u can also read in English as you listen.Students can enjoy popular options like Vivir mi vida (Live My Life) by Marc Anthony.Available Languages: Language Zen currently offers Spanish but plans on adding more languages soon.SmuleIf you cant resist a good karaoke night, check out Smule.Smule is a karaoke community. You can listen to songs that others have uploaded or use the platform (and accompanying lyrics) to upload your own videos. This can provide you with both listening and speaking practice. Plus, since you can record your own videos, this gives you the opportunity to rewatch yourself to review your pronunciation.Since there are millions of songs, you can find popular songs in countless languages. For instance, Korean students might enjoy singing along with ??? 5?  (5 Minutes by Taxi) by Mimi Sisters.You can also download the app for iOS or Android.Available Languages: Smule boasts a large selection of languages, including Korean, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and more. GeniusYou might already be familiar with Genius. When you just cant understand a lyric, its your go-to resource for figuring out exactly what you just heard.But Genius can also be useful for language learners. Thats because Genius lists lyrics for popular songs in a huge array of languages. For instance, Russian students may enjoy the popular song ?????? (Medina) by Jah Khalib. Conveniently enough, Genius also links to the music videos of the songs on YouTube so that you can listen as you read the lyrics.Since this resource doesnt provide translations, its best for more advanced students. However, anyone who uses it will find some great learning material. After all, users can upload annotations on lyrics, so you might even get explanations of certain parts of a song in your target language.Available Languages:  As mentioned above, youll find lyrics in many different languages on Genius.YouTubeYes, your favorite source for cat videos and beauty tutorials can also help you improve you r language skills with music. All you need is the right search term.Just try searching the name of the language and subtitles in English or your target language. For instance, you might search Chinese songs subtitles to find great options like Wo Hao Xin Ni (I Miss You Much), which offers subtitles in Chinese, pinyin and English.If you try different search terms, youre likely to find a nice array of options thatll help you follow along with the lyrics as you listen to songs.Available Languages: Practically every language in existence!These seven resources to learn language through songs are sure to strike a chord and help you fine-tune your language skills!

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