The Application of English Songs in College
学号：20128061027
学院外国语学院
专业英语
年级2012级
姓名董艳军
论文（设计）题目The application of English songs in
Collage English teaching
指导教师余运伟职称副教授
2015 年 05月 23日
信阳师范学院本科学生毕业论文（设计）开题报告姓名性别学号专业年级董艳军女20128061027 英语2012级
题
目
The Application of English Songs in Collage English Teaching
选题意义及主要内容This paper interprets the application of English songs in English teaching. From this paper, we can clearly know the reasons and meanings of using them in the teaching of listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating.songs can not only help students come into contact with more vivid language input, but also assist teachers to liven up the atmosphere of the class. What’s more，students can bring English study and entertainment together, improve the English oral level of English learners, broaden their knowledge scales, know more about the background of western culture, and develop their aesthetic quality.
思
路及方法First,introduce the circumstance of collage English Teaching.Second narrate the reasons of appling English songs.Then explain some methods of appling English songs.At last reveal prospects of appling English Songs.
指
导
教
师
意
见
指导教师签名：年月日
学
院
意
见
学院领导签字：年月日
信阳师范学院本科学生毕业论文（设计）中期检查表学院：外国语学院专业：英语年级: 2012级
题目 The Application of English Songs in Collage English Teaching.
学号20128061027 姓名董艳军
指导教师余运伟职称副教授
计划完成时间：4月17日
论文（设计）的进度计划：通过收集资料查找文献，撰写论文，于13号基本上完成了论文的初稿，经修改，决定17号交由老师再次修改。
已经完成的内容：已经按照题目定向进行了多方面的材料搜集及材料分类，并选出了对论文有用的材料勾画好了论文的思路和框架，分层次的准备好了初稿工作。
指导教师意见：
指导教师签名：年月日
备注：
Contents
Introduction (6)
1 The Circumstance of College English Teaching (6)
1.1 The Characteristics (6)
1.2 Present Situation and Issues (7)
1.2.1 Issues From t he “Learning” Perspective (7)
1.2.2 Issues From the “T eaching” Perspective (8)
2 Reasons of Appling English Songs (9)
2.1 The Characteristics of English Songs (10)
2.2 Interactions Between College Students and English Songs (10)
2.2.1 College Student’s Interest (11)
2.2.2 Influences of English Songs (12)
2.3 Functions of Using English Songs (13)
2.3.1 Learning a Foreign Language (13)
2.3.2 Learning About Foreign Cultures and so forth (14)
3 Methods of Appling English Songs (15)
3.1 Pay Attention to the Diversification of Approaches (15)
3.2 Choosing English Songs (16)
4 Prospects of Appling English Songs (17)
Conclusion (17)
Bibliography (18)
The Application of English Songs in College
English Teaching
Student name：Dong Yanjun Student number：20128061027
English School of Foreign Languages
Supervisor：Yu Yunwei Title：Associate professor
Abstract:This paper interprets the application of English songs in English teaching. From this paper, we can clearly know the reasons and meanings of using them in the teaching of listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating. Along with the increasing updating of teaching theory and the constant progress of education approaches, English songs are used as good supplementary materials to achieve active learning and fruitful teaching.
Therefore, if we want to better learn English, we can suitably apply some English songs. This can not only help students come into contact with more vivid language input, but also assist teachers to liven up the atmosphere of the class. What’s more，students can bring English study and entertainment together, improve the English oral level of English learners, broaden their knowledge scales, know more about the background of western culture, and develop their aesthetic quality
Key Words:English songs; college English teaching; English ability
摘要：这篇文章主要阐述了英文歌曲在大学英语教学中的运用。从文章中我们可以很清楚得了解到将英文歌曲运用到大学英语听、说、读、写、译教学的原因和意义。随着教学理论的不断革新以及教学方法的不断改进，运用英文歌曲将被用作达到积极教学目的的有效辅助教学。
因此，想要更好地提高大学生的英语水平，我们可以适当地运用一些英文歌曲。这不仅可以让大学生能够接触到更生动形象的语言输入，还可以帮助教师活跃课堂氛围，提高教学效率。更重要的是，大学生可以通过将英语学习和娱乐结合在一起来提高英语水平，扩宽知识面，了解更多更丰富的西方文化，并且提高他们的审美素质。
关键词：英文歌曲；大学英语教学；英语能力
Introduction
With the development of modern society and the enhancing of the international communication, the importance of English language is becoming more and more distinct. As the pillars of society of the new century, new requires of English learning to college students are being put forward by new situations. Traditional English teaching fundamentally provides college students with conditions of learning English, but this cannot satisfy, for the new situation puts forward higher requests in their comprehensive application abilities, especially the abilities of listening and speaking. Therefore, to reply this transformation, a new teaching model is raised. That is applying English songs to college English teaching.
Along with the changes of times and the progress of people’s aesthetic idea, and also with the increasing importance of language and culture in English teaching, cultural factors such as history, politics, economy, art and social custom and so on are all infiltrating into English teaching, and are becoming the teaching focus of inter-culture education. Applying English songs to college English teaching can not only improve college stud ents’ English level in vocabulary,voice, cultural background, etc, but also can enrich students’ extracurricular life, create a relax and harmonious teaching atmosphere, develop the interests in learning English, and make relationship between students and teachers more closer. Most important of all, it can arouse students’ inspiration, and can be the trigger point of developing thoughts, deeply experiencing and sensing life.
1 The Circumstance of College English Teaching
1.1 The Characteristics
Before college education, more attention is paid to English theoretical knowledge, but as to college English teaching, students’ practical abilities win more
attention, and they are abilities of listening, speaking, reading, writing and interpreting. Theoretically, college English teaching requires teachers to play a role in leading and assisting students’ learning on the basis of understanding the purpose of college English teaching. Accordingly, it requires students actively and intentionally to learn extensive English knowledge, including some hidden information, such as background knowledge, cultural custom, and historical events and so on.
1.2 Present Situation and Issues
As the social changes and the international communication becoming more and more frequent, new requests in college English teaching are put forward. In the continuous efforts and reform, our college English teaching gets good achievements, but many problems occur.
In contemporary foreign language teaching, the teaching concept of “students-centered” is now joining into class. The teachers’ role has been converted from class controller to class designer, fugleman, and director. The command-to-obey relationship between students and teachers is now shifting into a partnership of equality and mutual learning. Students in class have a large space of thinking and practice. Under the guidance of teachers, they consciously and actively acquire knowledge and improve their language skills. However, this encounters great difficulties in the practical operation. The main reason is that the students can not effectively play the main role, and are not willing to take the initiative to explore new knowledge, but are more accustomed to accept ready-made knowledge in the teacher-centered situation and they often just rigidly follow the pace of teachers and other students.
1.2.1 Issues From “Learning” Perspective
Problems occurring in students’English learning arouse the anxiety of the society and students their own. These problems are mainly:
First, college students ignore the importance of learning English, and they have
no clear objectives and motivation in learning English. In order to cope with the learning task, they don’t fully grasp the knowledge they have learned, which lead to students’ infirm basic knowledge and low English language proficiency.
Second, college students don’t have right and proficient learning methods, and sometime they attend to big and small matters all at once. Thus result in the poor learning effect, negative learning attitudes and lacking of interest and motivation.
Again, college students are so anxious for success in learning English, and are lack of stability and constancy. So when getting into trouble, they become impatient. Some even give up learning English.
Finally, the excessive reliance on the mother tongue and a large number of frequent use of it, as well as the Chinese language environment, etc, are all make the students form the “mother-tongue dependent”dynamic stereotype in psychological level. So it will make English learning a lack of practical testing and immediate effectiveness.
1.2.2 Issues From “T eaching” Perspective
The modern university English education should be a set of teaching model which integrates advantages of both traditional teaching and modern teaching.But the reality is that college English teaching can not put aside the defects of the traditional English teaching.
College English teaching is a difficult process of trial and error in tortuous road, so inevitably there will be some existing or potential problems in English teaching.
First, our teaching model is monotonous, and teaching methods are very backward and are lack of innovation as well. The teaching method of word-for-word analysis in mother tongue and target language still prevails. Most of the college English teaching is still mainly based on textbook. Teachers are only concerned about
imparting knowledge and ignore developing student’s abilities.
Secondly, referring to the English textbooks, I have to mention that our English textbooks are out of date, and contents of the material are single and of poor practicability. This can totally not keep pace with the development of the times. Supplementary teaching materials are also associated with the text homogeneity knowledge. Our society is in an era of continuous updating, but our teaching content is always behind the times.
Again, college English teaching focuses on the examination-oriented education and ignores to enhance English teaching from the aspects of students’ interest and learning rules. Due to the influence of some deep-rooted concepts of teaching methods, entertaining content is always not to be regarded as the true sense of the teaching.
This mode of education will not only lead to less teacher-student interaction, but also go against cultivating creative talents that are of creative thinking and innovative ability.
Of course, these are only part of the problems in college English teaching. Students are the principal part of the college English learning, so in order to better promote students to learn English, more attention and coping strategies are needed.
2 Reasons of Appling English Songs
According to the difficulties faced by English education in modern universities, a new teaching method has been proposed and has been gradually applied to the college English teaching. That is to promote English language teaching through English songs. Applying English songs to college English teaching is not in the abstract terms and the reasons are:
2.1 The Characteristics of English Songs
First of all, English song is a charming form of art, and it has sound, rhyme, tune, song, and passion. It is melodic, and can often struck people’s heart, create a cozy atmosphere, and bring the students to enjoy the beauty. Meanwhile, English songs vividly reflect the basic rhythm, tone, intensity or other phonology of language which subtly improve English pronunciation and speaking.
Second, compared to traditional English textbooks, with abundant contents,subject matter, good rhythm, and special situations, English songs add real language material which is close to life. This makes up the defect of monotony of textbook material, and effectively mobilizes students’ interest.
Again, English lyrics contain a wealth of grammar and vocabulary knowledge, such as English written and spoken words, phrases, and idiomatic expressions, which has profound learning value. V ocabulary and phrases in the English songs is catchy language materials. Many language linguists (such as: Richards) think that in the teaching of vocabulary, special attention should be paid to the common words, because they enable students to more effectively use second language to communicate. And the vocabulary of the English songs more tends to be colloquial and close to life.
Finally, the content of English songs tend to be related to the eternal topic of Western social-cultural, nature, religion, and love of mankind, and frankly describes life’s ups and downs of different times, reflects the rich emotions of people, so it often arouse resonance of college students.
2.2 Interactions Between College Students and English Songs
College students are in a period of transition from school to men society, so they are easily tired of the rigid teaching. They have strong curiosity about new things and accept new knowledge quickly because of specific psychological characteristics. And some English songs just to meet their psychological needs. While learning to
sing English songs, their English proficiency can also be imperceptibly improved. Thus students reach a new state which integrates learning with entertainment.
2.2.1 College Student’s Interest
Throughout the development history of contemporary education, it is not difficult to find that English education attach great importance to stimulate and guide the students’ learning interest. Confucius said: “They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in it”. Bruner, a famous American educator also once stressed: “The best stimulation for learning, is the interest in the textbook”. All these prove that it is essential to promote the college English teaching by stimulating students’ interest in learning English.
First of all, it is consistent with the physiological characteristics of college students. College students are in adolescence, so their brain nerve is more active and easily stimulated by external things, which contribute to massive creativity and rich imagination.
Secondly, it is in line with the psychological characteristics of college students. Because of the more mature psychological mechanism, college students are more sensitive to popular factors. And English song is one of such factors for Chinese college students. Therefore, many students become the principal followers of popular music.
Finally, it accord with the cognition law of college students. Students have a strong thirst for knowledge and their process of acquiring knowledge is the process rising from perceptual knowledge to rational knowledge.
The use of English songs in college English teaching closely combines knowledge with fun, and abstract with image, which provide students with more perceptual knowledge and image of the material.
2.2.2 Influences of English Songs
First, English songs can develop students’ theoret ical knowledge and ability.
English written communication and oral communication become one of the important qualities of the modern college students. Through accumulated listening to English songs, students can gradually grasp the characteristics and laws of the English in pronunciation, grammar, and rhetoric, and form a correct sense of language and overall grasp ability. Even to a certain extent, students can be liberated from the monotonous lectures of boring voice, grammar, and rhetoric knowledge.
Second, English songs can cultivate students’ aesthetic judgment.
Poetry is the highest form of language arts, and songs that unite poetry with music must have a unique aesthetic value. So s tudents’ learning English songs is precisely an effective way of developing aesthetic judgment. As Hegel pointed out: If we can generally consider the activities in the field of beauty as the process of soul’s liberation to get rid of all repression and restrictions, for through the image of contemplation, art can ease the most severe, cruel and tragic fate, making it the object of appreciation. So, it is exactly the music that can bring this freedom to the highest peak.
Third, English songs can develop students’ research capabilities.
Through English songs, college students can consciously regulate learning attitude and strategy of rote and mechanical training by creating a good self-learning context, and to explore effective learning methods that can develop their sense of cooperation and team work, especially the research capacity.
Fourth, English songs can enhance students’ sense of participation and enrich their leisure life.
It is essential for college students to live a colorful life. As a simple and effective way, English songs can easily help students get rid of the boring traditional teaching atmosphere. Students can learn from songs, and enjoy life through learning.
Fifth, using English songs can promote teacher-student communication.
English songs are also an art of music. Some classic songs can easily lead to emotionally resonance between teachers and students. Referring English songs in class, teachers and students can realize the pleasant communication of knowledge and emotion.
In short, in college English teaching, the appropriate use of English songs can effec tively reach the purpose of improving students’ English level and overall qualities. So giving full play to the educational function of the English songs is an important and necessary task in the University English teaching in the present stage.
2.3 Functions of Using English Songs
2.3.1 Learning a Foreign Language
First, using English songs can expand English language environment and develop a sense of language. English-speaking environment created by English songs can help to make the brain accept the development and training of the sense English language. Language sense can be used as a standard of mastering language proficiency. Over and over again listening to beautiful English songs, students can master a lot of language expression abilities and improve their English language application level.
Second, English songs can enlarge college students’vocabulary. Traditional vocabulary accumulation is fulfilled by reading. A considerable part of vocabulary haven’t established auditory image in the brain, hence it is easy to bring about the consequences of slipping from memory after looking over them. But English songs in
college English teaching is a good solution to this contradiction.
Third, using English songs can improve the ability of using rhetoric, sentence structure, and grammar and so on.
Forth, using English songs can help students learn the Western language culture. There are many different music styles, such as the leisure of bar music, the softness of folk music, the tradition of country music, and the craze of rock, which all reflect the English language culture. Learning these songs, students can not only master the intuitive knowledge of English, but also broaden their horizon, and improve their perception and expression level. For example, authentic English language and regional cultural differences can be learned in the lyrics. Take the word “blue” as an example. In the phrase “be blue about the prospects” means“be pessimistic about outlook”, while “He i s blue.” means that “H e is depressed”, which is different from the literal meaning of a color. , Again, the “cow boys” i n English is a unique group in Western countries.
2.3.2 Learning About Foreign Cultures and so forth
To deeply learn and master a language, the basic point is to understand the entire cultural background and lifestyle of it. English songs showing the Western values and outlook toward life develop, and thus a culture which is different from the Eastern slowly emerges and gradually prospers.
The nation’s philosophical concepts, tho ught patterns, cultural psychology, moral concepts, lifestyles, customs, social systems, and religious beliefs necessarily have great effects on songs. Therefore, an English song, is not only melodic and concise, but also reflects the various aspects of social culture. Many of the songs contains historical, religious, political, social or moral elements.
For example, in every Christmas, playing Christmas songs become essential content to celebrate Christmas. Some songs depicting the different folk customs in
northern and southern hemispheres Christmas. In northern Hemisphere, for example, the whole family members will generally get together to eat roast duck, pudding, or hold a grand costume party and exchange gifts mutually. While in southern hemispheres, people eat ice cream because of hot weather.
In addition, some English songs are based on the historical events at that time, and are created in order to express people’s inner feelings. Therefore, learning English songs can be also learning about the history and current affairs. For instance, the song “American Ballads 1929” tells about the Great Depression in American. Two sentences “A dollar bill ain’ t worth one thin dime”and “Somehow we’ve gone to drugs instead of wine” all typically describe the status quo of American society during the Great Depression.
As the functions of cross-cultural overwhelmingly synchronize with the development of human society, the learning and research of English songs can also helps to eliminate misunderstandings and prejudices between different cultures. Songs and music, as the multiculturalism carrier like the most eye-catching and brightest jewels, have received a great concern of cross-cultural language teaching.
3 Methods of Appling English Songs
3.1 Pay Attention to the Diversification of Approaches
Teachers suitably process English songs and use them as material for various exercises. For example, before class, use English songs as an important leading-in part of class, for good start is half the battle. During class, English songs can help to relax and regulate learning atmosphere, thus improve the efficiency. Also at the end of class, review class by using English songs related to teaching materials.
Using English songs as homework. For example, ask students to recite lyrics of song, or take a dictation of the words, sentences, and phrases of lyrics, or train students’ lyrics translation.
To organise some English singing contests or lyrics reciting contests, which can cultivate the habit of students’ active participat ion, and stimulate their interest in learning English.
However, it is noteworthy that the frequency of using English songs in the class should not be too high, for fear that turn the English classes into music lesson and desalt the distinguishing feature of English class.
3.2 Choosing English Songs
Language educators Murphey and Young put forward two principles on the choice of songs: a song should be favourably received by students; vocabulary, grammar, and culture of songs should be as close as possible to the subject of English textbooks.
To achieve the ideal effects of university English teaching, teachers must cautiously select appropriate English songs. The subject matter of English songs is very extensive, involving all aspects of life, love, marriage, religion, politics and war, etc. On selecting English songs, teachers should pay much attention to those with positive educational value which can greatly promote students’ outlook on life and values. First, the selected English songs should be in accordance with the purpose of teaching. Secondly, the selected songs in English teaching should be consistent with the characteristics and preferences of the student’s age. Again, t he selected song’s lyrics including lyrics, vocabulary, sentence structure, language points should be consistent with students’ English level. Finally, the songs must have a certain aesthetic value.
Meanwhile, attention should be paid to avoid choosing the following types, of which the rhythm is too fast; lyrics could not be heard or the music almost conceal the voice of singer; meaning of lyrics is confusing and unknown; or the lyrics contain discriminatory or unhealthy color.
4 Prospects of Appling English Songs
From the perspective of education, applying English songs in college English teaching is practicable. From the point of view of the current quality education, it enriches and improves the college students’ physical, psychological, and social cultural qualities, so it is extremely endowed with characteristics of the times.
In the future, applying English songs in college English teaching will be more popular and more and more English college teachers will animate English class and supplement teaching by using English songs, or directly use English songs as listening, reading and writing materials, or as auxiliary teaching of cultivating college students’ sense of English language.
In college English teaching, methods of application of English songs into college English teaching still needs systematical, and effectively developing and researching. But, the potential power of such kind of teaching can not be overlooked. Therefore, this teaching method will be more and more used in university, and also be welcomed and recognized by more and more college students.
Conclusion
Bringing English songs into college English teaching is a creative teaching extremely endowed with characteristic of the times. Teaching experiments have proved that listening to and singing English songs has significant role in promoting interest in English learning and improving academic performance. English songs, most important of all, can not only improve their listening, speaking, reading, writing, translation, and other language skills, but also enable students to understand the culture of English-speaking countries.
But no matter for what purpose, only teachers proceed from reality, appropriately select and use English songs according to the cognitive characteristics of college students, acceptance and teaching content, can they better serve the college
English teaching. Although it has some limitations, generally speaking, with the closely integrating English songs with English teaching, college English teaching is moving towards a temporary new era.
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