Using Music Technologies for Foreign Language Development, a paper presented by David L. Brooks, Associate Professor, English Department, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Presentation at The Hawaii International Conference on Education from January 4-7, 2018 is pleased to inform you that your submission, “USING MUSIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT”, has been accepted for presentation at the 16th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education to be held from January 4 to January 7, 2018 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The decision to accept your submission was based on a peer review process.
The exact time and room of your session will be specified in the final program. The final program will be available at http://hiceducation.org/program/ in early December 2017.
HMCS Vancouver Pre-Deployment Brief - May 2024 (Web Version).pptx
Using Music Technologies for Foreign Language Development
1. Hawaii International Conference On Education, Honolulu, Jan.4-7, 2018 - David L. Brooks
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Language Experience via Music Technology
This presentation will focus on integrating content-based language learning
tasks, learning strategies, and intercultural competence outcomesby highlighting the
unique qualities of music and ethnomusicologyas English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) course content. Novice or experienced teachers can breathe new life into
language and literature courses, or create new content-based classes by capitalizing
on the power of music for self-expressionand exploring deeperintercultural values.
Students entering university are sometimes
disappointed to find the same tired approach to
English language education that has exhausted
them with myriads of rules and words to memorize
and which may have deprived of them of the
strategies for and inhibited their enthusiasm for
learning a second language. However, the advent
of content-based language courses into the general
education curricula is a welcomed innovation. This
paper will describe how a content-based foreign
language elective in music of the world’s peoples
for first-year undergraduates at a health sciences
university in Japan offers learners four of the
essential elements for mastering English as a
foreign language:
1) strategy-based instruction for language and
cognitive skill development,
2) holistic content mastery of an interdisciplinary
area,
3) the enjoyment of learning to communicate
through self-expression and a variety of
learning styles, and
4) increased cross-cultural awareness and an
intercultural perspective.
After first enumerating some of the values
derived from a content-based EFL curriculum, the
merits of music as a subject medium for any
teacher and all learners will be summarized.
Following a discussion of a content-based model for
language development and growth in academic
knowledge through strategy instruction, the
multiplicity of learner goals and competencies in
an EFL course in ethnomusicology will be
addressed. The central objective of the paper is to
explain the integration of content, learning
strategies, and language tasks, while highlighting
the unique features of music and ethnomusicology,
giving special consideration for supporting
language growth and creative self-expression
through content and process mastery, as well as
empowering the development of critical thinking
skills, and enhancing intercultural competence. A
sample syllabus and lesson plans will be presented
and resources for conducting such a course will be
added.
The Merits ofMusic asthe
SubjectContent
Music is a form of universal communication that
offers an evocative, emotionally satisfying,
intellectually stimulating, and culturing uplifting
environment for learning language. It provides a
vehicle for self, social and cultural expression.
Music is general and specific, personalized and
global, seriously philosophic and outrageously fun.
As a content area, it is interdisciplinary and
Using Music Technologies for Foreign Language Development
MuM
2. Hawaii International Conference On Education, Honolulu, Jan.4-7, 2018 - David L. Brooks
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affords opportunity for thematic approaches that
may be historical, anthropological, and literary in
viewpoint or apply principles of musicology and
musicianship through sensory and tactile
involvement. Music offers various modes of
interaction and instruction so it meets the needs of
various learning styles and adapts to many
learning strategies. There are few people who have
no contact or lack some level of competence with at
least one mode of musical interaction: listening,
performing, or creating. By examining the broader
range of expression that is the music of the world’s
peoples, avenues for cross-cultural awareness and
intercultural understanding can be approached.
Additionally, the myriad of ethnic forms of musical
expression open up possibilities for exploration of
music’s interrelationship with the literary
traditions of narrative, poetic, and theatrical
genres, for delving into cultural values, and for
investigating the influence of change, migration
and media on music as a form of art, as a vehicle of
social communication and commentary, and as a
medium of self-expression and socialization across
the planet’s cultural groups and throughout time.
Though the nature of the content
may have a strong influence on
the type of discourse and
functional language to be taught,
it is important to decide how the
content will be selected and
organized, and how to balance
the course objectives with the
multiplicity of learner, teacher
and program goals. Having a
pedagogical model will serve to
guide instructional decision-
making and maintain the
balance between the content,
language and learner-centered
aspects (Tudor, 1996, p.197). The
instructor needs to consider what
approaches to content-based
instruction are viable considering
the many aspects of teaching: the
curriculum, available resources,
learner needs, investment of
time and energy, and the
uncontrollable conditions of the
learning situation. Some of the
choices in approaches that might
be considered are:
• Eclectic approach versus skill-
specific instruction; (integrating
content with language and
strategy instruction); a
disciplined perspective or an
interdisciplinary, thematic
approach with or without special
support or consideration for EFL
learners; expository (lectures,
readings, discussion) versus
experiential approaches (role-
plays, simulations,
demonstrations) (Mohan, 1986).
• Parallel or Sheltered Content
Instruction with Language
Support
• Separate or additional (adjunct)
instruction in the same content
for limited English proficient
learners focusing on level-
appropriate tasks and language
• Guided Language Activities
during Content Instruction
• Pre-teaching, differentiated
assignments, use of graded
materials
• Support Structures for Language
Learning through Content
• Tutoring, web site for language
and content support, video and
audio recordings and transcripts
of lectures, study guides
No discussion of a content-based
model for language instruction
could be made without giving
credit to Chamot and O’Malley
(1986, 1987) for their
development of CALLA, a
pedagogical model integrating
language growth with the
acquisition of academic content
knowledge and skills through
learning strategy instruction.
Rebecca Oxford’s (1990, p.14)
expansion of learning strategies
to include the social and affective
was also a critical development.
A Model of Content-Based Foreign Language Instruction
3. Hawaii International Conference On Education, Honolulu, Jan.4-7, 2018 - David L. Brooks
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Content-BaSED EFLThe instructional model (see Fig.1) employed in
the world music course described in this paper goes
beyond attempting to balance the language and
content objectives as recommended by Halvorsen
and Gettings (1996). The model, based on an
earlier one by the author (Brooks, 2000), draws
upon the Foresee theoretical model of Kidd and
Marquardson (1996), but has been reconstructed
and expanded to integrate a significant portion of
instruction devoted to language learning strategies
and also to raising levels of cross-cultural
awareness and intercultural competence along
with the central objectives of second language
acquisition, cognitive growth, and content mastery
in recognition, as Gardner (1985) states, of the
personal context, motivation, and meaning for the
learner.
Content-Centered Strategy-Based Model of EFL
Instruction
A concise explanation of the model diagram will
help to clarify its intended meaning and scope.
First of all, the large outer circle encompasses the
nature of content mastery, referring to formal
academic learning that has a period of germinating
concepts and acquiring facts, (conceptualization),
understanding developmental cycles and systems
or the action of cause and effect (processes), and
achieving some measure of skill (actualization).
Language use, as defined as communicative
competence is the complicated interrelationship
between a set of essential components identified
previously by Canale and Swain’s framework
(1980) and subsequently modified as more than
one dimension of activity (Clark, 1996, p. 24), so
that in this model, cubic objects representing the
four competencies are placed inside consecutive
concentric circles to represent this layering and
interrelatedness. Moreover, all learning takes
place in a socio-cultural environment (context) for
a specific reason or for multiple goals (purpose),
involving a specific set of rules of behavior and
participants (structure), governed by both the
context, the constraints of the cultural milieu, and
the explicit and implicit purposes of the learning
itself. To be successful, language learners benefit
when they adopt and employ cognitive,
metacognitive, and affective strategies
simultaneously, which directly affect
communicative competencies (O’Malley and
Chamot, 1990). Finally, intrapersonal (self-
knowledge, learning styles, motivation) and
interpersonal (emotional engagement, social skills)
aspects of the learner, shown as the central block,
are interlocked with the essential communicative
competencies: cognitive (critical thinking),
linguistic (grammar, vocabulary, functions), social
(group roles), and cross-cultural (communication
styles, implicit values) of communication, all of
which are important in learning a foreign
language.
Multiplicity of Learner Goals and Competencies
The challenge of mastering new and difficult
content has some important repercussions and
benefits for the learners. Doing so encourages EFL
students to adopt learning strategies for survival
and optimize their learning capacity, as they may
have never done previously. The benefits are
evident in the following ways: 1) The efficacy of an
acquired learning strategy is enhanced. 2)
Motivation to learn strategies increases. 3)
Practical facility with language learning strategies
is improved because there is now reason and
opportunity to use them. 4) The content and the
requirements of the course expose EFL students to
all the forms of the learning strategies (cognitive,
metacognitive, social and affective) as well as all
modes of language learning (reading, speaking,
listening and writing.) The balance between
content mastery and language acquisition can be
navigated more effectively by teaching students
language learning strategies, by emphasizing
growth in cognitive skills (critical thinking,
inference and logical reasoning, creativity and
fluency of ideas, synthesis and analysis of main
ideas and central points), and by helping them
raise awareness of the interaction of their own and
their instructor’s cultural presuppositions “in order
to form a bridge of mutual inter-cultural learning”
(Jin and Cortazzi, 1998, p.99.)
4. Hawaii International Conference On Education, Honolulu, Jan.4-7, 2018 - David L. Brooks
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The Integration of Content,
Learning Strategies and
Language Tasks
There are five areas of instruction
by which the teacher can meet and
support the multiplicity of learner
goals in a content-based EFL course
in world music: I.) support content
mastery; II.) ensure language
acquisition appropriate for the needs
of the learners; III.) enhance mastery
of language learning strategies; IV.)
develop cognitive growth and
augment academic skills; and V.)
promote appreciation for diversity,
raise cross-cultural awareness, and
build competency in intercultural
communication. A course in
ethnomusicology affords an excellent
opportunity for the EFL teacher to
reach all of these goals by integrating
instruction, practice and application of
each throughout the course. The task
is less daunting than it appears
because there is considerable overlap
in actual syllabus implementation and
lesson planning. One of the most
important ways to help reach this
multiplicity of goals is to be sure the
students understand what these goals
are and that the teacher believes them
to be equally important. It is necessary
to persuade the students that all five
major objectives are essential and
interlocked, and that their motivation
and subsequent efforts to achieve
them are vital. Each of the areas will
be discussed separately to highlight its
important considerations; however,
the teaching and ultimately the
learning of all can best be
accomplished in an integrated, holistic
approach. Obviously, numerous
volumes of theoretical research and
practical pedagogy have been devoted
to these five pillars of instruction so it
primarily the purpose here to reiterate
the necessity of addressing all of these
in intention and in balance, and to
summarize classroom practices that
are used in this author’s course.
Consequently, not all five will receive
equal development in this paper and
the readers are encouraged to explore
them in-depth from other sources.
Supporting content mastery can
be accomplished in a variety of
ways.
The choice of topics, depth of
exploration, level of language
required, modes of presentation and
interactivity for learners, opportunities
for reinforcement, and modes of
evaluation will affect the students’
success in mastering content through
the medium of the foreign language.
Other factors which support mastery
of the content are: 1) use of bilingual
or L2 materials and directions in the
second language, 2) effective use of
instruction tailored to second language
learners (directed learning, 3) pre-
teaching, 4) advanced organizers and
5) guided reading tasks). Having
clearly defined goals and performance
objectives, and the use of cooperative
learning and content task grouping
have a strong impact as well. An
initial needs analysis will help the
teacher determine, not only the
language levels and goals, but also
provide valuable information about
what the students already know about
world music and what they and how
they want to learn it.
Selecting the syllabus content and
finding materials that are appropriate
for EFL learners’ needs are
challenging. However, careful and
learner-centered design of the syllabus
and its central focus—topical,
thematic, expository or experiential or
some combination of these—will help
the teacher navigate toward the
appropriate content materials. In some
cases, secondary and university texts
can be used with strategy support or
language scaffolding or may be
rewritten to a lower level of
readability. A course web site and
Internet communication may also be
effectively employed to support EFL
learners in content-based instruction
(Brooks, 2000; Daniels and Brooks,
1998).
Fundamental components of good
teaching also provide a foundation for
EFL learners in the mastery of
content. Classroom instruction should
maximize this support through
constantly checking for understanding
through observing and by explicitly
teaching students to how to give the
teacher feedback during instruction
about their current comprehension and
mastery. The use of cooperative
learning for sharing questions and
concerns and to assist successful
mastery of new concepts and facts is
another avenue that the teacher should
employ, taking care to be sensitive
and to adapt the expectations and
tasks to the cultural context of
Japanese learners. The teacher should
be expressly definitive about the
specific vocabulary, essential main
ideas and central points of each text or
lesson. Clearly, the overlap with
teaching learning strategies is very
strong and valuable.
Finally, the evaluation and grading
system should be thoroughly
explained and the underlying
assumptions clearly spelled out to the
learners. Will there be consideration
for both language growth and content
mastery? Is improvement over time
recognized or simply the final test
score what counts? What does
excellence or the lack thereof actually
mean to the teacher and how are these
definitions unlike or even mismatched
with those of the EFL learners’
educational experience? It can be very
productive if the course offers a
variety of assessment and evaluation
methods (i.e. essay or open-book tests,
learner journals, multimedia
presentations, or oral performances in
such forms as poster talks, group
discussions or field work), but the
instructor will need to explicitly teach
new types of projects and activities
and also make sure that the rationale
5. Hawaii International Conference On Education, Honolulu, Jan.4-7, 2018 - David L. Brooks
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1
for, importance of, and directions to
these techniques are made clear to the
learners. For example, self-assessment
tasks or peer evaluation can be highly
effective for evaluating students’
recognition of their own improvement
in content and language skill mastery.
However, the teacher must make a
convincing argument for the value of
self- or peer-assessment without
assuming that students will
automatically understand and accept
these practices or know how to
perform them. Starting off slowly,
gently and with a large measure of
cross-cultural sensitivity in
introducing new types of assessment
and performance tasks used for
evaluation cannot be overly
emphasized. Yet, for a course that has
such an extensive set of multiple
objectives, it is essential to build in
some measures of assessment of
content mastery, strategy acquisition,
language growth, cognitive
development and intercultural
competence if these are to be realized
as authentic goals of a content-based
EFL classroom.
Ensuring language growth must
remain a significant goal of
content-based EFL instruction, but
requires planning and persistence
for success.
When a pre-course language
evaluation is not possible, then the
initial student needs analysis will help
the teacher find out what the students
can do in English and what language
skills they want to learn. Integrating
functional, discourse-based
communicative language instruction
with the content mastery goals is the
key. It is essential to build language
instruction (pre-teaching, presentation,
practice and performance) into every
classroom activity and task
assignment. In addition, pre-teaching
and practicing cognitive and
metacognitive learning strategies in a
social environment conducive to
communication will reinforce
language acquisition. The instructor
needs to teach students not only the
language to talk about music and
musical cultures, but also provide a
classroom culture for talking about
language and for talking about
learning and language learning (Jin
and Cortazzi, 1998, p.100)
There should be receptive and
expressive language goals for every
lesson and instructional activity.
Students need to be made explicitly
aware of what language patterns or
performance targets they should be
able to use and do both during and as
a result of pre-teaching, modeling, and
feedback. Making time and
opportunities for EFL students to use
language skills as they are exposed to
them will benefit the acquisition of
English. Such measures might
include: pair work targeting specific
language functions, modeling
performance goals followed by
directed teaching, teacher-student
interaction or interviewing during
class, assigning a reporter or
spokesperson for group work,
language break-out (allowing students
to inquire or share in their first
language at intervals), classroom
newsletters, learner journals with
activities guided toward language
skills, and use of target language
frames and sample clarification
questions on the board or on handouts.
Revisiting the notion of
communication strategies for making
one’s self understood and for
negotiating meaning (Tarone, 1983
p.62) is also a valuable activity for
increasing language acquisition while
students are studying a content area
such as ethnomusicology.
Teaching for mastery of language
learning strategies has become a
central goal and common
instructional practice for many
English language teachers –
whether teaching content-based
or skill-focused courses.
Large numbers of research studies,
pedagogical guidelines, instructions
handbooks and theoretical volumes
over the last ten years extol the merits
of and provide guidance for effective
learning strategy instruction.
Therefore, may it suffice here to
simply state the overreaching
principles that have become evident
from this author’s experience in
strategy-based language teaching: 1)
Select those strategies that are most
relevant for learning the content and
its requisite language skills. 2) Teach
only one strategy at a time and
provide practice before assuming it
has been mastered, 3) Monitor,
evaluate and reflect on the value of
strategies and their mastery; teach
students to do so too. 4) Gender,
cultural background and educational
experience strongly affect strategy
use, choice, instruction and evaluation
(Oxford, 1996, xi-xii). However,
Japanese students enjoy success in
learning and can be enticed to adopt
and use new strategi es if convinced of
their value and coaxed in culturally
sensitive ways. 5) The types of
strategy instruction that are most
relevant and easily adopted are those
that are directly related to the
language tasks the teacher has set for
the students. For examplehaving
students research and present a poster
talk in the target language provides
the perfect opportuity for teaching
learning strategies as they prepare for
this project because they are more
willing to accept and use what is
immediately useful. The relevant
strategies might include: asking for
clarification, using context to learn
new words, finding the main idea,
taking notes, planning and setting
goals, self-evaluation and monitoring
one’s goals, encouraging oneself, and
structured practice and review; many
of which would be applicable to
reading to do the research, writing the
text, and designing the poster, and
giving the oral presentation on the
poster topic. Subsequently, as
members of the audience who view
the poster talks, students would
benefit from learning other types of
strategies – such as selective attention,
listening for key words, asking
questions, cooperating with others,
guessing intelligently, and using prior
knowledge.
Developing cognitive skills
and fostering academic
growth are important facets
of the content-based EFL
course.
While learning strategy instruction is
primarily focused on language, it is
also the responsibility of all teachers
of any students and especially at the
6. Hawaii International Conference On Education, Honolulu, Jan.4-7, 2018 - David L. Brooks
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college level to teach learners to use their minds. Language
teachers in content-based courses can teach EFL students to
think critically, to reason logically, to employ fluency,
creativity and flexibility in their mental processes, to
establish habits of mind that help them infer the main ideas,
draw conclusions, and summarize effectively. Clearly there
is strong overlap with these goals and learning strategy
instruction. Yet there should be definite plans for teaching
these skills through directed instruction, modeling, think
alouds (verbalizing one’s own thinking processes), and
cognitive organizational techniques such as mind mapping,
semantic threads, brainstorming, graphic organizers,
recognition of discourse markers and patterns of logical
discourse. Recognizing and validating cross-cultural
differences in situated cognition (Oxford, 1996, x), the
notion that the development of knowledge is defined,
framed and influenced by the cultural context of the
learners and the nature of the learning and its meaning
within that culture, is vitally important. Moreover, helping
students learn about and appreciate how other people of the
world think through understanding their music, its values
and forms of expression is an admirable and achievable
undertaking for a content-focused, strategy-based,
intercultural course in world music.
Promoting a global perspective and building intercultural
competency is particularly feasible in a content-based
course in world music.
The intercultural dimensions almost inherent in such a
course provide avenues for teaching students about
diversity and can open doors to cross-cultural
understanding. The nature of the content affords the teacher
the opportunity to teach Japanese students in a monolingual
and dominantly homogenous culture to look for similarities
or universalities among humans through their musical
cultures and then to develop an appreciation for diversity by
looking at the reasons for the differences. The essence of
the goals for promoting a global perspective should include:
1) Developing respect in our students for the cultures and
values of other ethnic groups as well as an increased
understanding of their own.
2) Helping students appreciate human similarities as well as
differences.
3) Providing opportunities for students to experience
peoples of different ethnicity and [an exposure to the
diversity of world cultures] in positive and supportive ways
4) Demonstrating active efforts to understand and redress
issues of intolerance, [inequality, prejudice, and social
inequities.]
5) Nurturing in students the ability to [contemplate
environmental and social problems], assess different
perspectives on [moral issues, and to seek compassionate]
Conclusion
The intent of this paper has been
to establish the rationale for, the
value of, and a description of a
pedagogical model for
implementing content-based
strategy-focused instruction for
English as a foreign language
learners using music as the
subject matter. Moreover, while
highlighting the virtues of music
as a interdisciplinary and
approachable point of departure
for all learners and any teacher
because of its breadth of
expression, modes of interaction,
and accessibility in all our lives,
the main focus has been to
exhort teachers to meet the
challenge and enjoy the
satisfaction of achieving a
multiplicity of goals for students.
Content-based instruction,
especially with a cross-
disciplinary field such as
ethnomusicology, affords the
opportunity to simultaneously
teach for content mastery, to
support language acquisition, to
enhance application of language
learning strategies, to foster
cognitive growth, and to build a
global perspective while
increasing competency in
intercultural communication.
Enthusiasm and commitment are
vital and determining forces in
learning; therefore, it behooves
us all to teach something we
truly enjoy and to reap the
rewards of attempting the
challenge of significant learning
in our classrooms.
References: The list of
bibliographic references can be
viewed at the author’s site:
http://leon.blogspot.com
Author: David L. Brooks,
Associate Professor, Kitasato
University 1-15-1 Kitasato,
Minami-ku, Sagamihara Japan
252-0372
7. Hawaii International Conference On Education, Honolulu, Jan.4-7, 2018 - David L. Brooks
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Sample Syllabus (Two approaches) Ethnic Music: Survey of music of the world’s peoples
Course Goals Through an introductory study of the traditional music of major world cultures, students
will broaden their knowledge of the diversity of ethnic music, gain an appreciation of non-
western musical expression, and expand their English language skills.
Subject
Content
Music of the world’s peoples is enormously varied in musical elements, forms,
instruments, purposes, and traditions. This course will explore the major music cultures
of the world, especially the traditional music of non-western societies. The course will be
taught in English. Students must be willing to learn to identify and learn to appreciate a
wide spectrum of ethnic music.
Month Thematic/ Experiential Approach Topical / Geographic Approach
April Nature of music and its roles; Intro to
ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology, Value of music in cultures,
Elements of musical analysis
May Artistic Tradition and Way of Life
The Power and Spirit of Music Flow of the
River, Beat of the Drum
Explore traditional music of India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel,
Egypt, North Africa
June Instruments: Machination of Sound;
Melody: a Global Voice
Investigate the music of China, Korea, and
Japan
July Music Workshop Activities
Term Evaluation (multimedia project, or
poster talk)
Ensemble playing, instrument- making,
cultural activities; Content and Listening
Test
August Summer Break Assignment: making
instruments, performance preparation,
music reviews
Choice of summer homework activities
September Harmony: the Quilt of Sound, Form:
Acoustic Architecture
Explore music of Thailand, Indonesia, Laos,
Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, The
Philippines,
October Modes of Music Interaction; Music and
Humanity: Celebration, Death, Work,
Relationships
Explore music of the South Pacific
Investigate music of East and West Africa;
Afro-American music
November Musical Man, God and Nature
Music and Dance, Relationship of Music
and Literary Expression
Musical Theatre
Explore music of Latin and South America,
Native American peoples
Physical, dramatic, and visual expression in
the performing arts
December Cultural Memory and Identity
Music Workshop Activities
Preparation for Course Projects
Ensemble Performance, Ethnic Cultural
Performances
Research on topics for presentations
January Presentation of Course Projects, Final
Exam; Performances
Presentations of Course Projects
Content and Listening Exam 2
Pre-requisites: Pre-course survey, oral interview No musical training needed Once/week
Evaluation: Attendance, class participation, homework/journal, music workshop activities,
performances, courses project, tests, fieldwork
Materials: Lectures, handouts/readings, CD/audio cassettes (listening samples);
on Course Website (in Moodle, Webjam, Facebook page or elsewhere)
8. Hawaii International Conference On Education, Honolulu, Jan.4-7, 2018 - David L. Brooks
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Language, Learning Strategies, Critical Thinking and Global Perspective
Pre-teaching: 1. Prior to the Mystery Tour, play recordings of some animal noises or sounds effects; have
students think of what tell themselves about the noises. In some cases, drawing or writing down
their reactions might help focus the task. Use these reactions to generate questions in English
2.Use these to illustrate intended learning strategies. 3. Distribute blank maps and have students
work in pairs to locate these cultural areas on the map (Latin America, Eastern Europe,
Southeast Asia, Caribbean, Polynesia, West Africa, the Middle East, China). 4) Review basic
music terms (introduced in a previous lesson): beat (strong, weak accented), tempo (fast / slow /
easy / walking), instruments, voice(s), melody, rhythm, harmony, style
Presentation: Model the inquiry approach ( asking questions or expressing possibility) which students
will use in their pair or group to try to identify the location and musical characteristics of the
unknown pieces to be played. First, use a separate recorded example for which they are familiar,
such as Japanese pops or American rock. Present the Target Language Forms on board or on a
handout (Where do you think it comes from? What country does it come from? Where do they play
this kind of music? It sounds like ____. I can hear ____ so maybe it is from _____. What
instrument(s) do you hear? They might use this _____ in ____. How many people are singing? I
think this music comes from China because the melody sounds Chinese. I think the instrument
could be a kind of Chinese violin.)
Practice: Play the examples and have students use the target language with each other to try to identify
musical characteristics that give clues to its origin. The instructor may group the several
examples so that similarities make identification easier.
Performance: Pairs share their information; have each group query the teacher about specific examples;
assign a spokesperson from each group to present collected data on their hypothetical
identification of an example (their choice.) Re-play listen to selections once all are identified to
focus on similarities and differences (task 2, 3)
Evaluation: Have students write about the Musical Mystery Tour in their learner diaries. Make a similar
activity part of the students’ course project (s) by having them create their own musical mystery
activity.
Task:
Appropriate as a mini-
lesson in any type of
course
Level: Upper Beginner
to Intermediate
Musical Mystery Tour: An inquiry-driven lesson early in the course. In pairs (or
quads), students listen to musical samples played without the instructor giving out
the country, title or style. Language Focus: Asking questions to check
understanding and get information Goals: 1) They try to identify the world
geographic region where the music originated. 2) They also focus on similarities and
differences in the samples to draw conclusions about how musical elements might
be determined by the geographic and cultural environment and 3) about how
musical styles migrate.
Goals: Learning Strategies: using prior knowledge, selective attention, asking questions,
cooperation, drawing conclusions; Target Language: questions, expressing
possibilities using modals (might be, could be); describing (It sounds like__, I can
hear __ ) Global Perspective: Student inquiry is valued by the teacher and peer
cooperation has benefits. The diversity of forms of musical expression is enormous.
Cultural regions share similarities because of the physical environment. Music
styles migrate and influence across great distances.
Materials: Blank world maps (A-3) for each pair; access to world maps or atlas, teacher plays
audio samples (Smithsonian Folkways World Music Collection CD is an excellent
source in one volume.)
9. Hawaii International Conference On Education, Honolulu, Jan.4-7, 2018 - David L. Brooks
9
Teaching Resources for World Music
Teaching Resources:
The Learning Strategies Handbook. (Chamot, et al) Longman (1999) Lesson plans,
theory, tips, checklists and other help for teaching language learning strategies.
World Music Textbooks
Excursions in World Music. 2nd ed. (Nettl, et al) Prentice Hall (1997)
Accompanying CD / cassette tapes separate.
Worlds of Music: An introduction to the Music of the World’s Peoples. J.T. Titon (Ed.) 3rd ed. Prentice Hall
International (Schirmer Books, 1996) Accompanying CD / cassette tapes separate.
Planet Musician: The World Music Sourcebook for Musicians. (J.L. Lieberman) Hal Leonard (1998).
Includes CD featuring practice material and technical exercises.
Musics of Many Cultures: An Introduction. E. May (Ed.) University of California Press (1980). Includes
three phonograph recordings.
Music of the Whole Earth (D. Reck) Da Capo Press (1977, 1997 in paperback).
The Kingfisher Young People’s Book of Music. C.Wilson, (Ed.) Kingfisher (1996) Short articles and
abundant visual images; written for children; covers all types of music; more appropriate for reference
than textbook.
Other Books on world music
World Music: The Rough Guide (The Rough Guides, 1994) Useful reference on influence and trends of
ethnic music on world music of today; includes discography. Related CD collections are available
separately.
Make Mine Music! (Tom Walther) Little, Brown& Company (1981). Description of the families of musical
instruments and plans for making a variety of simple ones.
Media Resources
Video
YouTube offers a wide assortment of vocal and instrumental music from various countries.
The JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance [video 1recordings] Publisher: Tokyo : JVC,
Victor Company of Japan 1988 [Available from: Cambridge, MA : Rounder Records, 1990] JVC
has produced a major work ( 30 volumes with guide) giving insight into cultural traditions of
music and dance throughout the world. The volumes are organized geographically. Japanese
title: .世界民族音楽大系 1-30 巻 (Japanese music is not included in this anthology but in a
separate video anthology)
Audio Recordings
Smithsonian Folkways World Music Collection – CD anthology of 28
sample provides an excellent resource for class or independent
student listening. Find them at your favorite music store or go to
http://www.folkways.si.edu/
The Rough Guide Series (World Music Network) – CD collections on
specific geographic areas, highlights traditional and current world
music stars.
http://www.worldmusic.net/
Internet and iPad Resources
Iphone or iPad apps: World Music, GarageBand, studio.M, Componendo, various instruments
Ethnomusicology Resources http://library.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/
Society for Ethnomusicolgy http://www.indiana.edu/~ethmusic/
Indiana University Music Resources for Ethnomusicology
http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/ethnic.html