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Dedicated to the multi-media needs of our profession Department of Modern Languages Assisted by Richard A. Raschio Newsnotes In this issue, our articles focus on «low tech» applications. Based on several years of experience, Ronald Anton's discussion deals with a practical, step-by-step approach to the use of singing-supported with audio tapes -to help students learn Spanish more effectively. A videotape, which clarifies how teachers should employ this method, also accompanies his software. The second article, by Kathleen James and Charlotte Groff Aldridge details the use of several different techniques which have proven successful for enlivening language learning through the use of audio tapes, synchronized slide and tape shows, «homemade» as well as commercial videos, and so forth. Both of these articles focus on an important point: audiovisual equipment is of little value without creative, well-planned applications that students can enjoy and benefit from. In the «Reports and Notes» section, we have presented the latest information available not only for advanced media, such as computer-assisted instruction or the use of satellite communications, but also information on simpler media like maps, magazines, and bibliographies. Similarly, the reviews in this issue reflect our continuing effort to cover the wide range of materials available for «technologically-assisted language learning», from basic and immediately available «low tech» applications to complex and expensive «high tech» innovations. Two reviews focus on magazines that teachers can use to enrich classroom activities, while the others deal with computer software and video material. We encourage readers to contribute articles describing innovative ways they use the older media, summarizing successful experiences with computer and video-assisted instruction, or reporting media-related research. If you are interested in reviewing «software» (whether it be audiotapes, slides, computer programs, films, videotapes, video discs, etc.) or «hardware» (such as machines for audio labs, computer equipment, new VCR's, and so forth), we invite you to contact us at the addresses listed on the masthead for this column. To contact contributors please consult the directory issue of Hispania. As more and more members of our profession become interested in
using the various audiovisual media to teach more efficiently and effectively,
the number of submissions to this column and to the computer-related sessions
We are most indebted to Oswaldo López, Chairman of the Department of Foreign Languages at the Wolfson Campus of Miami Dade Community College, and to Ricardo Castells and Eric Holtz, members of his staff, who made it possible for us to use their modern audiovisual center as well as the computers and other expensive equipment needed for the various demonstrations. In conclusion, besides encouraging you to contribute to this column, we invite you to attend and participate in the computer-related sessions held at the Annual Meeting. Richard Raschio, who assists with this column, will be the chairman for next summer's sessions.
Ronald J. Anton
East Tech/South Cluster, Cleveland, Ohio Combining Singing and Psychology Can you remember a favorite tune you used to sing when you were a child? If I asked you to sing it now, could you recall the lyrics? Since most people reply with a surprised «yes», is it any wonder that major corporations like Coca Cola and McDonald's spend millions of dollars every year on custom-designed music and catchy slogans to help consumers remember their products? They know their investment gets results, since music is an effective memory aid. In the past, several efforts have been made to teach languages by using music. None, how ever, has involved a carefully planned, step-by-step approach with specific phases designed to take advantage not only of differing rhythms but also of psychological factors (such as helping students to relax and building up their confidence) in order to facilitate learning Spanish. Besides capitalizing on the attractiveness of popular song forms, the Contemporary Music Approach (CMA) combines a systematic, purposeful procedure based on practical classroom experience with the findings of research on left-brain and right-brain learning, in order to help students learn and remember the fundamentals of Spanish grammar87. It also helps reduce inhibitions which often hinder language learning. Developed after more than three years of planning, class use, and revisions, the Contemporary Music Approach now focuses on a series of ten original songs in Spanish88, fully orchestrated and professionally recorded on five cassettes. While CMA enlivens classroom activities, it is more than just entertainment. Realizing how well my students could relate to contemporary music, I took advantage of their fondness for modern songs and wrote original numbers that contextualize these fundamentals in enjoyable Spanish lyrics. The cassettes used in this approach are accompanied by a handbook containing supplemental material which facilitates the delivery of specific grammar lessons. In addition, the rhythms and words of each song focus on one or two key points that are necessary for acquiring the basics of Spanish grammar, yet simultaneously provide music that all listeners can enjoy. A keyboard synthesizer, electric bass, wood winds and various percussion instruments are used in the music, so that students can relate to these sounds just as they do to the music they hear in popular hits. To further enhance the listeners' enjoyment, three different lead singers participated in the songs. By recording each piece of music with no fewer than eight musical tracks (plus vocals and a chorus), we achieved a full quality, orchestrated sound of the kind that students hear on their favorite radio stations89. Besides singing along and then memorizing the lyrics (both of which are mainly passive activities), in the final phase of the Contemporary Music Approach students build on what they have learned: they have to write new lyrics for the same melody (that is, engage in active application of what they have studied). In the materials used in CMA, two versions of each song are provided: one with both words and music, the other with only the music. Thus, after studying the version with both words and music, students can listen to the other version and use the same melody line to enjoy the challenge of matching their own words to a fully orchestrated musical arrangement. Writing their own lyrics after practicing the songs adds a new dimension to their language learning90. Although it was difficult to integrate an explicit lesson into the song and yet avoid a didactic mood, we feel we have achieved reasonable success in our efforts to incorporate the grammar in an unobtrusive way and to maintain a relaxed, entertaining quality in our music. To better understand how CMA actually functions, teachers need to
realize that it not only helps lower the students' affective filter (that is,
helps them relax and become more receptive to learning) but also combines the
creative, non-verbal, emotional processes carried out by the right hemisphere
of the brain with the specific, verbal, and logic-based learning achieved by
the left hemisphere. Its effectiveness, we feel, results from the collaboration of the two91. When the use of both
To maximize learning environments that foster collaboration between the left and right hemispheres, we should observe what students actually do when they are encouraged to learn in an unrestrained way. Also, to unleash their learning potential, we need to realize that the entire structure of an exercise (or even a series of exercises) basically exists to provide students with opportunities to learn and that the exercises must help us reach our goal, i.e., they must produce the learning de sired (Hart, 166-67). Each song in the Contemporary Music Approach, therefore, is intended to be an independent structure used as the basis for activities which help learners master specific material. Both the rhythms and the music for each song are carefully chosen in order to facilitate the students' acquiring key grammar points. When using CMA, the teacher becomes a facilitator who gives students the opportunity to explore new sounds and try new ways of expressing their ideas in Spanish. Using CMA in the Classroom Overall, CMA should be used to supplement and support teaching from the textbook. Depending upon the class session, the instructor may be presenting new textbook material and using music to reinforce it, or may be using a song to review previously studied lessons. In general, the teacher begins the class with about a 5 to 10 minute overview of the grammar in the textbook, then helps the students begin to learn the song related to it. About 30 minutes are usually dedicated to the song during the class in which it is introduced. In subsequent sessions, only 5 minutes or 10 minutes are spent on the song, depending upon whether the class meets three times a week (at the college level) or five times a week (in high schools). The greatest part of each class period is used in other activities, most of which depend on the lesson plan. Of course, the instructor can also vary the amount of time dedicated to singing, based upon how well the students are progressing towards the main goals in CMA; memorizing the lyrics, learning the music, performing the song, and then writing their own words. On the average, about three weeks are spent on each song. The Contemporary Music Approach is divided into three phases. The first, a «Song Introduction Stage», consists of eight specific steps which are simple to carry out, yet vital to making the method successful. These steps exercise the students' listening, speaking, writing, and memory skills: 1. introducing the dialog, 2. listening to tapes at home (or in class), 3. playing the song one time, 4. taking a dictation based on the song, 5. writing the students' answers to the dictation on the board, 6. analyzing the song, 7. playing the song three times and having the students sing it while looking at the dictated lyrics on the board, and 8. doing homework based on the song. In the second phase, a «Recording Stage», students sing from memory after practicing the song for two weeks. On the cassettes, each song has already been recorded in two parts: Section I includes both the words and music, while Section II contains only the music. This two-part format constitutes the basis for the Contemporary Music Approach: in small groups, in the language laboratory, or in the privacy of their own home, students listen to Section I and imitate the lyrics; later they listen to Section II and try to sing from memory while hearing the musical accompaniment. Once students have memorized and sung the first two tunes in the
series of ten songs, and once they have written their own words for the
melodies, we have observed that they are much more willing to try to speak
Spanish. Gradually, they gain facility in expressing their ideas. As students
work, of course, the teacher should guide them and be careful that their lyrics
reflect not only correct usage, but are also culturally appropriate and as «authentic» as possible. We have repeatedly
found
The third phase, «Grading», involves practicing the correct pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm, and then being graded on them. We have found that some students may have a wonderful voice but will not dedicate the time needed for learning the songs well. Others, who are not especially talented, will demonstrate certainty that results from consistent practice. Voice quality, therefore, is not used as a criterion in our scheme of evaluation. The songs are progressively more challenging. The first consists of 26 words and 48 syllables, a simple rhythm, and an easy-to learn melody. In contrast, the fifth song is more complicated and consists of 116 words and approximately 200 syllables. Because they are designed to give students confidence, the first two songs consist of easy tunes with a very limited number of syllables. They encourage students to continue and help prepare them for the more challenging ones that follow. To build confidence, I suggest that instructors assign each student a grade no lower than a B -for each of the first two songs. Once the students have mastered those two, instructors can assign grades as they believe appropriate. It is true that -to a great extent- the students' acceptance of the Contemporary Music Approach, as well as their subsequent success with learning through it, hinges on how well the instructor presents the first two songs; to use this approach however, neither teachers nor students have to be musically proficient. The cassettes serve almost like a singing-tutor, and the suggested grading system helps students realize they don't have to sing as well as Frank Sinatra or Barbara Streisand (or, as our students would say, like Phil Collins or Gloria Estefan) in order to succeed. How CMA Was Developed In the fall of 1986, CMA was presented for the first time at the University of Akron to a Spanish 101 class of 23 students. Some of the students had taken Spanish in high school, but most had no academic experience with it. During the first six weeks, the instructor established a relaxed, comfortable environment and used Spanish approximately three-fourths of the class time. Students could participate by speaking in either Spanish or English, but were encouraged to use Spanish. At this point, the Contemporary Music Approach was introduced. To help students understand this method more clearly and to avoid their being anxious about what was about to occur, the instructor gave a brief explanation of the rationale of CMA before he moved to Stage I with the first song. The teacher made certain that the students understood that at no time would they be asked to sing alone. Those who were apprehensive about the quality of their voice or whether they could carry a tune were reassured by the instructor that voice quality was not a factor in the grading92. We have consistently found that the most challenging aspect of this project is helping students to become accustomed to the CMA procedures while they learn the first two songs. Once they understand and use the steps correctly, however, it is easy to teach them the other eight songs. Overcoming the learners' initial reluctance to sing and helping them understand and follow the steps are difficult tasks; nevertheless, with reassurance from a patient teacher, a relaxed atmosphere for learning, and two easy songs at the beginning, we always find that students rapidly gain confidence and begin to enjoy learning through this approach. Over several years, ten songs have been developed. These are the rhythms and grammar lessons in CMA:
Differing rhythms were chosen so that when the students hear a beat associated with a particular song, they connect the rhythm with the grammar. As a whole, the recall or retrieval process -that involves learning in which both hemispheres work together- is generally initiated via some cue or memory «prompter.» The cue presented at the beginning of the retrieval stimulates further associations and cues which facilitate the students' recall of information stored in their long term memory. A «decision process» indicates whether the information they have begun to access is what is actually called for in the current context of retrieval (Klatzky, 58-60). In CMA, the distinct rhythm of each song serves as the initial cue which «generates» the lyrics for each particular song. Once the students have begun to recall the information that has been stored in their memory, the «decision process» indicates to them that the information they have accessed is definitely the correct data called for in that context. After the Song Introduction Phase was completed, students participating in the project at the University of Akron were given two weeks in which to memorize the lyrics. Then we asked them to sing the song from memory (in a small group or in the lab) while they listened to the audio track on the cassette that contained only the music. During the two weeks dedicated to memorizing the song, the instructor reinforced the grammar in context by having students complete oral and written exercises provided for each song, and he also combined those with the ones in the textbook, Zenia Sacks da Silva's Spanish: A Short Course. We have subsequently used CMA with other textbooks, such as Valette and Valette's Spanish for Mastery. Once all three stages of CMA were completed, the students were given an additional week to write an original song in Spanish. They were told to follow the same melody line as the CMA song they had just studied and to try to incorporate as much of what they had learned as possible93. Although we have made numerous changes to improve CMA, we have found that the three phases («Song Introduction», «Recording Stage», and «Grading») have proven to be the most viable procedure. Also, about two weeks has consistently proven sufficient time for students to memorize the song, and one more week has been adequate for students to write their own lyrics. Benefits of this Approach A questionnaire was filled in by the 23 students involved in the project at the University of Akron; it was also filled in by subsequent students who participated in CMA. After 200 students had been given the questionnaire, we noted the following results: 93% said they enjoyed learning by this new approach; 98% felt CMA helped them learn Spanish; 92% played the songs for family and friends; and 50% said they listened to the tapes during their own leisure time. Similar or higher results have been obtained with other groups that have used CMA. We have found that, because the Contemporary Music Approach makes learning Spanish attractive and pleasant, students using it want to learn more and more. They really begin to like Spanish. CMA takes advantage of music -one of the most effective memory aids available to us. Through the songs, students learn rhythm, intonation, and pronunciation in a natural way as they listen to the music over and over and then attempt to reproduce the sounds they hear. Because it fosters collaborative left-brain and right-brain interaction during the learning process, CMA improves the students' ability to recall the essentials of grammar. Besides providing a memorable, enjoyable learning experience, CMA can also assist in reviewing the fundamentals of Spanish. Since much of the work is done by students as they practice with the tapes, teachers actually invest a relatively short amount of class time to obtain satisfying results. In addition, students become accustomed to small group work and learning at their own pace. As shown by the comments from questionnaires, students not only enjoy learning by this new approach and find that its specific steps help them study Spanish; more importantly, what they learn at school persists in their minds and continues to be used in their homes, cars, and during their leisure time. Works Cited Blakelee, Thomas R. The Right Brain. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1980. da Silva, Zenia Sacks. Spanish: A Short Course. Third edition. New York: Harper & Row, 1985. Hart, Leslie A. Human Brain and Human Reasoning. New York: Longman, 1983. Klatzky, Roberta L. Memory and Awareness. New York: W. H. Freeman & Co., 1984. Mulligan, Mary Ann. Integrating Music with Other Studies. New York: The Center for Applied Research in Education, 1975. Valette, Jean-Paul and Rebecca M. Valette. Spanish for Mastery. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1984. 
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