Learn English
While most people go to school to take several semesters of formal education in order to become fluent in a foreign language, Shakira, the famous 35-year-old singer from Colombia, learned how to speak English in a much unconventional way: through music. Shakira has told the media on numerous accounts that she began teaching herself English at the young age of 8 by listening to the famous Bob Dylan's music.
She would play her favorite songs over and over again and then would carefully study the lyrics until she understood what was being said. In fact, many people claim that learning English through this medium is often preferred. It's understandable too, music is fun, videos are open for interpretation/help build a story, and no tests are needed. If you would like to see if listening to music can help you learn English as well, check out some of these musically-inclined apps for the iPhone.
iHeart Radio
This iPhone app, which has been around for quite some time essentially gives its users access to more than 800 radio streaming stations across the United States, from L.A. to New York. Not only are the broadcasts commercial free, but the app is completely free too. It's great for learners who want to have a larger selection of music to choose from and want to get a better taste of the different styles of music and genre found in the U.S.
Download iHeart Radio on iTunes
Pandora
This app is the iPhone's condensed version of the personalized radio station found on the web. How it works: you select a genre of music or an artist and Pandora will give you a list of other artists that seem to fit your likes and interests. If you choose to skip a song that is selected for you, it will store that information and program so that that particular song never crosses your path on the app again. It's a really great way to discover what kind of music you like. This app is also free.
Download Pandora on iTunes
Shazam
Last but not least is Shazam. It works a little differently than the other apps listed above. How so? Well instead of playing music for you, what it does is identify songs that might be on the radio or playing at the restaurant that you're eating at. It tells you the name of the song as well as the artist and album it is featured on. It's a really neat app and can help you find that English song you like so much.
Download Shazam on iTunes
While it's still recommended to practice vocabulary and verbs, listening to music can be a really fun approach at learning English.
Would you like to read more about how to use music to learn English? Check out our article about how to learn English from scratch with the help of music.
- Have You Ever Been Taught English Through Music?
There is no doubt that listening to music can help us to stay motivated, concentrate, relax or learn English! A recent study from Kaplan International reveals that ESL (English as a Second Languages) teachers use The Beatles to help students learn English....
- Three Great Apps To Learn English That You Should Add To Google Chrome
Lyrics for Google Chrome This fantastic extension for Google Chrome allows you to get the lyrics of any song on YouTube, Last.fm, Grooveshark and Google Music. It?s very easy to use. If for instance you visit YouTube and watch a musical video on the...
- Why Learn English Through Songs And Music?
Why Learn English Through Songs and Music?So what is it about songs that make them such effective English language learning tools?1. It works. There is considerable scientific evidence that demonstrates how...
- The Top Listening Activities On The Esl Commando Website
These are the top recent listening activities for the ESL Commando listening website. Enjoy! Movie Trailer Listening - Thor 2Movie Trailer Listening - Hunger GamesMovie Trailer Listening - Catching FireMovie Trailer Listening - WolverineMovie Trailer...
- New Music ?rewarding For The Brain?
Written by Yuniar Rahmadini - After used MRI scan, the researcher from a Canadian team of scientists found that areas in the reward centre became active when people heard a song for the first time. The more the listener enjoyed what they heard,...
Learn English
3 Great iPhone apps to learn English through music
While most people go to school to take several semesters of formal education in order to become fluent in a foreign language, Shakira, the famous 35-year-old singer from Colombia, learned how to speak English in a much unconventional way: through music. Shakira has told the media on numerous accounts that she began teaching herself English at the young age of 8 by listening to the famous Bob Dylan's music.
She would play her favorite songs over and over again and then would carefully study the lyrics until she understood what was being said. In fact, many people claim that learning English through this medium is often preferred. It's understandable too, music is fun, videos are open for interpretation/help build a story, and no tests are needed. If you would like to see if listening to music can help you learn English as well, check out some of these musically-inclined apps for the iPhone.
iHeart Radio
This iPhone app, which has been around for quite some time essentially gives its users access to more than 800 radio streaming stations across the United States, from L.A. to New York. Not only are the broadcasts commercial free, but the app is completely free too. It's great for learners who want to have a larger selection of music to choose from and want to get a better taste of the different styles of music and genre found in the U.S.
Download iHeart Radio on iTunes
Pandora
This app is the iPhone's condensed version of the personalized radio station found on the web. How it works: you select a genre of music or an artist and Pandora will give you a list of other artists that seem to fit your likes and interests. If you choose to skip a song that is selected for you, it will store that information and program so that that particular song never crosses your path on the app again. It's a really great way to discover what kind of music you like. This app is also free.
Download Pandora on iTunes
Shazam
Last but not least is Shazam. It works a little differently than the other apps listed above. How so? Well instead of playing music for you, what it does is identify songs that might be on the radio or playing at the restaurant that you're eating at. It tells you the name of the song as well as the artist and album it is featured on. It's a really neat app and can help you find that English song you like so much.
Download Shazam on iTunes
While it's still recommended to practice vocabulary and verbs, listening to music can be a really fun approach at learning English.
Would you like to read more about how to use music to learn English? Check out our article about how to learn English from scratch with the help of music.
The author of this guest post, Mariana Ashley, writes online colleges news and commentary for various websites and is happy to receive your responses at [email protected].
- Have You Ever Been Taught English Through Music?
There is no doubt that listening to music can help us to stay motivated, concentrate, relax or learn English! A recent study from Kaplan International reveals that ESL (English as a Second Languages) teachers use The Beatles to help students learn English....
- Three Great Apps To Learn English That You Should Add To Google Chrome
Lyrics for Google Chrome This fantastic extension for Google Chrome allows you to get the lyrics of any song on YouTube, Last.fm, Grooveshark and Google Music. It?s very easy to use. If for instance you visit YouTube and watch a musical video on the...
- Why Learn English Through Songs And Music?
Why Learn English Through Songs and Music?So what is it about songs that make them such effective English language learning tools?1. It works. There is considerable scientific evidence that demonstrates how...
- The Top Listening Activities On The Esl Commando Website
These are the top recent listening activities for the ESL Commando listening website. Enjoy! Movie Trailer Listening - Thor 2Movie Trailer Listening - Hunger GamesMovie Trailer Listening - Catching FireMovie Trailer Listening - WolverineMovie Trailer...
- New Music ?rewarding For The Brain?
Written by Yuniar Rahmadini - After used MRI scan, the researcher from a Canadian team of scientists found that areas in the reward centre became active when people heard a song for the first time. The more the listener enjoyed what they heard,...