What are the advantages of using music to work on grammar?
1. Enhanced Memory Retention: Research suggests that music can aid in memory retention by creating strong neural connections. When grammar rules are set to music, learners may find it easier to recall and apply them in real-life language situations.
2. Increased Engagement: Music has the power to captivate learners’ attention and create an immersive learning experience. By incorporating music into grammar lessons, educators can boost student engagement and motivation, leading to more effective learning outcomes.
3. Improved Pronunciation: Music often emphasizes rhythm and melody, which can help learners improve their pronunciation and intonation. By singing along to grammatically correct lyrics, students can practice proper pronunciation patterns in a natural and enjoyable way.
4. Enhanced Vocabulary Acquisition: Many songs feature rich and varied vocabulary, providing learners with exposure to new words and expressions. By listening to and analyzing song lyrics, students can expand their vocabulary and deepen their understanding of grammatical structures in context.
5. Cultural Understanding: Music is deeply intertwined with culture, offering learners valuable insights into the customs, traditions, and values of English-speaking communities. By exploring music from different genres and time periods, students can develop a richer appreciation for the cultural nuances of the English language.
6. Positive Emotional Association: Music has the ability to evoke emotions and create positive associations with learning experiences. By incorporating music into grammar lessons, educators can create a supportive and enjoyable learning environment that encourages risk-taking and experimentation.
7. Increased Fluency: Singing along to songs can help improve fluency by promoting natural rhythm and flow in language production. Through repeated exposure to grammatically correct lyrics, learners can develop a greater sense of fluency and confidence in their speaking and writing abilities.
8. Cross-Cultural Connections: Music is a universal language that transcends cultural boundaries. By exploring English-language music from different cultures and regions, learners can develop a deeper understanding of global perspectives and forge connections with speakers of English around the world.
9. Personalized Learning: Music offers learners the opportunity to engage with language in a personalized and self-directed manner. By selecting songs that resonate with their interests and preferences, students can take ownership of their learning and tailor their study materials to suit their individual needs.
10. Long-Term Retention: Studies have shown that information learned through music tends to be retained for longer periods compared to traditional learning methods. By integrating music into grammar instruction, educators can help students build a solid foundation of language skills that will endure over time.
In summary, scientific evidence supports the use of music as a valuable tool for working on grammar for learners of English. By harnessing the power of music, educators can create engaging and effective learning experiences that enhance memory retention, increase engagement, improve pronunciation, and foster cultural understanding and fluency.
The text discusses the tendency for items at the beginning and end of a list to be remembered more readily than items in the middle of the list. This can be readily illustrated by the following demonstration:
Instructions:
After distributing the protocol sheet, tell the class: “This is an experiment in memory in which I am going to read you a series of unrelated nouns. Try to recall as many of those words as you can, regardless of the order in which I read them. Please begin to write them down only after I have read the entire list and have given you the signal, ‘Go.”‘ Begin by saying, ‘Ready?’ Then read the list (at a rate of about one per second).
Here is the suggested list:
Candle Maple Subway Poison Tiger Ceiling Lawyer Ocean Paper Garbage Thunder Sofa Mountain Dollar Wagon Doorbell
Ask how many learners remembered Candle (primacy) or Doorbell (recency).
Then ask who remembered Ocean or Paper.
If you ask learners to raise their hands, everyone can see the effects very easily.
Today, 19 November is Beaujolais Nouveau day – Le Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived, as it does every third Thursday of November.
Beaujolais Nouveau is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France.
It is the most popular vin de primeur, fermented for just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November.
This “Beaujolais Nouveau Day” used to see heavy marketing, with races to get the first bottles to different markets around the globe.
The current release practice is to ship the wine ahead of the third Thursday of November, and release it to the local markets at 12:01 a.m. local time.
Beaujolais Nouveau is probably the most famous of the young wines called ‘primeurs’ in France, where virtually every region has a primeur that comes onto the market on the same day as Beaujolais Nouveau.
Some people are a little snobby about Beaujolais Nouveau, saying that it is a bad wine and much too young to drink.
Most of the ideas regarding Beaujolais Nouveau are around the festivities and celebrations – there are often parties and special meals in restaurants in France and throughout the world.
Beaujolais nouveau is a purple-pink wine reflecting its youth, bottled only 6-8 weeks after harvest.
The method of production means that there is very little tannin, and the wine can be dominated by such fruity ester flavours as banana, grape, strawberry, fig and pear drops.
The wine is recommended to be slightly chilled to 13°C (55°F).
Beaujolais nouveau is intended for immediate drinking.
While some nouveau can be kept for a few years, there’s no real reason to, as it doesn’t improve with age.
For comparison, standard Beaujolais AOC wines are released the following year and can be stored for one or more years before consuming.
The wines show definite variation between vintages, and as such are considered to be an early indicator of the quality of the year’s regional wine harvest.
Stand up comedian Imran Yusuf takes a comical look at the ways that British pronunciation differs from American pronunciation during a show at The Comedy Store, using his very own British Citizenship test.
Imran puts a young Oscar through his own novel British Citizenship Test and tells us about his multicultural upbringing in Hackney Downs.
Imran Yusuf was born in Mombasa, Kenya, and initially grew up in Hackney, East London, before moving to Harrow, North-West London. Both his parents and two older brothers became refugees of the economic war following the expulsion of Asians from Uganda by Idi Amin in 1972. Yusuf also attended school in the USA from 1992 to 1993 and attended William Allen III Middle School in Moorestown, New Jersey.
Imran Yusuf initially performed two open spots in 2000 at a comedy show hosted by comedian Jeff Mirza, but then did not choose to pursue stand-up comedy in until the summer of 2003 while on sabbatical from his career in the video games industry. He was the first winner of the “You Must Be Joking” stand-up competition at Newbury Comedy Festival in 2004.
In 2010, he finally made his impact at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010 with his first solo show An Audience with Imran Yusuf receiving five-star reviews and a nomination from the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards for Best Newcomer.
Yusuf was the first performer in a free show to have received a nomination for the award.
Later that summer, Yusuf appeared on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow. October and November saw Imran begin crafting his 2011 Edinburgh show with special invitation gigs, plus releasing official confirmation of his 43 date UK tour An Audience with Imran Yusuf starting in February 2011 at London’s Soho Theatre.
On radio, Boxing Day 2010 saw Imran’s debut on BBC Radio 7’s The Now Show for a satirical look at current affairs and news. The special 45-minute show used Radio 4’s format for an extended show with Imran and guests.
A follow-up appearance on BBC Radio 4’s prestigious The News Quiz came soon after in February 2011, along with his television debut on BBC Two’s How TV Ruined Your Life with Charlie Brooker, offering an opportunity to see Imran in sketch-show action in the episode “Aspiration”. Further to this, between March and April Imran made a second appearance on The Now Show and a debut special guest slot on Arthur Smith’s Balham Bash (BBC Radio 4 Extra).
Summer 2011 soon saw more great news and opportunities coming for Imran when Zai Bennett, controller at BBC Three, green-lit The Imran Yusuf Show for a broadcast pilot in anticipation of a series for the show.
Interest from BBC America also saw Imran record a performance for Funny As Hell, a stand-up series presenting the best of British comedy in the United States.
Soon came Edinburgh Fringe 2011 where Imran took his all new show Bring The Thunder to the festival.
Continuing with the previous year’s trend of recording TV slots during the festival; Imran recorded a section of his show for Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live 2011 and BBC Comedy Presents: Free@TheFringe.
Excessive workplace stress causes a staggering 120,000 deaths and results in nearly €200 billion in health care costs each year.
This represents 5% to 8% of national health care spending, derived primarily from high demands at work (€50 billion) and work-family conflict (€25 billion).
These are some of the harmful health effects from excessive stress:
Reduced ability to cope with future stress and increased anxiety and chronic depression;
The onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
Reduced immune system functioning;
Increased inflammation and depression.
High on-the-job demands and insufficient resources contribute to stress.
In addition, an effort-rewards imbalance with perceptions of high effort and low compensation or recognition can also contribute to workplace stress.
Goals perceived as exceedingly difficult or unclear, rather than achievable challenges, are also factors in excessive stress, anger, and anxiety.
Try this survey to find out if you are at risk or are working in a stressful environment at work.
Is my workplace a stressful place?
Micro managers, annoying co-workers and unrealistic objectives - just three things known that make people stressed at work. It doesn't matter whether you're based in an office or a warehouse, being unable to cope with the pressures at work can make your life unbearable. Not only does it take its toll on you emotionally, it can leave you at higher risk of a range of physical illnesses. Stress in the workplace can lead to :
• Anxiety and chronic tension • Agitation and fits of panic • Aggression and short temper • Mood swings and disorientation • Negative self-talk • Sleeping difficulties and constant fatigue • Lack of energy • Eating more (or less), drinking more (or less) • Pessimism and despondency • Lack of motivation • Gradual withdrawal from society and friends
Take this test to evaluate if your workplace is causing you stress*.
* This Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this or any other Website)
