The Role of Music in Learning German as a Foreign Language: A Textbook Analysis

The role of music in learning a foreign language can be investigated from various dimensions. Highlighting the similarities between music and language, increasing learner motivation, reducing learners’ fear and anxiety when participating in class activities, increasing learners’ understanding of literary texts, and improving learners’ pronunciation are among the topics underlining the significance of music in the process of learning a foreign language. The results of a 2019 survey conducted on German youths by Shell show listening to music is the most popular activity among this age group, occupying an average of 57% of their leisure time. The present study seeks to find out to what extent and in what fields textbooks employ music to teach a foreign language. To this end, in addition to introducing appropriate music styles for use in language teaching, we refer to the criteria for selecting music for the purpose of teaching as well as techniques and strategies for using music in a foreign language class. In the practical section, the music used in a number of up-to-date textbooks is analyzed from various aspects, including vocabulary, grammar, language skills, and regional and cultural input. The results indicated that despite what is mentioned in the theoretical section about the role and importance of music and its educational value, the textbooks analyzed in the current study have failed to sufficiently benefit from this popular tool among the young.