Songs help us to learn Russian
Are songs in class just a way to take a break and have fun? There is more to them than that. Our expert explains how songs can be used effectively when teaching Russian as a foreign language.
Some teachers say that they use songs to give students a chance to relax, helping them maintain their motivation and concentration during lessons, especially when the lessons are long or involve grammar. However, this is just one of the many functions that songs can serve when teaching RFL and foreign languages. So, from our point of view, what is the value of songs as teaching material? Let us look at the main aspects and characteristics of songs that may be useful to us.
• The phonetic aspect. As we know, songs make it possible to hear individual sounds clearly, including both vowels and consonants, provided that the right material is selected. Songs can be used to practise pronunciation at the beginning of a course, including during an introductory phonetics course, if there is one. In this case, slow songs with drawn-out melodic phrases are suitable, such as “Ой, мороз, мороз” or “Степь да степь кругом”, as well as Russian romances.
• Listening skills. Songs allow teachers to create excellent listening exercises for students at different levels. Although we sing less often than we speak, listening exercises based on songs cannot simply be replaced with exercises based on naturally spoken language. At the same time, songs provide a form of “difficult” listening, because words, phrases and sentences do not sound in their natural form. This trains students’ listening skills and then helps them tackle ordinary, simpler listening exercises more easily.
• Lexical and grammatical aspect. The lyrics are particularly important. Teachers should select them carefully so that they correspond to the main lexical and grammatical topic of the lesson and help students master it.
• Linguistic and country studies aspect. Songs are excellent material for linguistic and country studies. The melodies themselves contain an important element of country studies, so songs can be used from the very first lessons to introduce students to some traditional Russian melodies. Song lyrics contain a variety of cultural elements, both deeper and more superficial, such as the names of streets, cities and rivers. They convey the feelings of the characters, and they also contain traditional song plots that are common to different cultures. Songs can also give students an insight into different historical periods: songs from the Stalin era, for example, are radically different from those of the Khrushchev thaw, and so on. The selection of songs is important, too. There are songs known to almost everyone in Russia, such as “Песня крокодила Гены” and “Тёмная ночь”. Naturally, our students should learn about these songs as well. Songs also contain a number of phrases that are used in spoken Russian. Examples include “Ромашки спрятались, поникли лютики”, “Травы, травы” and so on. There are also lasting associations between particular songs and films, as in the case of the familiar lyrics “Если у вас нету тёти” and “Песня мушкетёров”. The performers themselves are another important part of this cultural context. That is why, before playing a song, it is worth briefly telling students about the person or group performing it.
• Music videos. Teachers now also have the opportunity to show students music videos. They are useful for several reasons: students can see the performer and how they perform the song; videos contain many country studies elements; watching a music video can itself be motivating; and the visual element helps students remember both the performer and the song.
• Lyrics. Song lyrics can have literary value when they are of sufficient quality, for example, the songs of bards. In such cases, students can analyse and discuss the text. Like poetry, song lyrics have rhythm and rhyme, which are also important from a phonetic point of view. They can also help students memorise certain parts of the text that may be useful to them in their future learning.
• Student motivation. A song used as an exercise is usually very different from an ordinary lexical and grammatical exercise. Songs allow students to look at Russian vocabulary and grammar from a different perspective.
Teachers should choose songs not only thoughtfully, but also with pedagogical flair. The lyrics should become more complex as the students’ level increases. For advanced students, for example, it is worth selecting songs containing fixed expressions and phraseological units, as well as texts that can encourage discussion, such as “Разговор в поезде” by Машина времени.
Particular attention should be paid not only to whether the lyrics are appropriate for the students’ level, but also to how well the song fits into the lesson plan and topic. For example, when teaching verbs of motion, you can use the song “Весеннее танго” performed by Tatyana Nikitina and Sergey Nikitin.
A song can be used at the beginning of a particular topic to introduce it, or at the end to review and consolidate the material. It can also be used without being directly linked to the lesson topic, simply as a break. Even then, however, students should still learn something new from it.
Repetition of elements in the lyrics is also important, as is variation. For example, if you are teaching reflexive verbs, “Голубой вагон” may be suitable. However, the range of reflexive forms in the song is not particularly well represented.
Teachers should also take certain technical characteristics into account, including audio and video quality, clarity of pronunciation and tempo. Naturally, the tempo of the performance can increase as the students’ level improves.
The lyrics should be coherent and comprehensible and should evoke certain emotions in students. In this respect, old songs or modern versions of them can be particularly useful. I try to use modern arrangements of old songs, such as Maxim Leonidov’s two albums “Папины песни” and “Давай закурим”, some songs by Valery Syutkin, songs by Кватро, Хор Турецкого and ВИА Пролетарское танго, as well as the television programmes “Две звезды” and “Достояние республики”, which always include Russian subtitles for the songs. The show “Голос” (“The Voice”) can also be used as a combined listening exercise: song and speech, followed by discussion of the song. Of course, you will need to select suitable excerpts of songs in Russian. Students can also discuss the performance and organise a discussion.
Some students may have a negative attitude towards using songs as exercises, while others may not like children's songs. In such cases, it may be worth accommodating their preferences, especially during private lessons. Of course, if you only have one hour a week with a student, you will not be using songs all the time.
The teacher’s task is to build up a collection of songs for their lessons. It is a good idea to create a table showing the title of each song, the name of the performer, the level at which it can be used with students, and the value of the song according to various criteria, such as “Grammar”, “Vocabulary”, “Communication and Discussion”, and “Linguistics and Country Studies”. Songs linked to specific lexical topics are not always easy to find, as the range of topics covered in songs is limited. There are, however, many songs about subjects such as the seasons, personality traits, feelings, animals, and so on.
The teacher should also keep track of the number of unfamiliar words in the lyrics. When there are not too many, the teacher can provide them next to or before the text, together with a translation into the intermediary language or an explanation in Russian.
Here are some examples of exercises based on songs and their lyrics:
• Give students the lyrics with some words missing and ask them to fill in the gaps. There should not be too many gaps, and they should not be next to one another. The missing words should be related to the topic of the lesson.
• Give students gaps in the lyrics and ask them to choose the correct word from several similar options.
• After listening to the song, ask students to come up with a title and reveal the actual title only afterwards. Alternatively, give them the title first and ask them to guess what the song is about before they listen to it. This activity is suitable for intermediate and advanced students.
• Mix up the stanzas or lines of the lyrics and ask students to put them back in the correct order.
• Give students lyrics containing mistakes and ask them to correct the mistakes while listening. They can first underline the “incorrect” words.
• Translate the song into the students’ native language and organise a translation competition. This can be given as homework.
• Ask students to write an additional rhyming quatrain, sing it and record a video. This can be organised as a creative competition.
• Organise a “karaoke day” for group work.
• Ask students to find information about the performer and give presentations.
• Play the song and ask questions about the lyrics, then organise a discussion.
• Give students the lyrics before they listen and ask them to guess some of the words, especially those connected with the rhyme. They can also choose the words from several options.
• Give students lyrics with extra words inserted and ask them to cross them out while listening.
• While listening to the song, students draw a picture based on it and then explain in groups what they have drawn.
There are many ready-made resources devoted to using songs in language teaching that you can turn to when preparing lessons or when you need guidance on working with songs in class:
1. Books with exercises based on songs: “Русский рок и русская грамматика”, “Споёмте, друзья”, “Русские песни на уроке”, and “Не фонетика – песня”.
2. Voronezh State University’s project “Русский язык в песнях”.
3. The Rockin’ Russian project.
4. A collection of Russian songs with exercises (Сборник русских песен с упражнениями).
Overall, songs can be just as useful in the classroom as traditional textbook exercises, in a number of different ways. However, for them to be effective, teachers need to use them thoughtfully and follow a number of methodological recommendations: take students’ level and interests into account, consider the lexical, grammatical and communicative topic of the lesson, pay attention to technical characteristics, and make sure that the lyrics themselves are clear and comprehensible. We all know how important it is for students to learn the material well and stay motivated. A good teacher, together with the right song, can certainly help make that happen!
Author: Yulia Amlinskaya, head of the international online school of RFL “Russificate” and the international online school for bilingual children “Russificate Kids”, teacher of Russian as a foreign language.