Duration
5–10 minutes — if it works well with your child, take as long as you want and repeat as often as you wish Age recommendation 0–6; 6–10 Key words singing, fun, increase retention, vocabulary in context Languages of the original source English. But this activity can be used in any language. Materials needed music with children’s songs in the family languages     | Aim of the activity The aim of this activity is to enable language learning with music and to fill small gaps in everyday life with language input. The focus is on singing in the family language during a car journey. Through the music a cultural connection is also established. Preparation for the activity Search for children’s music or music you like and know, in the family language. The important criteria is that your children like the music. Two possible sources are, a collection online of folk music in 10 European languages (Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Turkish) from the EUROPEAN PROJECT FOLKDC. Additional children’s folk songs (videos) and more languages can be found on the FOLKDC WIKI. Procedure This activity can be used in the car e.g. when you take the children to school, go shopping or visit friends or family. The time during the journey is transformed from a time gap of driving time to a meaningful moment of language learning and fun. All you need is to play the music and to sing with your children. Of cause the children can be involved regarding the selection of songs. Alternative | To sing songs on your own, you don´t even have to have a MP3 player. Significant benefit of the activity The activity establishes a connection between melody, rhythm and language. Music is also closely connected to emotions and sentiments. Music acts to motivate children they sing, use and learn without noticing it. An extra advantage is the travelling seems to go faster. Source of the activity Multilingualliving.com. Music to Help Children Learn a New Language: 10 Minutes at a Time, Tip #6: Tip | Find in the blog some more tips to help children learn another language with music, 10 minutes at a time. FolkDC EU project HTTP://FOLKDC.EU/. Find lyrics to all recorded folk songs of the project |
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The project ‘Multilingual Families: Supporting multilingual families A linguistic treasure for Europe’ has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number: 531085-LLP-1-2012-1-PL-KA2-KA2MP
Project duration: 2013-2015