View Content #5372
| Contentid | 5372 |
|---|---|
| Content Type | 1 |
| Title | What to Do with Songs, Part 3 |
| Body | What to Do with Songs, Part 3: Treating Songs as Literature Here are some suggestions from FLTEACH for analyzing any piece of literature, including songs: Every song can have five questions addressed to it. You will decide whether to put these in the target language or English and whether students should answer in the target language or English. 1. Is there any new vocabulary I need to know in the song? Unlike prose, songs and poetry are short enough that an unknown word may be key to understanding. Find the meanings of new words. 2. What are the figures of speech in the song and what do they suggest for understanding the theme? It is my job to make sure kids know at least metaphor, simile, personification and perhaps metonymy and synecdoche. I will not blame English teachers if my kids don't already know 'em; I do not want kids to think there's an English box and a Spanish box and a history box. We don't live that way. 3. Who is the speaker of the "I" of the song? The jilted lover? An impersonate or compassionate observer? I love that song "Luca" for this understanding: "Me llamo Luca, el niño del piso dos, tal vez conoces ya mi voz . . . ." It's obvious that the speaker is not the singer, Suzanne Vega. 4. What is the THEME of the song? That is, what does the song express about the human condition? Of course, when you know enough of them, songs can be grouped according to theme. And, of course, some songs stand alone. Don't miss the chance to pair a song and a poem for students' consideration, or some other thematic juxtaposition like a song and a news article or a song and a sculpture or painting. 5. The music. What do the singer's voice and all the instrumentation and sound effects do to advance the theme and the literary devices? We should note that sometimes the music is counter to the message of the song; some rock n' roll songs say "my heart is broken and I'll never get over it," while the music belies this message, foretelling healing, taking courage, and looking for new love. I got that idea from a book on rock n roll. I love the way Café Tacuba moderate their voices sooo much to show irony, sarcasm, sincerity, cynicism, etc. Selena was another one who could increase the impact of the lyrics by getting her voice just so for whatever emotions and nuances were needed. Barabe, B. WHAT TO DO WITH SONGS. Foreign Language Teaching Forum listserv. FLTEACH@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (4 Nov. 2006). |
| Source | FLTEACH |
| Inputdate | 2006-11-26 11:07:48 |
| Lastmodifieddate | 2006-11-26 11:07:48 |
| Expdate | Not set |
| Publishdate | 2006-11-27 00:00:00 |
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