Does listening to music help a student to learn English?

ScottsEnglish

Listening to music is a good way to have English words and sentences in your head. But is listening to music beneficial for language learning?

• Remember that the human brain can only concentrate on one thing at a time. If you are trying to memorise vocabulary words while listening to music, the result will be worse than if you only tried to memorise the words. The same is true for any activity that requires your brain to focus - your concentration, whether you are aware of it or not, will go from one to the other.
  
  
• However, if you are doing an activity that does not require your brain to concentrate, such as folding laundry or cooking pasta, then listening to music can help to put English words in your head. In fact, singing along to songs you know will increase the connection between the sounds of the words (formed by your mouth) and you later using them correctly.
  
  
• It is also important to choose your music carefully. Certain types of music lend themselves to a type of vocabulary (slang, incorrect grammar) which you will not want to use on your exam. While there is a place for these kinds of music, they are not the best choices when you want to improve your English skills. Of course, music without lyrics can be pleasant but will not help you at all!

So, choose the time when you listen to music carefully and also choose the music you listen to carefully. But there is no reason not to have a good song in your ears!