Music and Songs Edition 1 Twin Odlični Izleti!

IATEFL Slovenia Magazine Autumn issue 2015, no. 65

Music and songs edition 1 TWin odlični izleti!

Turistična agencija TWIN se s kulturno-izobraževalnimi potovanji ukvarja že 20. leto. Ker v Veliko Britanijo potujemo pogosteje kot večina ostalih Zemljemerska ulica 12 slovenskih organizatorjev potovanj, ponujamo odlično in preverjeno izvedbo. 1000 Ljubljana Tel.: 01 280 28 20, Naše cene tudi že vključujejo javni prevoz in obvezne vstopnine. Cene so 040 187 830 odvisne predvsem od termina odhoda in vaše fleksibilnosti pri odhodu. e-pošta: [email protected] www.twintur.com Zakaj s Twin-om v London:

1 Pogosti in redni, zagotovljeni odhodi v London. Twin 6 Vsaj 183 osnovnih in srednjih šol je že potovalo z nami. Z nami organizira šolska potovanja v London že 20 let, v povprečju zelo malo šol potuje samo enkrat. Če želite neobvezujoče imamo na mesec vsaj 3 zagotovljene odhode v London. vzpostaviti stik z organizatorjem na eni od šol, ki je že potovala z nami, vam bomo z veseljem posredovali kontakt. 2 Odlično vodstvo. Pri Twinu se zavedamo, da je odlično poznavanje običajev in turističnih znamenitosti Londončanov Ponujamo 3-dnevni program, kjer za izvedbo ni potrebno le prvi korak k odlični izvedbi. Naši vodniki imajo dolgoletne 7 delovnika. izkušnje pri vodenju šolske mladine, zato odlično poznajo vse sestavine programa, saj jih sami pripravljajo. Tudi zato je Več informacij na www.twintur.com ali na 040 187 830 vodenje/izvedba toliko bolj fleksibilna glede na želje skupine. ali v poslovalnici na Zemljemerski ulici 12 v Ljubjani. Naj še omenimo, da boste v Sloveniji težko našli vodnike, ki v London vodijo tako pogosto kot Twinovi vodniki. Osmisliti učenje je osnovna naloga vsakega učitelja in ni boljšega 3 Nastanitev, ki presega običajno turistično kategorijo. Pri načina, kako priljubiti angleščino, od tega, da učence popelješ po Twinu se zavedamo, da je dober spanec pomembna sestavina svetu. V današnjih časih to ni enostavno. Šole in učitelji se bojijo izleta. Vsi naši hoteli so hoteli s 3* in pri večini udeležencev odgovornosti, mnogi starši pa ne zmorejo ali znajo otrok odpeljati presežejo njihova pričakovanja. Kot specia list za London lahko sami. Ni bilo lahko pred 15 leti prvič sesti na avtobus in se podati z zagotovimo vsaj en bogat angleški zajtrk (običajnih zajtrki agencijo, o kateri nismo vedeli ničesar, na večdnevno potovanje v v Londonu so skromni kontinentalni). Veliko Britanijo. Bilo nas je strah pred odhodom, a takoj ko smo se podali na pot, smo vedeli, da je bila odločitev prava. 4 Nikoli naknadno ne spreminjamo pogojev. Naša cena je vedno znana že ob prijavi in se nikoli ne spremeni zaradi Po tistem, ko smo prvič potovali s TWinom, smo vedeli, da nas ne bo več strah. Lani smo že desetič odkrivali Evropo in vsakič smo se vrnili spremembe cen dobaviteljev, goriva oz letalskega prevoznika. ne samo zadovoljni, ampak tudi hvaležni za TWinovo strokovnost, prijaznost, ustrežljivost ... Hvaležni smo celotni ekipi in nikoli ne bi 5 Vedno ponudimo kakšno dodatno storitev – izbrala druge agencije, saj sem prepričana, da niti cenovno niti brezplačno. S program zagotavljamo minimalni obseg strokovno potovanja ne bi mogla biti ugodneje in bolje izpeljana. storitev oz. ogledov, vendar nikoli ne izvedemo samo minimalnega obsega – vedno, pri vsaki skupini dodamo Ta ekskurzija je postala stalna praksa naše šole in učenci komaj nekaj po sebnega, kar ni zapisano v programu. Prav tako v čakajo, da bodo dovolj stari, da se je bodo lahko udeležili. Nam, naših programih nikoli ne zapišemo “če bo čas dopuščal”, kajti spremljevalcem, pa je v neizmerno veselje, ko jih opazujemo, kako vse naše programe vedno v celoti izvedemo. In ker si London polni vtisov in lepih doživetij še dolgo pripovedujejo o potovanju. zelo pogosto ogledujemo, poznamo tudi optimalno 2 Ksenija Tripkovič,www.iatefl.si OŠ Selnica ob Dravi zaporedje ogledov brez nepotrebnegaTo be up-to-date hitenja. with what is going on, visit our website: IATEFL Slovenia Magazine Vol. 15, No 65, Autumn issue 2015 Dear readers,

Published by: they say that life without music is like a body without a soul, IATEFL Slovenia, so in this autumn issue we give you some ideas on how to use p. p. 1677, 1001 Ljubljana music in your classroom and bring a little soul into your workday. Email: [email protected] www.iatefl.si Another schoolyear, another highly-anticipated 23rd annual IATEFL tel: 041 907065 Slovenia conference in Topolšica, which will be taking place from 3rd to 6th March next year. You can already register as a speaker IATEFL Slovenia President: or as a participant on our web page www.iatefl.si. Lea Sobočan Vice president: Sandra Vida We also invite you to get acquainted with the competitions calendar IN editor: Teja Podgrajšek for this year. Not to forget our Lesson Jamming Saturday on 17 October, Music and songs part edited by: where we will devote our time to lesson preparation for primary and Kirsten Hempkin, Katja Težak secondary schools. You are more than welcome to join us!

Printed by: Design Studio, d.o.o. Autumn seems to bring about change not only in the colour of the Graphics: Petra Turk leaves but also to our IATEFL team and thus we are again in the process of electing a new IN editor, so our winter issue will already Articles, letters and other contributions should be under new editorial leadership. Let‘s wish her all the best! be addressed to IATEFL, p. p. 1677, 1001 Ljubljana Teja Podgrajšek, IN editor Email: [email protected] IATEFL Slovenia Board Members: Janja Čolić Dolores Malič Nataša Meh Doroteja Podgrajšek Lea Sobočan Sandra Vida Cover-page photo: http://all-free-download.com/

ISSN 1855-6833

Conference announcement 23rd annual IATEFL Slovenia conference ...... 4

Najava konference 23. mednarodna IATEFL Slovenia konferenca ...... 4

A contest for the best bike-related poem ...... 5

Foreword by the editors ...... 6

Embodying Music, Movement and the Arts Within a Vocational Learning Environment ...... 7

The Process of Language Comprehension in Italian Operas by Slovak Learners ...... 12

Pop Songs as Secondary Supports in Paragraph Development ...... 16

Songs about Business in a Business English Course ...... 23

Ivy Smith ...... 27

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 3 Conference announcement Najava konference 23rd annual 23. mednarodna IATEFL Slovenia conference IATEFL Slovenia konferenca will be held in bo potekala Terme Topolšica, v Termah Topolšica 3rd– 6th March 2016 od 3. do 6. marca 2016

Where inspiration is born Where inspiration is born

With key speakers Glavni govorci bodo: Ken Wilson Ken Wilson Luke Meddings Luke Meddings Thom Jones Thom Jones Šárka Dohnalová Šárka Dohnalová and others to be confirmed

Speaker proposals accepted until 25th October 2015 Prijave govorcev sprejemamo do 25. oktobra 2015. Early bird registration until 10th January 2016 Zgodnje (cenejše) prijave udeležencev pa do 10. januarja 2016 For updated information on the speakers, registration forms and speaker proposal forms Aktualne novice v zvezi z govorci ter povezave please check our website at www.iatefl.si do obrazcev za prijave najdete nawww.iatefl.si

As every year, the conference will provide superb Kot vsako leto bo tudi letos konferenca poskrbela education, socializing, relaxation, and fun. za mednarodno udeležbo govorcev, več kot 60 We are looking forward to seeing you all again. delavnic ter neštete možnosti za povezovanje Registration is open to any member of the public in mreženje. Veselimo se, da se bomo spet videli. who wishes to attend the conference. Registration fees differ depending on when you register and the Prijave so odprte za vse, vendar imajo člani društva delegate's membership of IATEFL SLOVENIA. popust pri konferenčnini, zato vas vljudno vabimo, We strongly recommend that the delegates register da razmislite tudi o članstvu v našem društvu, early and take advantage of the early-registration ki prinaša še mnoge druge ugodnosti. and member rates. In order to register, conference participants should submit a completed registration form and a completed IATEFL SLOVENIA membership form (if they wish to join IATEFL SLOVENIA and be entitled to member rates).

Napovednik šolskih tekmovanj

Sedmi razred OŠ : Drugi letnik srednje šole Šolska raven: 29. 1. 2016 (petek) Šolska raven: 16. 11. 2015 (ponedeljek) Državna raven: 24. 2. 2015 (sreda) Državna raven: 7. 12. 2015 (ponedeljek) to tekmovanje se v aprilu 2016 nadaljuje na mednarodni ravni, Osmi razred OŠ vendar končen datum še ni usklajen. Vse skupine, ki se bodo uvrstile iz Slovenije, pa bodo o tem pravočasno obveščene Šolska raven: 19. 10. 2015 (ponedeljek) Državna raven: 23. 11. 2015 (ponedeljek) Tretji letnik: Regijska raven: 1.2.2016 (ponedeljek) Državna raven: 14.3. 2016 (ponedeljek)

4 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si A contest for the best bike-related poem Contestants: students of 7th, 8th and 9th classes of Primary school (aged 13–15 years) Theme: My bike Contact: prof. Ana Tušek, Poljane primary school ([email protected]) Deadline: 1st March 2016

A bike or a trike - do you have one? Would you like to have a magic or a super bike? Do you like cycling? Where does your real or imaginary bike take you? Write about it! Tell us about your bike, your free time, places you cycle to, feelings you experience, friends you meet. The best three poems will be awarded and published on the IATEFL web page and in IN magazine.

The poems should be sent to: [email protected].

Drugi letnik srednje šole Šolska raven: 16. 11. 2015 (ponedeljek) Državna raven: 7. 12. 2015 (ponedeljek) to tekmovanje se v aprilu 2016 nadaljuje na mednarodni ravni, vendar končen datum še ni usklajen. Vse skupine, ki se bodo uvrstile iz Slovenije, pa bodo o tem pravočasno obveščene

Tretji letnik: Regijska raven: 1.2.2016 (ponedeljek) Državna raven: 14.3. 2016 (ponedeljek)

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 5 Foreword by the editors

Have you ever thought about the role that music plays in our lives? Trying to define it adequately is a daunting, perhaps an impossible task. Music seems to be everywhere – appreciated and produced in most (or all?) cultures and, in our society at least, accessible 24 hours a day. We can choose to listen to it through a range of media and gadgets – radio, CDs, MP3s players and even watches – or often, we find ourselves passively absorbing it as we have a coffee in a bar, as a friend gives us a lift home, or through someone else’s headphones on the train.

Not only is music universal, it also performs an enormous variety of functions. Sometimes it simply entertains. We enjoy hear- ing a particular song, although we can’t explain why the melody is so appealing – or it makes us move, by dancing, tapping our feet or drumming our fingers on a tabletop. We use music as a backdrop, a soundtrack to cooking, studying or exercising. We also cannot ignore the emotional pull of music: we often claim that music speaks to us, that the lyrics of a particular track resonate with us, or that it speaks for us, when we dedicate songs to loved ones on the radio, or, in a contemporary equivalent, post them on a friend’s Facebook wall. We listen to music to lift our mood or wallow in self-pity. Music is also intimately connected to many of life’s ceremonies and rituals: songs are sung at funerals, at birthday parties, at weddings, or to worship if we are religious. What about those songs that represent us or bind us as a community or nation? Think of the songs sung on football terraces to support or intimidate, or national anthems. Music also defines us: what does it say about us if we prefer The Beatles to The Stones, Oasis to Blur, or Katy Perry to Taylor Swift?

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it perhaps gives us an insight into why music is such an incredibly versatile and powerful classroom tool. We can use lyrics to teach vocabulary and grammar, to explore culture and society, and to affect the mood of the class – to calm or stimulate, or it can be “just for fun”. While there is a significant body of research available on the use of music in the classroom, the authors of the papers in this special edition have all found innovative ways to employ music and song in their classrooms. Claudio Nobili harnesses the poetic power of opera to explore the comprehension process and, accordingly, build student comprehension skills in a Slovakian Italian language classroom. Cvetka Sokolov highlights a more specific problem – paragraph development – and proposes a highly motivating method of addressing it through the use of popular song. Business and music may seem at first glance an unlikely combination; however, Nataša Gajšt demonstrates how business-themed songs can be exploited to develop vocabulary, grammar and awareness of economic issues in ESP classes, while Pia Kiviaho-Kallio explores how dance and movement have been in- corporated into a vocational degree course in Finland to further students’ language, body language and managerial skills.

We hope that these articles will prove enjoyable reading as well as helpful resources; certainly, the editors have both enjoyed and profited from the experience of gathering and editing such a varied and international group of papers.

Kirsten Hempkin and Katja Težak

6 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si Embodying Music, Movement and the Arts Within a Vocational Learning Environment Pia Kiviaho-Kallio and Ivan Berazhny, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences

This paper resulted from the awareness 1. Foyer purpose of creating a functional and es- that vocational curricula in Haaga-Helia thetically appealing educational venue that University of Applied Sciences, Finland, There comes a moment when random would support inquiry learning, and a ped- list competences which inherently rely on walking in space becomes transformed in- agogical approach chosen for the new cur- the students’ musicality and kinaesthetic to dance. This can happen when a group of ricula. To put it metaphorically, the con- awareness. Reaching such competences people are asked to walk with determina- temporary building was designed to serve logically invites continuous and consist- tion and sharp turns in a spacious room. as a dance master with the purpose of steer- ent use of music and movement in the Gradually, patterns start to form, the move- ing the learning process in a more autono- classroom as part of the learning environment acquires a clearer focus and the body mous and creative direction. ment. However, when looking at the in- of people will find a common rhythm and stitutional course descriptions, the space eventually start breathing together. Should In practice, inquiry learning takes place reserved for the arts in classroom encoun- you add music to this action, the result via semester projects commissioned by ters seems to be non-existent. The paper would be reminiscent of a choreographed industry. This in turn creates a demand sets out to measure the extent of this gap piece, something that could even be called for new types of students with excellent by a series of interviews conducted with sublime in accordance with Longinus’ no- skills in teamwork and self-management, Haaga-Helia staff. Further, it suggests ad- tion of sublimity as a local effect: “it comes since learning mainly takes place in pro- dressing the gap by designing and imple- at a single stroke, like lightning, and is not ject teams. Additionally, as learning moves menting a series of dance workshops that achieved by content or structure on a larg- out from traditional lecture halls into a match the curriculum requirements, with er scale” (Heath, 2012, p. 12). real-life business context, students need the purpose of exploring the benefits of to possess advanced interaction and pres- dance pedagogy as a means of enhancing The above description applies to the open- entation skills to be ready to cooperate communication in a multi-cultural class- ing scene of Jerome Robbins’ ballet Glass with professionals in the industry. Clear- room. Additionally, the paper shares the Pieces (1983) choreographed to music by ly, these skills are not learnt via theory; feedback given by the students on wheth- Philip Glass. Equally, it also applies to an they need to be embodied in practice. er and to what extent such artistic inter- everyday scene on Porvoo Campus, Fin- Since Porvoo Campus is a multicultural ventions are relevant and effective. The land: that of students crossing an empty learning environment with students rep- paper concludes that there is a variety of university lobby, accompanied by classical resenting over 40 nationalities, individu- ways to integrate arts, music and move- or contemporary orchestral music. How als also need to be encouraged to use Eng- ment into vocational curricula and recog- did we reach the point of employing mu- lish as a lingua franca, regardless of lin- nises that such steps would require a sic, movement and the arts as a pedagogi- guistic background or competence. higher awareness and commitment from cal resource in business studies? Here is the the staff and administration. The authors story of how and why students at Haa- Significantly, Haaga-Helia Porvoo Unit has also hope that the paper’s initiative and ga-Helia University of Applied Sciences also been a pioneer in employing dance and examples can be helpful to various practi- started dancing at business school. movement as a pedagogical resource for tioners in education who share similar practicing interactive skills in tertiary level needs and concerns. studies, introducing movement-based Eng- 2. Dancing Porvoo Campus lish courses in 2014-15 aimed at preparing students for a career in international sales Porvoo Campus opened in January 2011 and services, where it is not enough to to host degree programmes in tourism and know a foreign language at the level of vo- business offered by Haaga-Helia Universi- cabulary and grammar but where the ty of Applied Sciences in Porvoo. The speaker also needs to acquire full control of planning process was quite unique in the body language and paralinguistic features context of Finnish school architecture, the of speech. This echoes Robinson, who de- campus being planned in close coopera- fines dance as “a kinesthetic form of intelli- tion with the architect Jukka Sirén and the gence” and points out how speech is “usu- teaching staff of Haaga-Helia, with the ally accompanied by a dazzling variety of

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 7 physical movements, facial expressions and shops for first-semester students who en- and problem-solving skills will be needed gestures” (Robinson, 2011, p. 121). In a tered the International Degree Programme to an increasing extent. Finally, one inter- dance-based language class, gestures and in Tourism in autumn 2013 (TOBBA13). viewee also perceived the role of the teach- movements help the students to embody the The purpose was to explore the benefits of er as that of a performing artist: “The teach- foreign language deep into their mind-set. using the arts in vocational learning. Addi- er needs to be a creative performer. The set- tionally, interviews with staff members ting is dangerously boring, so there needs Traditionally, as a result of marginalization were planned in order to explore views on to be a provoking and polarizing element.” of the arts in European education, dance has involving the arts in learning as well as to been positioned at the very bottom of the discover best practices. The outcome in- It could be argued that creativity is some- hierarchy in an educational system that cluded three dance and movement im- thing that thrives by practice or it becomes seems to favor subjects of immediate instru- provisation workshops, Music Moves, Cam- as stale as an isolated word on a Power- mental value: mathematics, science and lan- pus Chairs and La Serenissima, all super- Point slide in a meeting room. As Kari guages (Robinson, 2011). Furthermore, vised by English lecturer Pia Kiviaho-Kal- Kurkela of Sibelius Academy says, the cre- there also exists an internal hierarchy be- lio, who is also a qualified dance teacher ative mind-set is something natural and tween the arts where dance is placed at the with long experience of employing dance demystified, initially involving self-expres- bottom of the scale, far below music and and movement as pedagogical resources in sion in open interaction with the outer re- visual arts. This calls for promoting the in- both comprehensive and vocational stud- ality (Kurkela, 1993). According to Robin- strumental benefits of dance in subjects ies. Additionally, altogether eight inter- son, creativity is also something you can such as foreign language learning. For exam- views with members of staff of Porvoo train, it is “about working in a highly fo- ple, Helsinki-based dance company Zodiak Campus as well as one interview with a cused way on ideas and projects, crafting has been engaged since 2007 in developing representative of the creative industries them into their best forms and making kinesthetic language workshops for primary were conducted by Ivan Berazhny, a se- critical judgments along the way about and secondary level education, adopted in mester coordinator for TOBBA13. Finally, which work best and why. In every disci- 2011 as an innovative educational project the ultimate goal was to make music, pline, creativity also draws on skill, knowl- funded by the Finnish Ministry of Educa- movement and the arts visible on Haa- edge and control. It’s not only about let- tion and Culture. Zodiak is also offering ga-Helia Porvoo Campus as well as to pres- ting go, it’s about holding on” (Robinson, movement pedagogy training for language ent arguments for involving the arts in the 2011, p. 5). In reference to the situation on teachers. On the other hand, regardless of core teaching of business subjects. Porvoo Campus, one interviewee summed utilitarian justifications, dance should also up the benefits of the creative classroom as be embraced as a channel to introspection Initially, course implementation plans were follows: “Learning creatively is more effi- and finding authenticity and uniqueness in examined in order to trace any signs of ar- cient, since we know that 44 stiff slides do the individual, as argued by Krantz (2015). tistic interventions. Notably, there was no not get you far with learning.” There were In other words, why should we not value mention of musical or artistic activities in also statements mentioning a multi-senso- dance as something existential and joyful in the curriculum, as if this area of life was ry classroom and the need to involve all itself when practicing art for art’s sake? non-existent and lacking significance in a senses in learning as well as the need for a business school. Yet, meta-competences classroom where students get to move However, the point of departure of this es- such as team building, communication around or leave the classroom space. say is rather utilitarian and pragmatic: the skills and responsible self-management are primary question being whether music, mentioned as core competencies in the Notably, this type of creative learning is movement and the arts can offer a shortcut campus curricula, all these being skills that not new to human beings. On the contra- to providing a multi-cultural and mul- can be easily enhanced by allowing artistic ry, it was only in the 18th century that ti-lingual student team with the necessary activities into the formation of a business Jean-Baptiste LaSalle organized the French tools for gaining sufficient interaction and professional. Lisa Ullman summarizes the classroom in the rigid manner we know it self-management skills in order to cope benefits of educational dance and the Ru- today, where the teacher is in frontal focus with the challenge of working in indus- dolf Laban method as follows: “Through and the students are seated as in a table try-commissioned semester projects. It the movement of our body we can learn to chart for the purpose of giving the teacher should be pointed out that in the learning relate our inner self to the outer world” full control of the group (Foucault, 1993, experiments reported in this study, dance (Laban, 1988, p. 109). p. 174) When we move further back in was not used for learning foreign language history, we encounter the Socratic ideal, as skills as such. However, paralinguistic skills Despite the published implementation expressed by one interviewee: “Perhaps we and interpretation of body language in a plans, the interviews with the staff and the could have walking discussions with stu- multi-cultural group were naturally devel- representative of the creative industries in- dents like Socrates in Ancient Greece.” oped alongside other essential team skills dicated an understanding of the benefits of which provide the pedagogical justifica- arts in vocational studies. Firstly, the view Generally, the interviewees seemed to rec- tion for employing artistic methods in the of the arts in relation to passion, prob- ognize the instrumental value of involving context of a business school. lem-solving and provocation emerged in arts in the classroom: “music can create the several interviews: “being passionate is im- element of enthusiasm in the learning en- portant in business. Training in the arts al- vironment, even if it is difficult as we have 3. Backstage lows you to be passionate.” Another inter- different tastes in music […] when playing viewee regarded the arts as a tool for prob- guitar in class, getting the attention was In summer 2013, the authors set out to lem-solving and for preparing students for immediate. To have a motivational class is plan a series of interactive artistic work- their future working life where creativity important. The arts can achieve that as

8 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si nothing else. The students appreciate artis- dents in their first semester of studies, thus While the students still have their eyes tic inspiration.” Significantly, including it was planned to take place one month af- closed, I’m studying their kinesthetic pres- arts in tourism studies was even perceived ter the start of the academic year. Notably, ence in the room – that must be the mid- as a necessity, since students today often the group included students of more than dle-aged Finnish man. He is concentrat- seem to possess a limited knowledge of a dozen nationalities and it was therefore ing well, I immediately trust him. I ask genres and epochs. Thus, arts-integrated essential to find means of building trust the students to open their eyes and stretch. learning was perceived as an organic ele- between team members, enhancing verbal At this point I’m standing on safe ground ment of substance studies: “In tourism the and non-verbal communication as well as – I’ve done this so many times before, I knowledge of the arts and culture are es- to explore ways of embodying Porvoo Cam- know the timing and the sequence of sential. When tourist destinations are pus as a creative learning space. movements: fingers being the eyes of the studied through their local cultures and body, the skin seeing etc. (Journal entry, music, the students remember the out- In the planning of the workshop, the basic 25.9.2013). comes for longer.” structure of a dance lesson with guided activities, contact improvisation and exercises The initial challenge was to make the stu- In sum, where the arts had been invisible for taking possession of the space were cho- dents focus inwards within the framework in the official published implementation sen as the point of departure. This is in ac- of a hectic university campus at noon. plans, the interviews revealed another, par- cordance with Rudolf Laban’s model of ed- Therefore, the meditative Spiegel im allel reality of art awareness both in theory ucational dance with emphasis on the phys- Spiegel by Arvo Pärt was chosen to make and practice. There seemed to be some ical, emotional and social dimensions of the students focus on their minds and clandestine artistic activities being prac- dance where the focus is on a meaningful bodies. Simultaneously, they heard the po- ticed within the classroom walls: guitar process of dancing and “the participant’s em “Species of Spaces” by Georges Perec performances, playing music to create a re- overall development as a moving/feeling be- being read to them, a poem that beautiful- laxed atmosphere during exams and teaching” (Smith-Autard, 2002, p. 4) rather than ly captures the essence of body in space as ing students arts history as part of destina- on teaching dance technique as such. The well as multiple aspects of space as a con- tion management. On the whole, the atti- choice of improvisation exercises was in- cept. The poem served as preparation for tude expressed by staff members appeared spired by Joyce Morgenroth’s classroom an action word exercise in accordance with positive, yet these artistic activities seemed work (Morgenroth, 1987) and the structure Laban movement analysis. to have a marginalized position in the followed the lesson plan presented by Hei- courses and the outcomes were not gener- monen (Heimonen, 2009) in her disserta- In reference to the “safe ground” men- ally shared with colleagues, as if they were tion involving first-year students of industri- tioned in the journal entry, the initial con- something almost illicit and unspeakable. al design at Lund University. Heimonen’s sideration in such a creative workshop is to However, as previously stated, creativity is work with non-dancers exposed to move- make the working atmosphere safe for stu- something that flourishes through practice ment improvisation during their university dents and instructors, thus paving the way and in interaction with the outer reality. induction week served as a framework for for ensemble work and contact improvisa- Moreover, as described by Robinson: “Cre- writing the lesson plan for Music Moves. tion. Additionally, the instructor would ative insights occur when they are com- However, unlike the approach taken by need to constantly monitor the dynamics bined in unexpected ways or applied to Heimonen, where workshops were not ac- of the group, being ready to subtly inter- questions or issues with which they are not companied by music, we decided that music vene whenever needed: normally associated” (Robinson, 2011, p. would play a central role in supporting the 158). Since artistic activities enhance crea- movement activities on Porvoo Campus. The willowy lady needs to fetch her things tivity and bring forth a different perspec- from downstairs, setting herself apart. tive to reality, these activities should be In terms of music, it should be noted that Maybe an indication of something? We made visible in a business school and shared contemporary dance teachers often choose start with “action word” warm-up based within the community as a valid pedagog- to rely on natural soundscape, in other on the Perec text. “Edges of space” – what ical resource rather than being regarded a words, sounds created by respiration and is that? What are we supposed to do? I random and undefined “flavor of the moving bodies instead of composed mu- think the transformation happens with month” intervention, as expressed by Tay- sic. On the other hand, for dancers with a “space invaders”; this is the moment when lor and Ladkin in an article exploring arts- background in classical ballet, music the people in the room turn into dancers. based methods in managerial development would be an organic part of the lesson as They are getting it! The feeling of darting (Taylor and Ladkin, 2009). With that in long as the selected pieces are well-defined. into the empty space, rediscovering the joy mind, we are now going to illuminate the Another question to consider during the of free movement. However, I should have outcome of the dance and movement im- planning process was that the group size studied the English version more closely – provisation workshops implemented on could not exceed fifteen. In the end, thir- I know the text in Finnish almost by Porvoo Campus during the academic year teen students presented themselves at the heart. Yet, in the English translation the 2013-14. workshop on 24 September 2013, which lines appear in a different order. The wil- was the ideal number of students for an lowy lady has returned; she is watching ensemble practice. The outcome of Music without participating. I need to get her 4. Ensemble work Moves is best presented by juxtaposing au- feel safe to join, so we switch to “inward thentic journal reflections written by the focus – outward focus,” removing cur- The initial purpose of the first workshop, dance teacher Kiviaho-Kallio alongside the tains to the music by Saint-Saens, em- Music Moves, was to serve as a team-build- students’ feedback written after the work- bracing the space. A very peaceful activity ing session for international tourism stu- shop. (Journal entry, 25.9.2014).

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 9 Until this point, we stayed within the com- movement patterns and qualities to those and innovative use of learning space. This fort zone of activities; however, the objec- of team members. was followed by La Serenissima in Febru- tive of Music Moves was to build students’ ary 2014, a workshop supporting destina- self-confidence as individuals and as a team tion management studies. As indicated by as well as to prepare them for the challenge 5. Mirror reflections the alluring title, Venice was studied of autonomously working in semester pro- through Renaissance dance and various jects. Thus, we decided to take activities The learning achievements of the work- water-themed movement improvisation out into the Campus lobby in order to shop were reflected by the students when tasks together with visual glimpses into the train the newly enrolled students in they were asked to write a feedback para- history and architecture of the city. Addi- risk-taking. Naturally, a body that is ready graph in full prose on the experience of tionally, in March-April 2014 students al- to dart into open space could also be de- dancing and moving on campus. Firstly, so took part in a field trip to Saint Peters- fined as a risk-taking body, in accordance the aim of taking possession of the space burg, the Russian capital of classical ballet. with the notion of Psychological Gesture was fulfilled as follows: “All these practices Several students participated in an interac- as defined in the Mikhail Chekhov acting gave the feeling that at least I know the tive ballet walking tour where basic ballet technique (Chekhov, 2002), where a spe- building better, also got a more homie feel- steps were studied in conjunction with the cific gesture triggers the character and his/ ing here.” Students also mentioned leaving history of dance in an authentic geograph- her mindset. their comfort zone: “I discovered how easy ical setting. In all, the artistic interventions it is to come out of your own comfort zone seemed to have a positive impact on the For an outsider, dancing and moving in a and be relaxed with your surrounding en- team spirit of the group, making the group university lobby might seem a random ex- vironment.” The workshop showed that more empowered and autonomous and ercise or even disturbance. However, the ex- when students feel at home and embodied thus preparing the team members for ercise serves its purpose in training students in their learning environment, they are working in real-life projects. to confidently take possession of a space, as able to focus their energy on bonding with expressed in the following journal entry: team members, this being especially important in multi-cultural teams such as 6. Reverence The beauty and power of the music [Ber- TOBBA13. Similarly, several students dis- lioz, Symphonie Fantastique] wipes away cussed the workshop from such points of Why move like Prometheus chained to the Campus noises. It actually conquers view, summarized here by a student’s his rock or Petrouchka confined to his the space and makes the participants quote: “This workshop was important be- cell when the space around us begs to be move in free circles, just like in a 19th cause it teaches us to interact with each taken over and conquered? Move spa- century ballroom choreography. Chang- other in a creative open-minded way.” ciously through space. Manipulate it, ing the music to 17th century Spanish “A cut through it, sweep across it, gather it Batallard Estrella” is a precarious mo- Since dance is a universal language to hu- in all embracing arms, cut patterns ment again (here I could have had an as- mans, it brought human togetherness to through it with scissor sharp legs and sistant to handle the technology), yet the group. One student noted this as fol- melting arms, be master of the air (Dar- when the music finally starts the group is lows: “Happiness, friendship, laughter are ius, 1984, p. 48). able to change into the mood of aggressive something that every team needs to achieve quirkiness, embodied by sharp turns and success.” Finally, the workshop also turned We return to the opening paragraph with a knocking into people. And finally, Joyce di out to have an impact from the point of description of the first scene in Jeremy Donato inspires the students to seek who view of responsible self-management, a Robbins’ ballet Glass People, where danc- the leader is in the group without any ver- core competence stated in Porvoo Campus ers move in seemingly random patterns in bal indications. A fantastic experiment curricula. Students recognized the impor- a large open space. The image above, for- which gets even a bit dangerous towards tance of taking care of their overall well-be- mulated by mime and dance artist Adam the end when students start climbing and ing: “The creative workshop today gave me Darius in his description of how to use jumping over furniture – this can be re- pleasure, both physically and mentally [...] space in performance, could be applied to garded as dance in its most expressive In mental terms, getting rid of four hours Robbins’ choreography as well. Indeed, form, as dancers explore the limits of sitting in class was such a relief.” Another why move like Prometheus chained to his where movement can take you (Journal student echoed Martha Graham in her rock? On the whole, why be chained to as- entry, 25.9.2013). claim of dance being the hidden language sumptions on how business subjects should of the soul: “Altogether, dancing is proba- be taught or why be confined to tradition- Taking part in the activities in the lobby bly the best way of discovering things al classroom teaching in vocational educa- can train students to sustain gaze coming about yourself and showing emotions.” tion? Upon asking students on Porvoo from the outside without losing focus, an Campus to move in the main lobby to mu- essential skill in doing business. Another Encouraged by the positive learning out- sic by Philip Glass, they were simultane- important competence is being able to comes of the Music Moves workshop, the ously trained in the risk-taking, assertive read the body language and non-verbal method of involving music, movement attitude and posture of a business profes- signals of team members. In the Music and the arts was introduced as an organic sional. Accordingly, in terms of risk-taking Moves workshop this was practiced by pair part of first year studies in TOBBA13. In there could not be a more efficient exercise work and group tasks such as an exercise October 2013 a choreographic workshop than that of a simple walk under the gaze called Living Sculptures, where movement called Campus Chairs was implemented of an entire university campus. No theo- is performed in canon, adjusting one’s own with the purpose of enhancing team skills retical lecture on risk could have a more

10 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si profound effect than actually embodying into the curriculum as a pedagogical re- chairs, yet the path to clear space for artis- the feeling of risk into muscle memory in source. Significantly, this also contributed tic activities has become shorter since the the manner advocated by Chekhov in his to making the arts visible and accepted in initial preparations for the first Music notion of Psychological Gesture as the phys- the official campus curricula and, addi- Moves workshop in autumn 2013: ical manifestation of a character. What tionally, there has been a seemingly cumu- would be the Psychological Gesture of a lative effect of artistic interventions in cur- Yes, I had contracted M and the janitor to business professional? Naturally, that of ricular teaching and staff discussions. remove the tables in room 2624a & b, good posture, clearly defined movements however, I ended up discovering that I and a steady gaze, all enhanced by practic- On a more profound level, students found needed to do it myself: as a ritual. The ing dance and movement. a method of self-expression through the transition from English teacher to dance universal language of dance and music, teacher could only happen through hard Thus, the story that began in 2013 with a thus moving away from a utilitarian ap- labor. On a video featuring the Campus, a first move through a campus space has tak- proach towards a more holistic compre- professor had claimed that it’s easy to en the authors and the students forward, hension of the value of the arts in the com- change the position of the furniture. May- fast and gracefully, towards the ultimate munity. Student-directed extra-curricular be in theory, not in practice. And I did not learning outcomes targeted by the campus activities such as flashmobs and music per- want it the easy way. I needed the time and curricula: those of initiative-taking and formances in public spaces have bur- the solitude. The sound of the tables scrap- flexibility, empathy and integrity, leader- geoned under the general view of Porvoo ing the floor was so ugly that it caused me ship and teamwork skills, focus on life- Campus as a venue for creative activities. physical pain, reminiscent of penitence long development and genuine enthusi- Notably, the use of space has also become practiced by Catholics. Penitence for what? asm - this being a manifestations of how more bold and experimental, as lessons For being such a coward, for allowing my- skills gained through an arts-based method move out of the rigid 18th century French self to come so far from my roots as danc- can be applied in managerial development, classroom seating model towards gallery er? Gradually I saw the ugly sharp-edged defined as Skills Transfer by Taylor and walks, reminiscent of the scene in The tables go, paving way for beautiful open Ladkin (2009). The initial purpose of our School of Athens painting by Renaissance space. Finally, the room was cleared. So learning experiments and interviews with painter Raphael. There will always be a di- here, at last, I had my dance studio, the staff members was to demonstrate the in- chotomy between a pristine empty space one that was never built on Campus. (Jour- strumental benefits of introducing the arts and a classroom crowded with tables and nal entry, 25.9.2013)

References

• Chekhov, Mikhail. 2002. To the Actor (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge (originally published 1953). • Darius, Adam. 1984. The Adam Darius Method: A technical and practical handbook for all performing artists. London: Latonia Publishers. • Foucault, Michel. 1993. Övervakning och straff. Translated by C. G. Bjurström. Lund: Arkiv förlag (originally published 1974). • Heath, Malcolm. 2012. “Longinus and the Ancient Sublime.” In Costelloe, Timothy (Ed.). The Sublime: From antiquity to the present. New York: Cambridge University Press. • Heimonen, Kirsi. 2009. Sukellus liikkeeseen: liikeimprovisaatio tanssimisen ja kirjoittamisen lähteenä. Helsinki: Acta Scenica. • Krantz, Göran. 2015. Students´Experiences of Dance: a hermeneutic phenomenological study. Doctoral thesis Plymouth University. Retrieved from: http://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/3189?show=full • Kurkela, Kari. 1993. Mielen maisemat ja musiikki: musiikin esittämisen ja luovan asenteen psykodynamiikka. Helsinki: Sibelius Akatemia, Musiikin tutkimuslaitos. • Laban, Rudolf. 1988. Modern Educational Dance (3rd ed.). Revised by Lisa Ullman. Plymouth: Northcote House Publishers (originally published in 1948). • Morgenroth, Joyce. 1987. Dance Improvisation. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. • Perec, Georges. 1998. Species of Spaces and Other Pieces. Translated by John Sturrock. London: Penguin Classics (originally published 1974). • Robinson, Ken. 2011. Out of Our Minds (2nd ed): learning to be creative. Chisester: Capstone Publishing. • Smith-Autard, Jacqueline. 2002. The Art of Dance in Education (2nd ed.). London: Bloomsbury (originally published 1994). • Taylor, Steven S. and Ladkin, Donna. 2009. “Understanding Arts-Based Methods in Managerial Development”. In Academy of Management Learning and Education. Vol. 8 no. 1, pp. 55-69.

Unpublished sources

• Kiviaho-Kallio, Pia. Journal entry. Helsinki. 25.9.2013

Filmography

• Music Moves workshop. 24.9.2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgr8W3U-81Y • La Serenissima workshop. 24.2.2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqwJrwXF2NU • Species of Spaces workshop. 30.9.2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndjo-hmSe74

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 11 The Process of Language Comprehension in Italian Operas by Slovak Learners Claudio Nobili, Matej Bel, University of Banská Bystrica

This experimental research deals with 1. Introduction ing Italian as a foreign language (FL) at the the process of comprehension of select- A1 level at the Faculty of Performing Arts, ed Italian lyric texts about love by Slo- The correlation between words and music majoring in Vowel Interpretation at the vak learners who study Italian as a for- seems to lie at the heart of modern general Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica. They eign language at the Faculty of Perform- linguistics. In fact, in the fourth chapter of are used to dealing with Italian opera texts ing Arts of the Academy of Arts in Ban- the introduction to the Cours de linguis- for study and work. ská Bystrica, Slovakia. The works of tique générale by De Saussure (1857-1913), Tullio De Mauro on linguistic compre- published posthumously in 1916 by his The paper is divided into two parts: the hension (De Mauro, 1999) provide the two pupils, Bally and Sechehaye, language theoretical part, in which recent findings theoretical background to this research. (or langue) is compared to a symphony in the linguistic sciences on comprehen- This article investigates the applicability (Saussure, 1983, p. 28). If language can be sion are presented, and the empirical part, of the ideas about language comprehen- compared to a symphony, the performance in which the results of the above presented sion as a multidimensional process to a of individual musicians can be compared experiment are shown. foreign context of Italian language and to the speech acts of parole, which are opera learning. It pays particular atten- unique, individual, unrepeatable and tion to the specific dimensions of the therefore temporary. The way in which 2. Theoretical models of language process of language comprehension such musicians perform a symphony does not comprehension as, for example, the con-textual, co-textu- prejudice its reality, just as the individual al, semantic and cultural dimensions. performance of a language by speakers of The manifesto of the XIX Congress of the The relationship between language and that language does not alter its existence. Society of Italian Linguistics (Società di culture is fundamental for understand- Linguistica Italiana, or SLI), held at the ing the Italian tradition. The article also Although distinct, langue and parole are University of Sapienza in Rome in No- takes into account the interaction be- interdependent; language or social reper- vember 1985 on the complex theme of tween the verbal skills (oral speech, toire (to continue with the musical termi- comprehension, produced a classical im- reading and listening). nology) that allows the speakers in a lin- age of linguistic studies: the graph with guistic community to understand, and to which Saussure illustrated the circuit of pa- be understood, is necessary to comprehend role (Saussure, 2003, p. 21) as a linear acts of parole (in this sense language is an model of communication and language instrument). It is also true that, at certain comprehension. intervals, linguistic innovations occur at all levels of social life. Variation therefore first occurs with the acts of parole, and only then can usage allow it to establish itself as a standard rule at the level of language (this is the reason that language is also a product of acts of parole). Where two individuals are concerned, the The interdependence of language as an ab- act of producing and understanding a lin- stract system of rules and as a variation in guistic utterance essentially involves two usage can be observed in the process of parts: an entirely psychic phenomenon comprehension. This paper deals with a (the correspondence of an acoustic image qualitative assessment of Slovak students’ to a given concept in the brain of the pro- textual competence in the process of lin- ducer P), and a purely physical process guistic comprehension of three texts about (the propagation of sound waves, the ma- the semantic field of love from Italian terial support to the expression of the operas, taking into account both text-level acoustic image, from the mouth of P to the and sentence-level. The students are learn- ear of the receiver R). On the part of R, the

12 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si act of utterance comprehension involves • pragmatic dimension (the illocutionary 3. Italian opera text comprehension: the same two parties but in reverse order: a force of an utterance in a given situa- methodology and results physical part (the physiological transmis- tion: affirmation, advice, order, invita- sion of the acoustic image from the ear to tion, apology, and so on); The probabilistic and multi-dimensional the brain), and a psychic part (the associa- • “unlimitedness of the noetic field” (Pri- nature of comprehension will now be dis- tion of this image to the corresponding eto) dimension, of which we can say cussed by presenting the most significant concept in the brain). and think with languages; results of an experimental research study • metalinguistic reflexivity dimension (the conducted in February and March 2014. According to De Mauro’s hypothesis (1990, constitutive and universal function of Three texts3 from Italian love operas were p. 174), a linear model of linguistic com- languages to serve as metalanguages of analysed by Slovak students. As Bonomi prehension and meaning, symmetrical and themselves); has pointed out, Italian has been the “lan- opposite to the production and the signifi- • diatopic, diastratic, diaphasic, diamesic guage of music” par excellence for external er, has persisted for years because it corre- and diachronic dimensions; reasons (its good reputation in Italy and sponds to the scientific and technical pur- • semantic vagueness dimension (the pos- abroad), and for its internal and structural poses of a historical and natural language: sibility of extending indefinitely the characteristics (phonetic and syntactic ones), specialized vocabularies are configured, in boundaries of the meaning of a word in reasons Bonomi has defined “a linguistic and fact, as a nomenclature, a set of pre-estab- a language to new meanings in relation musical question” (2009, p. 131). lished signifiers to be applied as labels, by to new experiences).2 convention, to a set of equally pre-estab- The methodology of research involved an lished meanings in a bijective mapping. In The relations between the six dimensions A1 Italian FL classroom of fifteen Slovak other words, considering the signifier and listed above can be iconically represented learners, who are used to approaching Ital- certain fundamental rules of combination, by De Mauro’s simile (1999, p. 58): the ian opera texts for study and work. Three it is always possible to predict and calculate process of language comprehension devel- traditional texts about the general theme the meaning. ops in a similar way to exploring the hand- of love were presented to the students dur- holds when climbing a tree or a small ing three different lessons, according to However, since the 1970s and 80s,1 the mountain wall. We see and choose a hand- prestructured activities in the following idea that comprehension is a linearly con- hold and if we can trust it, we choose and main phases: 1. eliciting lexical general in- secutive and specular process in respect to try a second handhold, then a third, and a formation; 2. listening; 3. formulating text linguistic production has begun to be chal- fourth one, selecting the order according comprehension hypotheses; 4. re-listen- lenged, not because it is false but because it to circumstances. Thus, we climb by as- ing; 5. reading and testing the previous is overly simplistic. sumption, attempts, returns, new starts, hypotheses. The phase of reading was al- and the path is just one of the ways we can ways preceded by the phase of listening, Comprehension is not a deterministic pro- climb higher. The tree or the rock wall re- based on authentic materials (YouTube cess (as implied by the linear model), in fers by analogy to the expression of a word videos). During each phase, the interpreta- which an absolutely certain value, 0 (total or sentence, a linguistic sense-datum im- tions of the students were noted on a black- comprehension) or 1 (total incomprehen- mediately present in the experience and board and discussed. sion), would correspond to a given linguis- object of sense-perception. Working around tic utterance. It is a probabilistic and mul- and over its form, R chooses (it is “a” The first text presented to the students was ti-dimensional process, the results of choice, not “the” choice, dictated by the Una furtiva lagrima, the aria from the sec- which fall within an ideal range of values variability of the dimensions) how to re- ond act, eighth scene, of L’elisir d’amore by between 0 and 1. In other words, we un- construct the meaning chosen by P, in a Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Felice Rom- derstand neither the whole nor nothing, continuous and dynamic communication. ani, performed for the first time in 1832. but we understand “a little” according to The process of comprehension is finally the following main dimensions not cov- the construction of one or more senses, ered by the linear model of comprehen- which can be determined only with a high sion: degree of “tolerance on the field” as it has been defined by the German logician and • con-textual and co-textual (sentences linguist Eric Lenneberg (1971), realized by which precede and follow an utter- cooperation, displacements and mutual ance) dimensions; adaptations of the interlocutors.

1 The reason for this late analytical and systematic explora- tion in the field of comprehension by linguistic sciences is to be found in the resistance to building a “sinetica,” a multi-disciplinary linguistic science which takes into account 2 In Nobili 2014 the purpose was to reconstruct the his- 3 The following definition of text has been accepted here: not only phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax and torical and philosophical depth of this idea about linguis- “Il testo potrebbe essere definito come una serie di frasi che, semantics, but all the disciplines related to the more exten- tic comprehension as a probabilistic and multi-dimen- per il fatto di essere messe insieme in un certo modo, assu- sive and complex field of human cognition. Even historical sional process considering the review to Giuseppe Prezzolini mono un significato complessivo.” (Telve 2008: 23). “A text and natural language vocabularies point to the overall cog- (Giuliano il sofista), Il linguaggio come causa d’errore-H. may be defined as a set of sentences that, for the fact that nitive, rather than purely linguistic, features of linguistic Bergson (1904), and La Poesia di Dante (1921) by Croce of being put together in a certain way, assume an overall signs and text comprehension (see De Mauro 1988; 1999). (1866-1952). meaning” (my own translation).

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 13 “spuntò” (sprang); “furtiva” (secret)], some The aria is performed during the night in Una furtiva lagrima of the previous hypotheses were challenged Beijing by the “unknown” Tartar prince negli occhi suoi spuntò: by the students: they understood that Calaf who orders everyone not to sleep Quelle festose giovani Nemorino is speaking in the text (see the and reveal his name to the princess Turan- invidiar sembrò. comprehension hypothesis “Nemorino dot, hoping that she will fall in love with Che più cercando io vò? talks about dying for love”), but they didn’t him at dawn. M’ama! Sì, m’ama, lo vedo. understand that Adina is crying because Un solo istante i palpiti they didn’t recognize the possessive adjec- After two listenings5 and a synthesis of the del suo bel cor sentir! tive “suoi”, “her” [“occhi suoi” (her eyes), l. text through the key-words that each stu- I miei sospir, confondere 2], pronounced by Nemorino but referring dent individually wrote on the blackboard per poco a’ suoi sospir! to Adina, and they were negatively influ- [vincerò (I will win); dorma (to sleep); le I palpiti, i palpiti sentir enced by the knowledge of the whole opera stelle (the stars); principessa (the princess); confondere i miei co’ suoi sospir! (Nemorino cries and is sad in the first act, damore (love); nessun (nobody); stanza Cielo! Si può morir! but not in Una furtiva lagrima). (room); le luce (the light); bocca (the Di più non chiedo, non chiedo. mouth); il nome (the name); silenzio (the Ah, cielo! Si può morir d’amor. • occhi . • suoi silence); speranza (the hope); il mio bacio scioglierò (I will dissolve my kiss); tra lon- A single secret tear The second analyzed text is a well known tane stelle (among distant stars); fredda from her eye did spring: lyric at the beginning of the third act of the (cold); saprà (to know); ma il mio mistero as if she envied all the youths unfinished Turandot by Giacomo Puccini, (but my secret)], the aim was to reconstruct that laughingly passed her by. libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato the whole text starting from these key- What more searching need I do? Simoni, performed for the first time in words. The students did not recognize the She loves me! Yes, she loves me, I see it. 1926, entitled Nessun dorma. exhortation at the beginning of the text For just an instant the beating and the function of the indefinite negative of her beautiful heart I could feel! pronoun “nessuno” (“nobody”), which gives As if my sighs were hers, Il principe ignoto the sentence a negative sense (l. 1). They and her sighs were mine! Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma! were asked, in fact, to explain the meaning The beating of her heart I could feel, Tu pure, o Principessa, of the sentence, which was understood as to merge my sighs with hers! nella tua fredda stanza “nessuno è svegliato” (“nobody is awake”), Heavens! Yes, I could die! guardi le stelle so everyone is asleep, while the meaning of I could ask for nothing more, che tremano d’amore e di speranza the utterance is the opposite one (“nessun nothing more. Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me, dorma” means “nobody shall sleep”). This Oh, heavens! Yes, I could die of love. il nome mio nessun saprà! false interpretation was confirmed by the No, no, sulla tua bocca lo dirò, contextual coordinates elicited from the quando la luce splenderà! students: “notte” (“night”); “occhi chiusi” The text describes the peasant Nemorino Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio (“closed eyes”). After a third listening, they noticing Adina, the woman he loves, cry- che ti fa mia. were asked again to confirm or deny this ing for him, and the moment he realizes Voci di donne (le stelle) hypothesis; they confirmed it also regard- that she loves him, too. Il nome suo nessun saprà... ing the occurance of the word “silence” “si- E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir, morir! lenzio” in the text (l. 10): After a first listening,4 hypotheses regard- Il principe ignoto ing the meaning of the text were formulat- Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! • nessun . • dorma  • silenzio ed by the students in key-words and sen- Tramontate, stelle! All’alba vincerò! tences according to their previous knowl- The last text presented in the classroom edge of the libretto [Famiglia (family); Nobody shall sleep! Nobody shall sleep! was the dialogue between Alfredo Ger- Nemorino; Adina; ama (loves); insieme Even you, o Princess, mont and Violetta Valery Un dì felice, per sempre (together for ever); Nemorino in your cold room, eterea, from the first act, third scene, of La piange perché Adina non c’è (Nemorino watch the stars, Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by cries because Adina is not); è stanco perché that tremble with love and with hope. Francesco Maria Piave, performed for the Adina non vuole stare con lui (Nemorino But my secret is hidden within me, first time in 1853. is tired because Adina doesn’t want to stay my name no one shall know! with him); Nemorino è povero (Nemorino No, no, on your mouth I will tell it is poor); Nemorino parla di morir d’amor when the light shines. (Nemorino talks about dying for love)]. And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine After a second listening and the explanation of the meaning of some of the words No one will know his name [such as “palpiti” (beating); “sospiri” (sighs); and we must, alas, die.

Vanish, o night! Set, stars! Set, stars! At dawn, I will win! 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J7JM0tGgRY. 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdTBml4oOZ8.

14 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si Alfredo declares his love to Violetta, but 4. Conclusion Alfredo: she can proffer him only her friendship be- Un dì, felice, eterea, cause she is not able, as a courtesan, to feel In the first part of this paper, two theoretical Mi balenaste innante, true love. models of comprehension have been pre- E da quel dì tremante sented: a linear and a probabilistic model Vissi d’ignoto amor. After eliciting students’ previous knowledge and multi-dimensional one. According to Di quell’amor, quell’amor ch’è palpito about La Traviata through a spidergram, and the second model, comprehension is a Dell’universo, Dell’universo intero, after explaining the meaning of this title to probabilistic and both incremental and dy- Misterioso, Misterioso altero, them by discussing their hypotheses [1. Tris- namic process, the results of which depend Croce, croce e delizia, tezza (sadness); 2. Relazione tra Alfredo e Vi- on linguistic and extra linguistic variables. Croce e delizia, delizia al cor. oletta complicata (a complicated relationship between Alfredo and Violetta); 3. Violetta The main results of the empirical research Violetta: perduta, non è andata per la strada giusta (Vi- presented in section 3. have revealed that this Ah, se ciò è ver, fuggitemi, oletta is lost, she didn’t go the right way)], model can be applied in the comprehension Solo amistade io v’offro: they summarized the text by answering some of Italian operatic texts in a FL context. Amar non so, né soffro comprehension questions: [1. Dove siamo? Un così eroico amor. (Where we are?); 2. Chi parla? (Who is Regarding non-linguistic variables, the re- Io sono franca, ingenua; speaking?); 3. Che cosa dice Alfredo? (What search data have shown that textual com- Altra cercar dovete; is Alfredo saying?); 4. Cosa risponde Violet- prehension is influenced by previous Non arduo troverete ta? (What does Violetta reply to him?)]. knowledge of the whole operas (the con- Dimenticarmi allor. text dimension). The greatest difficulty for students was a Alfredo: linguistic one. Bonomi (2009, p. 145) The comprehension process depends also One day, you, happy, ethereal, talks about an artificial and conventional on linguistic variables such as the co-textu- appeared in front of me, code, far from common language, in real dimension at both sentence-level and and ever since, trembling, gard to this libretto. After the third listen- text-level: the meaning of a sentence is I lived from unknown love. ing,6 and after handing the written text to supposed to take into account not only the That love that’s the pulse the students, they asked the meaning of sentence itself, but the co-text in which it of the universe, the whole universe, many words, such as the key-word “amis- occurs. The metalinguistic reflexivity di- Mysterious, mysterious and proud, tade” (l. 11), a literary archaism synony- mension has implicitly occurred in the torture, torture and delight mous with “amicizia” (“friendship”), which process of negotiating the words and the torture and delight, delight to the heart. was recognized by a Spanish Erasmus stu- meanings of the text titles, while the dia- dent at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. chronic dimension has played a role in ex- Violetta: plaining the meaning of archaic lexical If that is true, forget me. items. Friendship is all I can offer: I don’t know how to love, In conclusion, literary and classical texts in I couldn’t feel so great an emotion. FL teaching and learning offer occasions I’m being honest with you, sincere. for improving and evaluating students’ You should find somebody else. textual competence, and for developing a Then you wouldn’t find it hard deep awareness about the complexity and to forget me. multidimensionality of language compre- 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXZNX32E3ew. hension.

References

• Bonomi, Ilaria. 2009. La lingua dell’opera lirica. In: Trifone, Pietro (ed.) Lingua e identità. Una storia sociale dell’italiano (2nd ed.). (pp. 131 – 157). Rome: Carocci. • De Mauro, Tullio. 1988. Premessa, in De Mauro, Tullio, Gensini, Stefano, and Maria Emanuela Piemontese (eds.). Dalla parte del ricevente: percezione, comprensione, interpretazione, Proceedings of the XIX SLI International Congress (pp. VII-IX.) Rome: Bulzoni. • ___, 1990. Appunti e spunti in tema di (in)comprensione, in Minisemantica dei linguaggi non verbali e delle lingue (2nd ed.). (pp. 169-187) Rome-Bari: Laterza. • ___, 1999. Capire le parole. Rome-Bari: Laterza [first edition 1994]. • Lenneberg, Eric H. 1971. On language knowledge, apes, and brains. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. 1, 1, pp. 1-29. • Nobili, Claudio. 2014. Comprensione linguistica in prospettiva didattica: la pluridimensionalità tra concetto e metodo. Italica. 91, 1, 59-70. • Saussure, Ferdinand (de). 1983. Cours de linguistique générale (18th ed.). Translated by Tullio De Mauro. Rome-Bari: Laterza (original text published 1922). • Telve, Stefano. 2008. L’italiano: frasi e testo. Rome: Carocci.

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 15 Pop Songs as Secondary Supports in Paragraph Development Cvetka Sokolov, University of Ljubljana

This article presents a method of teach- 1. Introduction 2. Paragraph Structure ing students how to effectively develop body paragraphs by helping them to un- Using music in class is an effective way of A paragraph consists of a group of sentenc- derstand and remember the basic char- getting students interested and motivated es all developing one main idea, which is acteristics of effective secondary sup- for what teachers are trying to teach usually announced explicitly by the topic ports: pop songs illustrate clearly that them. Listening to music and singing sentence. It is the topic sentence that good examples/secondary supports are along creates a friendly and relaxed class- mostly opens a body paragraph. Its con- relevant, specific, lively, and memorable. room atmosphere. trolling idea (Fazio et al., 1990, p. 7; Apart from focusing on writing skills, Frankling Parks et al, 1991, p. 13), also this approach to teaching paragraph Popular music in its many forms con- referred to as the limiting statement (Ar- structure and development enhances stitutes a powerful subculture with its naudet and Barrett 1990, p. 3), defines the other important skills: it requires stu- own mythology, its own rituals, and its aspect of the topic which the writer wants dents to consider the content and mes- own priesthood. As such it is a part of to focus on/develop in the paragraph. sage of lyrics in depth, which contrib- students’ lives in a way that so much utes not only to their reading and inter- else we do is not. If we can tap on it, we All the sentences following the topic sen- pretation skills but also to their critical release unsuspected positive energy. tence should support the controlling idea thinking skills. A paragraph developed (Maley in Murphey, 1992, p. 3) of the topic sentence to secure the para- in this way can thus serve as a solid basis graph’s unity. The supporting points de- for a follow-up discussion, too. The ap- The potential provided by music and veloping the controlling idea are divided proach to teaching writing exploits many song can be used to teach any of the four into two groups: major supporting points benefits of using music and song in basic language skills. This paper focuses called primary supports, and more specif- class: it is authentic, it creates a pleasant on developing writing skills by employ- ic points referred to as secondary sup- and relaxed atmosphere, involves stu- ing pop songs as secondary supports in ports. Primary supports are less general dents in the lesson emotionally, unifies structuring paragraphs. Creating coher- than the topic sentence but general the group and increases motivation. ent and well-developed paragraphs by enough to lend themselves to further de- Learning paragraph development this providing relevant and interesting sup- velopment provided by more detailed sec- way is simply fun. ports is a challenge for novice writers, ondary supports/examples explaining a which pop songs can help to alleviate. primary support further (Frankling Parks The method of teaching paragraph struc- et al., 1991, pp. 21–50). ture and development, focusing on the essential characteristics of effective sec- The following chart taken from the text- ondary supports has proved to be very book Paragraph Development (1990) by successful with first-year students of prac- Martin L. Arnaudet and Mary Ellen Bar- tical English classes at the Faculty of Arts, rett presents the structure of a unified University of Ljubljana. paragraph:

An added benefit of using pop songs in class is their contribution to overall au- Paragraph thenticity of teaching and learning. Pop songs present authentic material, expos- Topic Sentence ing students to authentic language. (cf. Supporting Sentence Ward, 1991, p. 189) The same goes for Supporting Sentence culture – “music is a reflection of the time Supporting Sentence and place that produced it. Every song is a culture capsule containing within itself Supporting Sentence a significant piece of social information” and so forth (Griffee, 1992, p. 5). (Arnaudet and Barrett 1990 : 9)

16 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 3. A Method of Paragraph who have only just started exploring par- Development: Example agraph structure can be helped by being provided with a partly pre-prepared out- The controlling idea of a topic sentence line such as the following:  can be developed in various ways. The method of development which student Topic For students, listening to music is an important leisure activity. writers use frequently is example. Examples Sentence are specific, making general points easier for writers to illustrate and for readers to Primary It helps them relieve frustration over failing an exam. understand. A well-developed paragraph Support 1 based on this method will contain enough Secondary »What Did You Learn in School Today?« representative, clear and concrete examples Support 1a by Pete Seeger fitting the controlling idea. “Usually three Secondary or more examples are needed. But, in the Support 1b right situation, you may use one extended Secondary example which is developed in sufficient Support 1c detail to provide adequate explanation” (Franklin Parks et. al., 1991, p. 53). Primary It encourages students to be themselves. Support 2 Teachers like to focus on example as a sim- Secondary »Englishman in New York« by Sting ple method of development when teach- Support 2a ing novice writers. They prepare various Secondary guided tasks for students to explore para- Support 2b graph structure and development. Apart from getting students to analyse well-struc- Secondary Support 2c tured and substantially developed full- length model paragraphs written by skilful Primary writers, teachers can, for example, prepare Support 3 possible paragraph outlines with some Secondary missing primary and secondary supports Support 3a for students to fill in (Sokolov, 1998, p. Secondary 88). If the paragraph’s topic is music, the Support 3b benefits of using music and song in the language class can be useful. Secondary Support 3c Let us have a look at a possible way of doing so. A model paragraph on the impor- NOTE: Students should be encouraged I learned that Washington never told a lie, tance of music in students’ lives inspired to change the number of supports if they I learned that soldiers seldom die, me to develop a method which involves wish to do so. They may want to list more I learned that everybody’s free, pop songs as secondary supports in para- than three secondary supports with a pri- And that’s what the teacher said to me. graph development. The original para- mary support, or use just two or even one Chorus: graph comes from the textbook Practicing extensive example with another. That’s what I learned in school today, Paragraphs (1990) by Gene Fazio, Judy That’s what I learned in school. Pearce, Pamela Lear and Gwen Rowley. Apart from helping students to get started The topic sentence, the primary support- and to create a coherent outline with a suf- Who cares about passing exams based on ing points and a secondary support (“An- ficient number of supports, a prompt like course material that gives such a distorted other Brick in the Wall”) used in the arti- this makes it possible for the teacher to picture of reality? The message conveyed cle are taken from the same paragraph smuggle in a song or two which his or her by Seeger’s song is very likely to comfort a (Fazio et al., 1990, pp. 144–145) whereas students are less likely to know. Using mu- student who has just failed an exam. other secondary supports have been add- sic and song in the language class may be a ed either by me or my students. marvellous opportunity for teachers to Most songs chosen to serve as secondary learn from and about their students’ music supports should, however, be selected by taste(s) but the reverse is true as well. “We students. “Allowing the students to choose 4. Pop Songs as Secondary Supports can learn about the music of our students gives them some responsibility, involves as well as teach them about our music.” them in the lesson more, and gives school To begin with, the students are divided (Griffe, 1992, p. 6) The lyrics of Pete See- relevance to their everyday lives and con- into groups and given the following topic ger’s “What Did You Learn in School To- cerns” (Murphey, 1992, p. 14). Students sentence: For students, listening to music is day?” are simple but very meaningful; the need to justify their choice too, making an important leisure activity. More experi- teacher should justify his or her choice by, sure that their examples are really related enced student writers can be expected to say, pointing out that a lot of the things to the primary supports that they are sup- think of both primary and secondary sup- that students learn at school are ideological posed to develop. This can only be done if ports themselves while less skilful writers lies, giving specific examples from the text: the content and message of the lyrics are

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 17 considered in depth. In other words, choos- The students may want to use both sup- ing relevant pop songs requires close read- porting points in their paragraphs, or cho ing, meaning that the method develops ose one only. the students’ reading and critical thinking skills as well. Here is the chart of the first set of possible supporting points in the paragraph being When developing the idea of students giv- outlined:  ing vent to frustration after having failed an exam, more than one group of students Topic Sentence For students, listening to music is an important leisure activity. are likely to suggest “Another Brick in the Wall” as a possible primary support: Primary It helps them relieve the frustration over failing Support 1 an exam. We don’t need no education, Secondary »What Did You Learn in School We don’t need no thought control, Support 1a Today?« by Pete Seeger No dark sarcasm in the classroom, Secondary »Another Brick in the Wall« by Pink Teachers leave them kids alone. Support 1b Floyd Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone! Secondary »Little Boxes« by Malvina Reynolds All in all it’s just another brick in the wall. Support 1c All in all you’re just another brick in the wall. In order to fully exploit the advantages of Sting. Some students will think of it them- The lyrics expose the main goal of educa- using music and song in teaching writing, selves, others will remember it as soon as it tion: to program students to become obe- teachers should play the »supports« in class is mentioned, or when they have heard the dient citizens and consumers who do not after a particular group has presented and first few chords. The main message is con- differ from one another and don’t use justified their choice of pop songs. Most tained in the line “Be yourself, no matter their brains to see through the brainwash- students will be happy to join in, or even what they say”: ing process to which they are subjected. If bring their instruments to class, accompa- »we« do not need that kind of education, nying their colleagues singing the main If “Manners maketh man” (not) passing exams becomes irrelevant. tune – this has been the case more than as someone said, What else to listen to when one feels bad once in my classes. Learning about para- He’s that hero of the day, about one’s school record? graph structure and development based on It takes a man to suffer pop songs as secondary supports has thus ignorance and smile, When students report on their choices, the turned out to have two other invaluable Be yourself no matter what they say. teacher might be tempted to acquaint side effects – it affects group dynamics fa- I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien, them with yet another song from ‘the pre- vourably and boosts weaker students’ I’m an Englishman in New York, vious century’ – “Little Boxes” written and self-assurance – they can sing along or play I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien, performed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962. the guitar/violin/flute/accordion (my stu- I’m an Englishman in New York. dents and me have had the privilege to in- Little boxes on the hillside, dulge in them all) without worrying about There is much more to the content here Little boxes made of ticky tacky, making mistakes in English. than meets the eye. The song is not only Little boxes on the hillside, about an “alien” in New York being him- Little boxes all the same. Singing a song is a great way of self, it is about the British writer, actor and There’s a pink one and a green one unifying a group. (…) It can foster life model for painters Quentin Crisp, And a blue one and a yellow one, co-operation among students and give who was openly gay and “began wearing And they’re all made out of ticky tacky, the shyer ones a chance to join in. eye make-up and lipstick in public in the And they all look just the same. Students who have more difficulties 30s [of the previous century], when it was then others will have an opportunity even quite shocking for women to do this” And the people in the houses to make a contribution to the corporate (J. and L. Soars, 1989, p. 23). A writer se- All went to the university, effort without worrying about getting it lecting this song as a secondary support Where they were put in boxes wrong, and this may increase their could provide a more elaborate interpreta- And they came out all the same. self-confidence. (Ward, 1991, p. 190) tion of the lyrics, sticking to one extensive And there’s doctors and lawyers, example only. A quote or two from Quen- And business executives, After the first set of supports has been dis- tin Crisp’s autobiography The Naked Civil And they’re all made out of ticky tacky, cussed, listened to and, possibly sung, the Servant or from an interview with him And they all look just the same. groups get down to looking for and think- could be added, too. ing about possible secondary supports de- The lyrics suggest the same as those of “An- veloping the controlling idea of music en- Another pop song which students often other Brick in the Wall” – education is couraging students to be themselves. select as a possible secondary support de- meant to create people who conform to veloping the theme of students being en- social expectations instead of developing One song covering the topic of being true couraged to be themselves is Bon Jovi’s and employing their critical thinking skills. to oneself is “Englishman in New York” by “It’s My Life”:

18 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si It’s my life, The line “We’re the song that’s out of tune” It’s now or never, suggests we all differ from what is consid- I ain’t gonna live forever, ered to be ’normal’ to some extent, yet I just want to live while I’m alive, our “mistakes” are “beautiful,” making us (It’s my life) unique and valuable members of society. My heart is like an open highway, The song thus spurs the listeners into ac- Like Frankie said cepting themselves and making others I did it my way, accept them the way they are, into being I just wanna live while I’m alive – brave enough to develop their personali- It’s my life! ties by creating and singing.” The comment by Ro’Quan (2011) confirms this Young people can easily identify with the interpretation: »i like this song because message of the lyrics suggesting that they im gay and peolpe treat me diffrent but should live their lives to the full by learning this song mak me feel alive and wonted form “Frankie’s” (Frank Sinatra’s) “My on earth!!! :)im a gurl btw.« So does Sadie Way” (which could also be used as a more Shelby’s (2011): ‘’Beautiful is a motivat- ‘old-fashioned’ supporting point here) that ed tune in which I can express my inner they themselves should be the masters of being as a so call weird individual.’’ their fate. After students working in groups have found their own ways of explaining The chart of the second set of possible sup- what the song means to them, they share porting points in the paragraph being out- their justifications with other groups. At lined looks like this:˝  the end, the students can be encouraged to check what webpage users’ comments on Primary [Music] encourages students to be themselves. the lyrics say, comparing them with their Support 2 own interpretations. For example, a com- menter on eLyrics.net points out: “[I]t Secondary »Englishman in New York« by Sting Support 2a means that i should not let people get in my way of how i want 2 live my life (…)« Secondary »It‘s My Life« by Jon Bovi (Meeks, 2014, p. 2012). The user Music Support 2b Lover (2012) in the same section (»Mean- Secondary »Beautiful« by Christina Aguilera ing to ‘It’s My Life’«) on the same website, Support 2c understands it in the same way: »I think this means, live how you want to live, don’t Finally, groups of students think of a pos- know this song will always lift your spir- let people try to tell you how to live. Enjoy sible third primary support and list two or its, its just a sheer masterpiece« (gnr-acdc- everyday that you have here on Earth, be- three secondary supports to develop it. Let eagles 2004). cause you wont live forever. Actually live.« us say they come up with the primary support that music helps them to relax after a Another exuberant tune likely to be se- Finally, “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera tiring day, in which case they can choose lected by students would be Pitbull and also communicates the same message: any pop songs they find relaxing, as long as Christina Aguilera’s »Feel This Moment«: they justify their decisions. They can be No matter what we do, slow moving and calm, or lively and wild. One day when the light is glowing (No matter what we do), Some students will opt for dynamic tunes I’ll be in my castle golden No matter what we say, encouraging them to have fun and party But until the gates are open (No matter what we say), such as “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen: I just wanna feel this moment (oh) We’re the song that’s out of tune, I just wanna feel this moment (oh) (yeah) full of beautiful mistakes Don’t stop me now, I just wanna feel this moment (oh yeah). I’m having such a good time, Feel this moment And everywhere we go, I’m having a ball, (And everywhere we go) Don’t stop me now, Finally, the title and lyrics of the song »Re- The sun will always shine If you wanna have a good time, lax, Take It Easy« by Mika seem to offer (The sun will always, always, shine) just give me a call, themselves as yet another support in the But tomorrow we might awake on the Don’t stop me now paragraph that the students are outlining: other side. (‘Cause I’m having a good time),

Don’t stop me now Relax, take it easy ‘Cause we are beautiful no matter (Yes I’m havin’ a good time), For there is nothing that we can do. what they say, I don’t want to stop at all. Relax, take it easy Yes, words won’t bring us down, no, Blame it on me or blame it on you. We are beautiful in every single way, Why this particular song? Because “(t)his Yes, words can’t bring us down, oh, no. is Queen at their best, gets everyone sing- The song may strike one as optimistic at So don’t you bring me down today. ing along, and gets everyone happy. You first sight but in fact describes rather dark

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 19 circumstances. Its message is not “let’s have fun” or “let’s live every moment to the fullest” but rather “don’t panic.” Why not? Firstly, if you can do nothing about a trying situation, panicking won’t help; secondly, even though things look bad for you at the moment, there must be a way out’ as the line »Don’t scream – there are so many roads left« suggests. Despite »a false brightness to this song« (sherbet lemon 2007), the message is still reassur- ing, and could help listeners faced with a serious problem ease their tense feelings to some extent. The students who choose this song to support the controlling idea at hand are likely to have been (mis)led Primary Music helps students to relax after a tiring day. by the seemingly light-hearted title and Support 3 music, which is a great opportunity for the writing teacher to challenge them to Secondary »Don‘t Stop Me Now« by Queen read and consider the lyrics more closely Support 3a and come up with an interpretation sup- Secondary »Feel This Moment« by Pitbull and Christina porting their choice at the end of the day. Support 3b Aguilera The last part of the paragraph could thus Secondary »Relax, Take It Easy« by Mika consist of the following supporting points:  Support 3c

A possible structure of the entire para-  Topic For students, listening to music is an important leisure activity. graph has thus been created and is out- Sentence lined in the chart below: Primary It helps them relieve the frustration over failing an exam. Support 1 Secondary »What Did You Learn in School Today?« Support 1a by Pete Seeger Secondary »Another Brick in the Wall« by Pink Floyd Support 1b Secondary »Little Boxes« by Malvina Reynolds Support 1c Primary It encourages students to be themselves. Support 2 Secondary »Englishman in New York« by Sting Support 2a Secondary »It›s My Life« by Jon Bovi Support 2b Secondary »Beautiful« by Christina Aguilera Support 2c Primary Music helps students to relax after a tiring day. Support 3 Secondary »Don‘t Stop Me Now« by Queen Support 3a Secondary »Feel This Moment« by Pitbull and Support 3b Christina Aguilera Secondary »Relax, Take It Easy« by Mika Support 3c

20 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si It is important to stress that the number of in the classroom can make our teaching ble. Apart from focusing on writing skills, primary and secondary supports should be more effective. (Murphey, 1992, p. 15) such an approach to teaching writing de- flexible, depending on the number of sup- velops other skills as well: it encourages ports the student can think of, and the Finally, it should be pointed out that lists students to consider the content of lyrics length and depth of individual justifica- of pop songs alone will not do as second- carefully, which contributes not only to tions supporting the writer’s choice of pop ary supports. It is important for students the improvement of their reading and in- songs. In addition, the task is meant to to explain the results of their group work terpretation skills but also to an increase teach students about paragraph structure in the actual paragraphs they write at in their critical thinking skills. Also, the and the nature of effective secondary sup- home individually and express why they songs used as secondary supports reflect ports, and not to prescribe the particular believe a particular pop song can serve as the cultures from which they originate, supports which they should use in their a relevant, representative and as a specific getting the students acquainted with paragraphs. When we ask them to write example supporting a primary support them in an enjoyable way. out full-length paragraphs for their home- directly. Not only will their in depth con- work, we should encourage them to use as sideration of their own choices secure There are many other advantages to using much of the outline created by the class’s more convincing argumentation, but it pop songs when teaching paragraph struc- joint effort as they wish, feeling free to re- will also increase the positive emotional ture. The method livens up the language duce or increase the number of supports, impact of using music in class. class, “[providing] variety and fun” (Mur- possibly replacing some with pop songs of phey, 1992, p. 8). It increases the motiva- their own choice if they work better for Students should be given individual feed- tion they receive from the teacher, “getting them. Their ability to choose pieces of mu- back on their paragraphs by their peers and the students to do something that they sic that address their perception of the the teacher. The range of ideas that is bound would do in real life” (Ward, 1991, p. 189) world and feelings directly will prove ben- to emerge in the process of paragraph crea- and handing over the actual content of the eficial to the quality of the writing they tion and evaluation can serve as a solid basis lesson to them. In addition, songs “en- produce. “Keeping the student at the cen- for a follow-up discussion on various topics courage harmony within oneself and with- tre means that song is basically used as a relevant and significant to young people. in a group” (Murphey, 1992, p. 8), so us- catalyst to provide the student with mate- ing them is beneficial to the group dynamics rial to manipulate in a personally relevant within a particular class, strengthening its way” (Murphey, 1992, p. 14). 5. Conclusion cohesion. Finally, “(t)he use of music and song in the classroom can stimulate very Our musical interests are usually The method presented here teaches stu- positive associations to the study of lan- emotionally loaded. In other words, dents how to develop body paragraphs guage, which otherwise may only be seen what we are doing is insearch not effectively by helping them to grasp and as a laborious task, entailing exams, frus- input: we ask students to use their remember the basic features of secondary tration, and corrections” (Murphey, 1992, feelings, experiences, and thoughts, supports that work: pop songs demon- p. 6). Music and song should be exploited stimulated by the music, as the primary strate clearly that good secondary sup- to a much larger extent in the language materials for teaching. Exploiting these ports are relevant, specific, and memora- class than they generally are.

References

• Arnaudet, Martin L. and Mary Ellen Barrett. 1990. Paragraph Development: A Guide for Students of English. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. • Fazio, Gene, Judy Pearce, Pamela Lear and Gwen Rowley. 1990. Practising Paragraphs. Forth Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. • Franklin Parks, A., James A. Levernier and Ida Masters Hollowell. 1991. Structuring Paragraphs: A Guide to Effective Writing. New York: St. Martin’s Press. • Griffee, Dale T. 1992. Songs in Action. New York and London: Prentice Hall. • Murphey, Tim. 1992. Music & Song. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Soars, John and Liz. 1989. Headway: Advanced. Teacher’s Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Sokolov, Cvetka. 1998. “Pisni sestavek”. Ljubljana: Zavod Republike Slovenije za šolstvo. • Ward, Sheila. (1985) 1991. “Using Songs”. In: Alan Matthews, Mary Spratt and Les Dangerfield (eds.). 1991. At The Chalkface: Practical Techniques in Language Teaching. 189–192. Walton on Themes, Edinburgh and Hong Kong: Nelson. Sources of Comments on Lyrics

• gnr-acdc-eagles. 2004. (Comment on “Don’t Stop Me Now”.) SongMeanings, June 2. Retrieved from: http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/13153/ (26 April, 2014). • meeks2014. 2012. (Comment on “It’s My Life”.) eLyrics, July 8, 10:23. Retrieved from: http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/bon-jovi-lyrics/it_s-my-life-lyrics.html (26 April, 2014). • Music Lover. 2012. (Comment on “It’s My Life”.) eLyrics, March 5, 13:56. Retrieved from: http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/bon-jovi-lyrics/it_s-my-life-lyrics.html (26 April, 2014). • Ro’Quan. 2011. (Comment on “Beautiful”.) eLyrics, November 16, 17:53. Retrieved from: http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/christina-aguilera-lyrics/beautiful-lyrics.html (26 April, 2014).

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 21 • sadie shelby. 2011. (Comment on “Beautiful”.) eLyrics, April 12, 00:53. Retrieved from: http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/christina-aguilera-lyrics/beautiful-lyrics.html (26 April, 2014). • sherbert lemon. 2007. (Comment on “Relax, take It Easy”.) SongMeanings, May 6. Retrieved from: http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858618433/ (26 April, 2014).

Sources of Lyrics

• Aguilera, Christina. “Beautiful”. eLyrics. 2000 –2014. Retrieved from: http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/christina-aguilera-lyrics/beautiful-lyrics.html (26 April, 2014). • Jovi, Bon. “It’s My Life”. eLyrics. 2000 –2014. Retrieved from: http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/bon-jovi-lyrics/it_s-my-life-lyrics.html (26 April, 2014). • Mika. “Relax, take it Easy”. SongMeanings. 1999–2014. Retrieved from: http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858618433/ (26 April, 2014). • Pink Floyd. “Another Brick In the Wall”. The Original Pink Floyd Lyrics Site. January 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.pink-floyd-lyrics.com/html/another-brick-in-the-wall-lyrics.html (23 April, 2014). • Pitbull. “Feel This Moment.” SongMeanings. 1999–2014. Retrieved from: http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107859474931/ (26 April, 2014). • Queen. “Don’t Stop Me Now.” SongMeanings. 1999–2014. Retrieved from: http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/13153/ (26 April, 2014). • Reynholds, Malvina. 1962. “Little Boxes”. Malvina Reynholds: Song Lyrics and Poems. 2006. Retrieved from: http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/MALVINA/mr094.htm (23 April, 2014). • Seeger, Pete. “What Did You Learn in School Today?” Lyric Wiki. Retrieved from: http://lyrics.wikia.com/Pete_Seeger:What_Did_You_Learn_In_School_Today%3F (23 April, 2014). • Sting. “Englishman in New York”. MetroLyrics. 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.metrolyrics.com/englishman-in-new-york-lyrics-sting.html (23 April, 2014).

Sources of Video Clips:

• Aguilera, Christina. “Beautiful”. YouTube video, posted October 3, 2009, Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAfyFTzZDMM. • Jovi, Bon. 2000 (Album Crush). “It‘s My Life”. YouTube video, posted June 16, 2009, Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2u5uUu3DE&feature=kp. • Mika. “Relax, Take it Easy”. YouTube video, posted December 23, 2009, Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVmG_d3HKBA. • Pink Floyd. “Another Brick in the Wall”. YouTube video, posted July 5, 2010, Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5ApYxkU-U. • Pitbull & Aguilera, Christina. “Feel This Moment”. YouTube video, posted March 15, 2013, Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jlI4uzZGjU. • Queen. “Don‘t Stop Me Now”. (Official Video) YouTube video, posted August 1, 2008, Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM. • Reynolds, Malvina. “Little Boxes”. YouTube video, posted September 4, 2009, Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2lGkEU4Xs. • Segers, Pete. “What Did You Learn in School Today?” YouTube video, posted June 28, 2011, Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7MUydPomZw. • Sting. “Englishman in New York”. YouTube video, posted January 11, 2011, Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d27gTrPPAyk.

22 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si Songs about Business in a Business English Course by Nataša Gajšt, University of Maribor

Language and culture are interrelated, 1. Introduction colloquial, one can still learn some useful which consequently means that teach- phrases and grammatical structures (Sar- ing English includes teaching various Music is all around us and listening to icoban and Metin, 2000, para.2 - para.6). culturerelated topics. This is true for songs undoubtedly forms part of our general language courses as well as for daily lives. We listen to songs when com- Songs are a combination of language and the LSP courses, including Business muting to school or work, when relaxing, culture and as such they have played an English (BE). In BE courses of different doing sports, and other activities. We are important cultural role through history. levels, students acquire both specialized exposed to songs in shops, restaurants, That is, through lyrics people tend to ex- vocabulary via a range of speaking, writ- practically everywhere we go (even the press their ideas, their thoughts, and their ing, listening and reading activities and songs of birds accompany us when we cultural values. Songs of various genres discuss various business and economics venture into the countryside). Why should address a plethora of issues such as home, related topics. Since songs present a we not integrate them into English lan- family, friends, work, faith, religion, plac- combination of culturerelated topics guage (EFL) courses as well? es, objects, relationships and society. They and language, they may be used in BE provide learners with plenty of informa- courses, too. In this article I would like The use of songs in foreign language tion about human relations, customs, eth- to show that popular songs in English teaching is, of course, not a new idea. In ics and cultural differences, all of which are related to the world of business can be an article published in 1975, Jolly dis- topics that can be discussed in an English integrated into BE courses at various cusses the potential of using songs for the language class. Finally, songs are authentic levels of language proficiency to teach acquisition of pronunciation, grammati- materials which can further increase the new vocabulary, grammatical structures cal structures, vocabulary and idiomatic interest of students in language learning. as well as various language skills. In ad- expressions and as a tool for cultural ex- dition, such songs may form the basis posure (Jolly, 1975). Since then, much Apart from being used in primary and sec- for a class discussion on business-related has been written about the use of con- ondary EFL education, songs are slowly topics. temporary songs in EFL courses regard- making their way into adult learner cours- ing their advantages and the procedures es, too. Some reports also exist about the for their use. The reasons for integrating use of songs in non-language courses. contemporary songs into EFL courses are Eberhart (1995, 2001) gives an account of numerous, as the use of music and songs the use of songs to introduce a bit of hu- in language courses and language learn- mour into physical chemistry courses and ing process has many benefits. Schoepp mathematics classes, while Last (2009) dis- (2001) advocates the affective, cognitive cusses the integration of songs into the dis- and linguistic benefits of the use of songs cussion of chemical topics to increase stu- in the classroom. One of the reasons for dents’ motivation. However, not much has the incorporation of songs into an EFL been written about the potential uses of curriculum is the fact that music is often songs in classes teaching English for specif- seen as something exciting, happy, and ic purposes, including the use of songs that relaxing (Abbott, 2002, p. 10). Therefore, address business issues and that can poten- by creating a relaxed classroom atmo- tially be used in BE classes. sphere, songs can contribute to the students’ positive attitude towards foreign language learning, which, in turn, en- 2. BE courses – how can songs fit in? hances their language acquisition. With respect to cognitive benefits, songs are Generally speaking, in BE courses students welcome in a foreign language class be- acquire specialized terminology and im- cause the lyrics are often repetitive, which prove all four language skills: reading, lis- may help students acquire grammatical tening, speaking and writing (plus revise patterns, lexical items, correct pronuncia- grammatical structures if needed) via tion, and syntactic structures. Last but studying a number of economics and busi- not least, concerning linguistic benefits, nessrelated topics. An important compo- although most of the language in songs is nent in these courses is discussion, in

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 23 which students talk about not only the Topic Songs texts dealt with in class but also about issues related to domestic and international Human resources 9 to 5 (Dolly Parton) current events in the world of business, (work and jobs, Bright Future in Sales (Fountains of Wayne) society and the economy. motivation, women Factory (Bruce Springsteen) in business, industrial Independent Women (Destiny‘s Child) relations The usual topics covered in general BE Queen of the Supermarket (Bruce Springsteen) courses are organizations (different types She Works Hard for the Money (Donna Summer) of companies and their structures, plan- Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) (Styx) ning, change, corporate social responsi- Shutting Detroit Down (John Rich) bility, business ethics), human resources Assembly Line (Randy Montana) (people and jobs, careers, leadership, Workin’ For a Livin’ (Huey Lewis and the News) employment, recruitment, position of Why Don‘t You Get a Job (The Offspring) women in business, workplace stress, Takin‘ Care of Business (Bachman Turner Overdrive) worklife balance, work and motivation, Marketing Down in the Mall (Warren Zevon) labour relations), marketing (shopping (shopping habits, In the Mall (The Weezer) habits, online selling, brands, advertis- advertising, brands) ing), production (products, innovation in Lost in the Supermarket (The Clash) business, logistics, quality, supply chain Shopping (Barenaked Ladies) management), finance (money, banking, Shopping (The Jam) bonds, stocks and shares, venture capi- Shopping Spree (Future) tal, derivatives, accounting and financial Short Supply (Tracy Chapman) statements, taxation, exchange rates), Fashion (Lady GaGa) and the economy (sectors of the economy, Levi Jacket (Carl Perkins) business sectors, macroeconomic issues, Gucci Time (Schoolly D) international markets and globalization, Ford Mustang (Serge Gainsbourg) business cycle, economics). Christian Dior Denim Flow (Kanye West) Finance and banking A Bunch of Bankers (The Jimmy Cash Band) Just as in general EFL courses, we can in- (attitudes towards All About the Benjamins (Puff Daddy) troduce songs to BE courses. Surprisingly, money, taxation, Banker‘s Blues (Big Bill Broonzy ) many contemporary and not so contem- wealth) Dime, Quarter, Nickel (Nappy Roots) porary songs which address a number of I Need a Dollar (Aloe Blacc) issues related to work and jobs, business, If I Had $1,000,000 (Barenaked Ladies) and finance, have been produced over Money Honey (Lady Gaga) the past decades. Today, there is an ex- Mr. Banker (Lynyrd Skynyrd) cellent choice of songs that can be used in BE courses. Several lists of “top 10,” Piggy Bank (50 Cent) “top 30,” “most popular money songs,” Bills, Bills, Bills (Destiny’s Child) “songs to motivate business,” “top entre- A Pretty Penny (Steve Tilston) preneur theme songs” and similar (even Taxman, Mr. Thief (Cheap Trick) Forbes magazine has its own list of the 25 Taxman (The Beatles) most popular business songs) are readily Money is the Answer to Everything (Bill Shipper) available online. We can find even more Tears on My Spreadsheet (Bill Shipper) of them by using modified search and dif- Economics Inflation or Deflation (Merle Hazard) ferent search operators. (macroeconomic Fiscal Cliff (Merle Hazard) issues, financial crisis, Double Dip (Merle Hazard) The following table presents only a small capitalism, business Quantitative Easin’ (Curtis Threadneedle, Merle Hazard) selection of songs that can be used in BE cycles) Inflation Blues (B.B. King) classes:  The CISG Song (Harry Flechtner) Cost of Livin’ (Ronnie Dunn) Simple Economics (Pedro The Lion) Brother Can You Spare a Dime (Bing Crosby) American Capitalist (Five Finger Death Punch) An Ode to Economics (Jim Kurre) Fear the Boom and Bust a Hayek vs. Keynes (John Papola and Russ Roberts) Free Market (The Proclaimers)

24 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 3. Teaching procedures with songs 4. Examples of song-based activities among them and ask them to summarize for a BE course the contents and discuss the themes these How can we tie in these (and may other) songs address first in groups and then songs about business with business topics I see the usefulness of songs in BE lessons as the whole class. After listening to the in our courses? We can use them for many mainly for addressing business and eco- songs, students prepare (and read/act out) different reasons in many different ways, nomics related issues or for subject-relat- a dialogue between the interviewer/jour- but before we decide to include them into ed vocabulary building activities. Apart nalist and the person represented in the our curriculum, we have to address a set of from preparing pre- and while- listening song discussing the topic it highlights. interrelated factors. According to Hancock or reading activities, it is always good (1998) and Ornerová (2011), the selection to give students some kind of follow-up An example of a topic knowledge and vo- of songs to be used for language-based ac- speaking or writing tasks. I have to men- cabulary building activity is based on the tivities and theme-based activities in our tion that I would not use songs with all song “A Pretty Penny” by Steve Tiltson. It courses depends on the class (the learn- the topics I teach, but only occasionally can be used when talking about the activi- ers and their musical interests, their age, to introduce some variety into the lessons. ties and events in global financial markets. their language level), the teacher (the songs Since the song includes idiomatic expres- should also appeal to the teacher), the level An example of a topic knowledge activ- sions and informal language, students first of difficulty of the song and the lyrics (tem- ity I do with my students of economics read the lyrics and address this vocabulary po, stress, repetition, clear pronunciation, and business is introducing work-related and then listen to the song. Students follow vocabulary, language level, use of meta- issues such as working hours, work condi- this up by debating the theme of the song phors), the curriculum (as a support to the tions, industrial relations and unemploy- in more detail, particularly in relation to course contents – themes / topics / cultur- ment through three songs. For this I use recent global financial events. This is fol- al background, vocabulary, grammar) and “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton, “Factory” by lowed by other reading and listening ma- the pace and sequence of the lesson. After tak- Bruce Springsteen and “Shutting Detroit terial and by, for instance, writing an opin- ing all these factors into consideration, we Down” by John Rich. I divide students ion essay about the causes and the persons can then proceed to design the tasks with into groups of three, distribute the lyrics responsible for the global economic crisis. selected songs.

To improve students’ language skills, lesson activities with songs can include (Lems 2001, pp. 1-3; Ornerová, 2011, pp. 39-40)

• pre- / while- / post-listening activities and oral activities: the focus can be, for example, on rhythm, stress, intonation; students may summarize the contents of the song orally, answer questions about the topic, role-play the characters from the song (preparing and acting out dialogues based on the song); • pre- / while- / post-reading activities and writing activities: tasks may include gap-fill activities (vocabulary; grammatical structures) before, during or after listening to a song; “cloze” tasks; putting the lines of lyrics into the correct order; giving students words and having them write the song based on these words; • pre / while- / post- listening/reading vocabulary building activities: the focus of the activities might be on subjectrelated vocabulary, idiomatic expressions; students might fill lexical gaps / search for lexically-related words (synonyms / antonyms / hyponyms); translation; • cultural / topic knowledge activities: songs can be used to address various business issues either as pre-listening Fig. 1 The song “A Pretty Penny” by Steve Tiltson as the basis or post-listening tasks. for a topic knowledge and vocabulary building activity

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 25 Concerning vocabulary building activities, I find the song “Tears on My Spread- sheet” by Bill Shipper quite interesting and well-received by my students. Here the focus is on financial reporting related vocabulary. In the pre-listening stage I introduce key vocabulary as a matching task and in the listening stage students have to complete a gap fill task by inserting this terminology into the text (see Figures 2 and 3). As the song has a romantic theme, we also analyse the metaphorical use of financial terminology in this song as a post-listening task.

Another activity I ask students to do is to put the lines of lyrics into the correct order. This is an activity which can be done with practically any song. Here I cut lines of the lyrics that would address a certain Fig. 2 Financial reporting vocabulary matching task topic, give them to students who then – Tears on My Spreadsheet (by Bill Shipper) have to put them into the correct order. In his activity, the main focus is on rhyme, vocabulary and syntax. After listening to the song, we check if the lines were or- dered correctly, which is then followed by the analysis of vocabulary and/or a discussion about the theme of the song.

To conclude, I would like point out that there are, of course, no universal recipes or task templates for using songs but in general, most songs and their lyrics can be used for a number of purposes which differ from one class to another, from one teaching situation to the other. The only prerequisite is that we select them prop- erly and adapt them with care. It is thus up to the teacher who has to decide if and when, for what purpose and how they will use such songs in their BE classes.

Fig. 3 Financial reporting vocabulary gap fill task – Tears on My Spreadsheet (by Bill Shipper)

26 To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si References

• Abbott, Marilyn. 2002. "Using music to promote L2 learning among adult learners." TESOL journal 11(1), 10-17. • Cambridge Dictionaries Online. Retrieved from: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english (1 April 2014). • Eberhart, James G. 1995. "Humor and music in physical chemistry." Journal of Chemical Education 72, (12), 1076. • Eberhart, James G. 2001. "Humor and Music in the Mathematics Classroom." Bridges: Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science. Unknown, 175-180. Retrieved from: http://archive.bridgesmathart.org/2001/bridges2001-175.pdf (12 December 2014). • Hancock, Mark. 2013. Singing Grammar Book and Audio CD: Teaching Grammar Through Songs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Jolly, Y. S. (1975). "The Use of Songs in Teaching Foreign Languages." The Modern Language Journal 59 (1-2), 11–14. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4781.1975.tb03618.x • Last, Arthur M. 2009. "Combining Chemistry and Music To Engage Students’ Interest. Using Songs To Accompany Selected Chemical Topics." Journal of Chemical Education 86 (10), 1202-1204. • Lems, Kristen. 2001. Using Music in the Adult ESL Classroom. National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. Retrieved from: http://resources.marshalladulteducation.org/pdf/briefs2/Using_Music_in_the_Adult_ESL_Classroom.pdf (12 December 2014). • Ornerová, Lenka. 2001. The Use of Pop Songs in the EFL Classroom. Diplomarbeiten Agentur. • Saricoban, Arif and Metin, Esen. 2001. "Songs, Verse and Games for Teaching Grammar." The Internet TESL Journal, 6 (10). Retrieved from: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Saricoban-Songs.html (12 December 2014). • Schoepp, Kevin. 2001 "Reasons for Using Songs in the ESL/EFL Classroom", The Internet TESL Journal, 7 (2). Retrieved from: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Schoepp-Songs.html (12 December 2014). • Shipper, Bill. "Tears on My Spreadsheet lyrics". Available from: https://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_show_ lyrics/7518216# (20 August 2015). • Tiltson, Steve (2008). "A Pretty Penny lyrics". Retrieved from: https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/3742903 (20 August 2015).

Websites:

• “10 Best Work Songs - Taste of Country” Retrieved form: www.tasteofcountry.com/best-work-songs (17 November 2014) • “15 Greatest Songs about Working for a living – HitFix” Retrieved from: http://www.hitfix.com/news/15-greatest-songs-• about-working-for-a-living (17 November 2014). • “30 Best Songs About Business and Money - Business Pundit” Retrieved from: http://www.businesspundit.com/30-best- songs-about-money/ (17 November 2014). • “Best Songs to Motivate Your Business” Retrieved from: http://www.wilmingtondesignco.com/blog/2012/02/best- motivational-songs-for-business/#sth (17 November 2014). • “Labor Day Playlist: 20 Songs About Working for the Man” Retrieved from: http://www.billboard.com/articles/6236398/ labor-day-playlist-work-songs (17 November 2014). • “Top 15 Songs About Money” Retrieved from: http://ledgerlink.monster.com/news/articles/507-ledgerlinks-top-15-songs- about-money (17 November 2014). • “Motivate Yourself: 22 Songs for Business Owners, Entrepreneurs” Retrieved from: http://www.businessnewsdaily. com/597-motivational-songs-for-entrepreneurs-business-owners-cher.html (17 November 2014). • “Songfacts - Songs About Working” Retrieved from: http://www.songfacts.com/category-songs_about_working.php (17 November 2014). • “The 25 Best Work Songs for Labor Day” Retrieved from: http://www.songfacts.com/category-songs_about_working.php (17 November 2014). • “The Top 25 Entrepreneur Theme Songs” Retrieved from: http://addicted2success.com/motivation/the-top-25- entrepreneur-theme-songs/ (17 November 2014). • “Top 50 Workplace Songs About Jobs, Money and the Workplace” Retrieved from: http://www.theworkplacedepot.co.uk/ news/2013/02/27/top-50-workplace-songs/ (17 November 2014).

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si 27 Ivy Smith by Tjaša Lemut Novak Fancy a curry? Millions do! by Andy Keedwell

Activity 1 DecideActivity if these statements are true or false.

1 Ethnic food is only available in London. 2 It was hard to find ethnic food until the 1970s. 3 Indian cooking has a long history in the UK. 4 Travel encouraged British people to vary their diet. 5 Fusion food involves food from more than one continent. 6 Chicken tikka masala is commonly served in India. 7 Ethnic food is always expensive. 8 You can only find ethnic food in UK restaurants.

Activity 2 Each word below describes food and is in the text. Complete the word. What does each word mean? Which of these words describes food from your country?

1 et ___ c 5 t ______s 2 s ___ y 6 d ______s 3 ex ___ c 7 v ______n 4 f ____ n 8 b ___ d © britainonview/Martin Brent Activity 3 We form words for nationalities in different ways, People used to say that British Thai restaurant dates from the 1960s but many for example Britain becomes British but India other ethnic outlets are much newer. becomes Indian. What are the nationality words for food was boring and bland. these countries which are mentioned in the article? Nowadays people in Britain have So why did the British grow bored with their boring food? Firstly soldiers, administrators and planters 1 Bangladesh 5 Greece a world of food to choose from. who had worked overseas encouraged others to try out new food. In the 1970s, the British began to 2 Brazil 6 Japan Travel around London and you’ll find food from take holidays abroad and discovered new tastes. 3 Ethiopia 7 Poland around the world. You might come across And at the same time, people from around the 4 France 8 Thailand restaurants and cafes serving ethnic food from – world settled in the UK to live and work, bringing take a deep breath – Armenia, Bangladesh, China, food from home which attracted the British. Ethiopia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Somalia, Many people think of Britain’s national dish as Word of the week Turkey and Yemen. Take a look on the internet and being fish and chips- but it’s more ethnic than that. FusionWord food you’ll find even more, from Africa, South and Many more, including former Foreign Secretary ABody type of cooking that is a combination Central America and the Pacific. Some restaurants Robin Cook, see chicken tikka masala as of different countries’ cuisines. mix different cuisines to create fusion food – representing British taste. It’s a dish with no anyone for Brazilian/Japanese or Indian/French? particular recipe, but involves chicken in creamy It’s almost the same in other big UK cities. sauce, Indian style. You won’t find it in India though Over to you – one story is that it was invented by an Indian Britain’s ‘foodies’ – people who enjoy good food – What kinds of food do people enjoy in chef in Glasgow in the 1930s. It’s come to are always looking for new adventures. your culture? How would you describe your symbolise multicultural, multiethnic Britain. ‘ethnic cuisine’? It hasn’t always been the case. Once upon a time, other Western Europeans described British food Ethnic eating in Britain isn’t always cheap, but as boring and bland, too heavy and full of fat, there are other options. Fancy a curry, as the

with tasteless soups and puddings only the British British say? Head for Birmingham or Bradford,

8 7 Thai

where you’ll find delicious, spicy Balti cooking. Polish

3 2 1 exotic exotic spicy could love. Sixty years ago, there were only four ethnic

6 5 Japanese Japanese

Vegetarian? Try London’s Drummond Street, just Greek

Indian restaurants in the UK – now there are over 2 Activity 4 3 French

behind Euston Station. Check out local bakers and Ethiopian

2 1

Brazilian Brazilian

8,500. There were Italian restaurants in Britain in Bangladeshi

8 8 7 6 F F F

1 delicatessens in areas where people from abroad Answer

the nineteenth century but no real Chinese 3 Activity 5 5 4 3 2 1 T T T T T F

restaurant until the 1930s. The first Indian have settled. You might not be able to pronounce 1 Activity Activity 1 Activity

the names of everything but you are certain to bland

7 6 vegetarian vegetarian restaurant in the UK opened three hundred years delicious

Answers

find something you like. Whatever you do, do as Answers 5 4 tasteless tasteless ago. Today, the oldest Indian restaurant is fusion Veeraswamy’s, which opened in 1936. The first the British do and experiment with the exotic!

For more fun activities to help you learn English visit www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishTo be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si © British Council 201029