MASARYK UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATION Department of English Language and Literature The Use of Scottish Traditional Songs in Lessons of English at University Bachelor Thesis Brno 2019 Supervisor: Ailsa Marion Randall, M.A. Author: Eva Zavadilová Bibliographical Record Zavadilová, Eva. The Use of Scottish Traditional Songs in Lessons of English at University: bachelor thesis. Brno: Masaryk University, Faculty of Education, Department of English Language and Literature, 2019. 54 pages. The supervisor of the bachelor thesis: Ailsa Marion Randall, M.A. Bibliografický záznam ZAVADILOVÁ, Eva. The Use of Scottish Traditional Songs in Lessons of English at University: bakalářská práce. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, Pedagogická fakulta, Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury, 2019. 54 s. Vedoucí bakalářské práce: Ailsa Marion Randall, M.A. Abstract This bachelor thesis focuses on Scottish traditional music and its use in lessons of English at university. The theoretical part explores Scottish culture, its language and its music, and it highlights the benefits of using music during the educational process. The practical part aims to discover to what extent the university students can understand unknown, non-standard English language structures and elicit the meaning according to the context. The research aims to widen students’ awareness of the unique Scottish culture and its language distinctions. It thereby contributes to enriching the students’ knowledge as well as to variegate the lessons of English by involving music in the educational process. Anotace Tato bakalářská práce je zaměřena na skotskou tradiční hudbu a její využití v hodinách anglického jazyka na vysoké škole. Teoretická část práce popisuje skotskou kulturu, hudbu, jazyk a vyzdvihuje výhody, které vyplývají z používání hudby ve výuce. Cílem praktické části je zjistit, do jaké míry jsou studenti schopni porozumět neznámým a nestandardním formám anglického jazyka a případně jejich význam odvodit z kontextu. Výzkum provedený v rámci práce má za cíl rozšířit povědomí studentů o jedinečné skotské kultuře a jejích jazykových odlišnostech. Tím přispívá k obohacení vědomostí studentů stejně jako ke zpestření výuky díky využití hudby ve vzdělávacím procesu. Keywords music, Scotland, Scottish culture, Scottish songs, teaching, Scots, Scottish language, Scottish grammar, history of Scottish language Klíčová slova hudba, Skotsko, skotská kultura, skotské písně, výuka, skotština, skotský jazyk, skotská gramatika, historie skotského jazyka Acknowledgement I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Ailsa Marion Randall, M.A. for her inspiration and help during the process of working on the thesis. My thanks also go to the students of English at Masaryk University who participated in the research for being cooperative and open-minded. Last, I thank my family and friends for their support throughout my whole studies. Declaration I hereby declare that I have worked on this bachelor thesis independently and that all sources I have used are listed in the works cited. In Brno, 30 March 2019 Eva Zavadilová _________________ Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 7 2 Theoretical Part ...................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Music and Foreign Languages .......................................................................... 9 2.1.1 Music in Suggestopedia ............................................................................ 10 2.1.2 Development of Language Skills .............................................................. 11 2.2 Scottish Language ........................................................................................... 14 2.2.1 The History of the Scottish Language ....................................................... 14 2.2.2 Vocabulary, Grammar and Pronunciation ................................................ 16 2.2.3 Present Usage and Understanding ............................................................. 22 2.3 Scottish Musical Culture ................................................................................. 23 2.3.1 Scottish Traditional Music ........................................................................ 24 2.3.2 Musical Life and Traditions in Scotland ................................................... 25 3 Practical Part ........................................................................................................ 28 3.1 Lessons Objectives ......................................................................................... 28 3.2 Respondents .................................................................................................... 28 3.3 “Annie Laurie” ................................................................................................ 29 3.3.1 Vocabulary and Understanding ................................................................. 31 3.3.2 Lesson Plan ............................................................................................... 32 3.3.3 Lesson Feedback ....................................................................................... 36 3.4 “Highland Harry” ............................................................................................ 40 3.4.1 Vocabulary and Understanding ................................................................. 41 3.4.2 Lesson Plan ............................................................................................... 42 3.4.3 Lesson Feedback ....................................................................................... 47 4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 51 Works Cited ................................................................................................................ 53 1 Introduction Music plays an essential role in our lives, regardless of our being active musicians or listeners. It might bring cheerfulness and optimism to the listener and can even become a full- time hobby without which people cannot live any more. Besides, music is connected to many important events and occasions we come across during life, and each culture has a unique way of involving music in people’s lives. Music and listening skills are also an important part of the language learning process. Learning a language is all about perception and repetition, and songs are a great way how to repeat language structures and enjoy the vital benefits of music at the same time. As a student of English, I find it highly relevant to become acquainted with the cultures the language of which I am learning in order to understand the context of their history and present state of their countries better. One of the aspects of the cultural richness of each country is its unique language which, although it might still be called English, differs not only in each country but also in various regions and with different speakers. Consequently, there are countless variances of English used around the world, and it would be unreasonable to expect to meet only with the form of Standard English which we are taught in schools. Therefore, it is useful to become also acquainted with non-standard English in order to understand and get closer to each specific culture. Using music provides a pleasant way of learning more about different cultures and their language simultaneously. This thesis explores the Scottish culture, its language and its music, all of which are described in the first, theoretical part, and it summarises findings of the understanding of Scottish songs gained during short lessons with university students of English, about which is written in the second, practical part. Since my other field of study is music, I am pleased that I could combine my two study fields and widen my knowledge of both by compiling this research. The theoretical part is divided into three main chapters, each of which provides a general overview of a specific topic and a review of available literature. In the first chapter, the connection between music and learning foreign languages is examined. It highlights the benefits that using music during the learning process has, and it describes how learning through music enhances language skills, such as listening and pronunciation. 7 The second chapter deals with the language used in Scotland, which is approached first through its historical development and classification. Later, some of its main language features, such as the vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, are explained and compared to the widely known Standard English. Finally, the present usage and classification of the language is described in order to enable the determination of some possible criteria which might affect the understanding of the language by non-native speakers. The theoretical part is concluded by a brief description of Scottish traditional music, its typical features, such as typical musical instruments and rhythmical structures, and Scottish musical traditions in order to understand what music truly means for Scotland. The practical part aims to discover to what extent the university students of English can understand the Scottish language in the form of Scottish traditional songs. According to certain criteria, two songs were chosen to be presented during an English lesson. Through the use of several exercises, the students’ capability of understanding the unknown