Affective Filter In English Language

Kelli Paquette uses Gardner’s statement that the first intelligence children have is music. Music comes naturally to children at a very young age through, listening, making noises, humming and singing. There have even been some studies that prove music can promote an English Language Learners ability to understand and develop English reading and writing skills, and social bonds. To help children improve their music and literacy skills, it is important to encourage their participation in a music class. Krashen believed that in order for the level of learning to be at the highest, the affective filter must be weak. If there is a weak affective filter, then there is a positive attitude towards learning. Reaching a weak affective filter and making progress speaking English when singing should not be very hard, assuming that the learning environment is casual. Singing a song is also cognitively beneficial for students. When an ELL student has accomplished the task of singing songs without pausing to think about the words, they have developed automaticity. Because English language learners benefit from repetition, children’s songs and folk songs promote success in the class. Though most of what an ELL will experience is informal, linguistically singing songs is a fun way to help students comprehend …show more content…
Songs can be incorporated into any lesson plan for all subject areas. Teachers can use them to help reinforce sentence patterns, vocabulary, pronunciation, rhythm, and different aspects of speech. When teaching a new song, Isenberg and Jalongo, have some suggestions that should be taken into consideration. The teacher could try playing the song in the background for a while so that the children get it in their head, teach the song phrase by phrase, teach the chorus first, teach the actions before adding the words, and create rebus charts as