This week we’ve got a great tip for you. Believe it or not, singing can help you learn a new language.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that when different groups of people heard a number of phrases in Hungarian, the people who sang them back had much better recall than the people who spoke them.
In one of the tests, the singing group did twice as well as the speaking group. The reasons why singing a phrase makes it easier to remember than speaking isn’t known but it’s thought that it may have something to do with the melody.
Not only can it help your powers of recall but singing can help you learn a second language in lots of other ways too. We know that a number of you like to use your new language skills when you abroad, so how about singing while you’re there? It would certainly be an unusual way of introducing yourself. Or you could even have a go at karaoke in your new language.
If you’d rather keep your singing to the confines of your own home, it can still help you learn. By listening to the songs from a foreign country you can learn a lot about the country’s culture. It’s also a great way of picking up new vocabulary and phrases that you might not hear elsewhere.
Just by listening to songs in a different language you’ll be improving your listening skills and improving your accent without trying. And having lots of fun in the process.
All you have to do is find a few songs in the language you’re learning online then add them to your mobile phone or MP3 player. That way you can listen to them while you’re out and about and learn on the go, just like you do with the busuu apps.
If you are feeling super confident, why not film yourself while singing in the language you are learning and tweet us your video on @busuu?
