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Songs in Early English Learning Textbooks: A Cross-Curricular Potential
that English is connected with all cross-curricular themes and subjects be-
cause of its specific nature (i.e. it is simultaneously the content and means of
learning and teaching).
However, it is primarily linked to the fields of languages and the arts. Like-
wise, the new Curriculum for the subject Music (‘Odluka o donošenju kuriku-
luma za nastavni predmet glazbene kulture za osnovne škole i glazbene um-
jetnosti za gimnazije u Republici Hrvatskoj’ 2019) states that the subject is
connected with language (native and foreign) since they are both means of
intercultural interaction. Some experts and educators in Europe suggest to
go a step further, to integrate music and second language learning because
of all proven benefits music has on language learning (see Ludke and Wein-
mann 2012). The most obvious form that links these two subjects is songs.
Children respond enthusiastically to songs and welcome them in early for-
eign language teaching (Şevik 2011) so textbooks for language teaching of-
ten contain numerous songs. The multiple benefits of using songs during
language classes were pointed out as early as 1962 in the article ‘Music in the
Language Classroom’ by Bartle. Numerous studies have indeed found em-
pirical evidence on the beneficial effects of songs on the linguistic, cognitive
and affective domains of language learning in that songs develop automatic-
ity as a result of their repetitive nature, foster accent improvement, vocabu-
lary learning, language structure memorizing, improve motivation and pos-
itive attitude towards the target language (Engh 2012; Ludke and Weinmann
2012).
Apart from songs, there are other links between English and Music sub-
ject. If we compare the new English Curriculum with the Music Curriculum,
the concept of interculturality or intercultural competence is emphasized in
both. Interculturality is the necessity to develop the understanding that dif-
ferent cultures are equal in value. This concept complements another shared
educational approach between English and Music: education should help to
develop the students’ full potential, both psycho-socially and affectively, to
create all-round ‘complete people.’ Therefore, cross-curricular themes are in-
corporated in both classes while songs, besides developing language and
musical literacy, could be used to learn such concepts.
Learning non-linguistic contents through a foreign language is an educa-
tional approach at the heart of the Content and Language Integrated Learn-
ing (CLIL) (Coyle, Hood, and Marsh 2010). There is a growing interest in CLIL
as it offers a more natural and realistic way of learning and using a language.
The learners soon forget to be learning a language as their focus shifts on
learning the content, so it could also be a suitable approach for young learn-
167
that English is connected with all cross-curricular themes and subjects be-
cause of its specific nature (i.e. it is simultaneously the content and means of
learning and teaching).
However, it is primarily linked to the fields of languages and the arts. Like-
wise, the new Curriculum for the subject Music (‘Odluka o donošenju kuriku-
luma za nastavni predmet glazbene kulture za osnovne škole i glazbene um-
jetnosti za gimnazije u Republici Hrvatskoj’ 2019) states that the subject is
connected with language (native and foreign) since they are both means of
intercultural interaction. Some experts and educators in Europe suggest to
go a step further, to integrate music and second language learning because
of all proven benefits music has on language learning (see Ludke and Wein-
mann 2012). The most obvious form that links these two subjects is songs.
Children respond enthusiastically to songs and welcome them in early for-
eign language teaching (Şevik 2011) so textbooks for language teaching of-
ten contain numerous songs. The multiple benefits of using songs during
language classes were pointed out as early as 1962 in the article ‘Music in the
Language Classroom’ by Bartle. Numerous studies have indeed found em-
pirical evidence on the beneficial effects of songs on the linguistic, cognitive
and affective domains of language learning in that songs develop automatic-
ity as a result of their repetitive nature, foster accent improvement, vocabu-
lary learning, language structure memorizing, improve motivation and pos-
itive attitude towards the target language (Engh 2012; Ludke and Weinmann
2012).
Apart from songs, there are other links between English and Music sub-
ject. If we compare the new English Curriculum with the Music Curriculum,
the concept of interculturality or intercultural competence is emphasized in
both. Interculturality is the necessity to develop the understanding that dif-
ferent cultures are equal in value. This concept complements another shared
educational approach between English and Music: education should help to
develop the students’ full potential, both psycho-socially and affectively, to
create all-round ‘complete people.’ Therefore, cross-curricular themes are in-
corporated in both classes while songs, besides developing language and
musical literacy, could be used to learn such concepts.
Learning non-linguistic contents through a foreign language is an educa-
tional approach at the heart of the Content and Language Integrated Learn-
ing (CLIL) (Coyle, Hood, and Marsh 2010). There is a growing interest in CLIL
as it offers a more natural and realistic way of learning and using a language.
The learners soon forget to be learning a language as their focus shifts on
learning the content, so it could also be a suitable approach for young learn-
167
