Introduction
Learning a Foreign Language also means being familiar with a new culture. English speaking countries share many aspects of their lifestyles, including behavior, traditions, social rules, litterature, art, music, and so on. Songs are an excellent and authentic support to approach cultural topics because students are exposed to them daily in their lifes. They are a source of knowledge through lyrics, videos, singers, etc, depending on the way we used them for making learners practicing the language.
Task
For discovering the universe of English music as a support for approaching culture, answer the following questions:
1.- What is the definition of "Intercultural Competenc
e"?
2.- Why do you think it is important to be sensitive to the target culture?
3.- Which are the most common cultural topics we find in the songs?
4.- What kind of websites do you visit when listening to music?
Process
As a warm-up activity, I suggest to start by watching the following video:
Here you have some useful links to help you understand the importance of introducing songs in the EFL learning process.
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/teaching-tips/using-music-songs
http://www.esl-lounge.com/songstop.php
Evaluation
Once you have done the previews activities, the Teacher will ask you to work in groups of 3 persons. First, you have to choose an English song with cultural content, then, you are going to present it to the whole class (lyrics, music, video), describing how you can improve Intercultural Competence based on the topics incuded in the song.
Conclusion
Practicing English beyond the classroom through motivating supports seems to be the best way to help learners get involved in the culture of the target language. Songs let the students the opportunity to discover new singers, lifestyles, social concerns, etc as well as developing some other skills like pronunciation, vocabulary, and so on.