Music Recommendations for Beginning English Speakers

Mackenzie Leon

2014-08-20

In order to learn English, you will need to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible. I personally believe that listening to music in English is one of the best ways to do this. It will help you grow accustomed to English and American accents, help you say difficult words, and in general grow more acclimated with simply hearing English being spoken. In addition, quite simply, listening to music is really fun. This is not just a silly point. Because listening to music in any language is enjoyable, you will be more motivated to continue immersing yourself in it, and the benefits will continue to accrue. Of course, many people will recommend that you listen to music, but most will not give you specific recommendations. What follows is a list of my personal music suggestions. I picked these specifically because I thought that exposure to these albums/songs/websites will help you to learn the language. Because of this, you will not find any avant-garde music that is very hard to understand (which I also like), or any music that does not have singing in it.

Great Websites to Check Out

https://www.fluentu.com/english/blog/learn-english-through-songs-music/ - Still unconvinced that learning music is a good way to practice? Concerned about how exactly you will go about using music to enhance your language learning experience? Check out this site that provides a great list of reasons why you would want to use music to learn English to begin with, along with some great miscellaneous tips.

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/01/30/the-best-music-websites-for-learning-english/ - this site is helpful mainly because it lists a variety of different music-related activities that I have not found on any other site (and in some cases, activities I have never even heard of). I would definitely recommend Lyrics Training. It is a great way to practice listening and provides some fun related games to play as well.

Great Specific Songs to Check Out

I won’t describe each song individually, but here is just a brief list of songs I feel either capture something important about English-speaking cultures, or songs that will, in general, inspire you to continue learning English.

John Lennon- Imagine

Queen- Bohemian Rhapsody

Rush- Tom Sawyer

Don Mclean- American Pie

For more information about this, check out sites like https://www.timeout.com/london/music/100-songs-that-changed-history-10

Great Albums to Check Out

Multiplication Rocks and The Four Legged Zoo by Schoolhouse Rock! – Both of these catchy albums are meant to help kids learn basic concepts such as multiplication. Because they are meant for kids, the words spoken are very clear and easy to follow. Listen to these if you are beginning English speaker to become more acclimated with the language.

Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys- A highly critically acclaimed album by a very well-known English-speaking band. Besides being a great album, generally speaking the band sings very clearly so it is easy to follow.

For more information, just do a quick google search for the “best albums” and check out sites like the following: https://www.acclaimedmusic.net/.

Photo Credit: steve