The Problem
Any teacher working with reticent ESL students may be facing a culture barrier, or simple shyness in the face of others. The fear of making public mistakes is crippling for many (Cohen & Norst, 1989; Tsui, 1996), and even just being the first person to talk in a silent room can be awkward, regardless of whether one is in a language class or not (Newman, 1982).
A Solution
One way I try to alleviate this anxiety is to play music in the background of the class. It serves two purposes: to eliminate that “silence” that is so hard to break, and to subliminally elevate and maintain student energy levels.
While you can spend hours developing playlists for each class to set a certain mood, it may be just as easy to use streaming Internet radio to set the pace. With a USB drive and an Internet connection it’s easy to accomplish, as long as you’re working on a Windows machine (Mac solution below).
The Method – Windows
Hop over to Portable Apps and download their portable OS for your USB drive. Once that’s installed, you can chose from a variety of portable applications, including Screamer Radio (direct download). From there you’ll have a set playlist of stations to choose from, or you can select your own from the many, many streaming radio stations around the world.
The Method – Mac
iTunes Radio. Select a genre (see next section). Go.
The Music
I particularly like the SwissGrove.ch station for the background music of my classes (in iTunes under “jazz”). The music on this station has a steady beat without too many fluctuations. It has music both with and without lyrics, so as long as the volume is low it shouldn’t distract your student’s ears. Another good style is Bop or Hard bop in the jazz category, for the same reasons as listed above, and it’s almost certain not to have a singer.
I always mute the sound when we start a listening activity to help reduce distractions. When it comes time for students to do some speaking practice, I turn the volume up a bit and let them go. It’s never too loud for me to hear and observe my students’ practice as I circulate around the room.
Conclusion
When I use background music, I see a marked improvement in student willingness to participate and practice. They are generally more alert and active as well. I find the station selection to be of particular importance on rainy or overcast days when my students tend to be even more sluggish than usual. Music can be a great pick-me-up for both students and teachers, and I highly recommend you consider using it in your classes.
References
Cohen, Y., & Norst, M. J. (1989). Fear, Dependence and Loss of Self-Esteem: Affective Barriers in Second Language Learning Among Adults. RELC Journal, 20(2), 61–77. doi:10.1177/003368828902000206
Newman, H. M. (1982). The sounds of silence in communication encounters. Communication Quarterly. Retrieved September 14, 2012, from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01463378209369441
Tsui, A. B. M. (1996). Reticence and anxiety in second language learning. In K. M. Bailey & D. Nunan (Eds.), Voices from the Language Classroom: Qualitative Research in Second Language Education (pp. 145–167). Cambridge University Press.
