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Il Riassunto

L'ascolto della musica è qualcosa che è piacevole per molte persone. Queste

gente è in grado di stabilire una connessione personale con la musica, a loro piace il

testo, il ritmo, l'artista ecc. Ci sono molti vantaggi nel studiare la musica e utilizzare la

musica come strumento di apprendimento. Questo corso esplora i benefici ei vantaggi

nel utilizzare la musica come strumento di insegnamento per l'acquisizione di una sec-

onda lingua. Per primo, sia insegnanti esperti e debutanti possono beneficiare di at-

tuare la musica in classe, soprattutto se stanno istruendo una lingua straniera. Sia la

musica strumentale e la musica lirica consente ai discenti di acquisire nuove infor-

mazioni in modo più naturale, più olistico. L'istruttore è in grado di rompere le infor-

mazioni in parti per analizzare alcuni aspetti e allo stesso tempo analizzare il pezzo mu-

sicale nel suo complesso. Benché gli insegnanti 40 anni fa abbiano dovuto usare proi-

ettori e acetati per insegnare una lezione, gli insegnanti di oggi hanno una vasta scelta

di tecnologia a loro disposizione. Le canzoni L’ombelico del mondo e Dimmelo tu

cos’è sono due canzoni utilizzate come base di attività per la seconda lingua di studenti

italiani. Ogni domanda si basa su quella precedente, sviluppando la capacità di pen-

siero critico degli studenti con le loro capacità di comunicazione e di autovalutazione.

Gli studenti creeranno i mind-maps e loro useranno l’internet per trovare le immagini

che riguardano la canzone al fine di sviluppare ulteriormente le loro capacità di com-

prensione.

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1A) Music as a teaching instrument in the foreign language classroom

Both experienced and novice teachers alike can benefit from implementing music

in the classroom, especially if they are instructing a foreign language. Both instrumental

music and lyrical music allows learners to acquire new information in a more natural,

more holistic fashion. The instructor is able to break the information into parts to analyze

some aspects and at the same time analyze the musical piece as a whole. Frances H.

Rauscher conducted a study with children who were classified as at-risk students or stu-

dents who have an exceptionality. His study explores the effects of music on spatial and

geometric capacity of these students. He concludes that: “music is an important devel-

opmental activity that may help at-risk children compete academically on a more equal

basis with their peers...improvement on the spatial-temporal tasks was confined to

those children who received music instruction” (Hachmeister, 2009). This approach

used by Rauscher can be applied in learning of foreign languages.

Similarly, Khrasen cites that the learning of foreign languages is something stu-

dents are excited about, they do not take it for an insignificant reason. Krashen finds:

“many students are interested in the study of language structure. Also in language

change, dialects etc...teaching grammar as a subject matter can result in language ac-

quisition. Acquisition occurs in these classes when students are interested in the sub-

ject matter” (Krashen, 105-106). Evidently, when students are interested and engaged

in the subject they will want to participate actively and have a genuine curiosity of the

language. If an instructor were to implement the findings of Rauscher and Krashen’s

conclusions then, the students will likely acquire the foreign language more effectively.

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The practice of using music in the foreign language classroom is a practice that

is becoming more common and whose benefits are being recognized. Medina argues

that it is a “common practice to use songs in the foreign language classroom to support

second language acquisition as songs provide a source of incidental acquisition of vo-

cabulary” (5). Music is being recognized as having positive effects with respect to lan-

guage acquisition. It’s uses in the foreign language classroom are boundless with the

amount a student can learn in conjunction with a song. Medina finds that: “verbal learn-

ing is enhanced by music...research shows music and rhythm have been shown to ben-

efit the rote memorization process” (7). Therefore, students can learn a foreign lan-

guage more effectively through the assistance and use of music. This new idea of im-

plementing an artistic element to language acquisition is a more modern approach then

the classic repetition approach that many instructors still use. Medina also finds that:

“when music is implemented with various verbal types of information such as spelling

tests and multiplication tables, the student’s memorization is enhanced” (7). Thus, there

are obvious benefits to using music in aiding students with memorizing various math

skills or orthographic skills. That same memorization can extend into the foreign lan-

guage classroom where students memorize words. Medina cites Krashen’s “input hy-

pothesis where unfamiliar vocabulary is acquired when its significance is made clear to

the learner...it is a comprehensible input since the linguistic input is made comprehensi-

ble to the second language learner” (6). Furthermore, when music is implemented into

the foreign language classroom as a tool of instruction, students have the ability to

memorize all of the new vocabulary more easily and in a active manner. They are able

to comprehend the new vocabulary they come across in a song as the significance of a

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word in a song is made clear or is apparent because of the words that surround it. All of

the words in a song have a context because there are words around them. The tune of

the song aids in the memorization of not only the song but the new words and concepts

presented to the students. Research shows that: “music is proven beneficial when the

objective has been to retain the meaning of verbal information” (Medina, 7). Ergo, it is

not challenging to see the positive and profound effects that the implementation of mu-

sic and song during a foreign language lesson has on a student. The students compre-

hension, understanding, and retention of the language are all heightened through the

use of music as a teaching aid and tool in the foreign language classroom.

Figure 1.1 demonstrates that students exposed to music along with illustrations ac-

quired on average 1.25 new vocabulary words in comparison to those students who

were not subjected to hearing music with the lesson (Medina,13).

Mean Gain 1 Scores belonging to High Proficiency Subjects

Music No Music Total

Illustration X-1.24 X-0

SD- 1.25 0.71

N- (4) -5 0.62

No Illustration X- 0.25 X-0.25

SD- 1.29 SD- 0.5

N- (4) N- (4) 0.37

Total 0.87 0.12

Figure 1.1; Medina, 13

Similarly to Medina’s findings, a study from the University of Edinburgh’s Reid

School of Music shows that: “learners’ memory skills are greatly improved when memo-

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rizing to music” (Merritt, 2013). The study explored a number of important aspects of

second language acquisition such as pronunciation, vocabulary, comprehension and

the tone. The study finds that music has a positive impact on a student’s learning and

acquisition of a foreign language. Music helps a student have confidence in the way in

which they pronounce a word (Merritt, 2013). Again, by moving away from classic lis-

tening and repeat drills and engaging in a song to pronounce and remember new words

is not only less stressful but is evidently more beneficial to the student’s retention of the

language. The study also concludes that using music in the foreign language class-

room as a pedagogical tool as it aids in the student’s understanding of the context of the

words as they are able to explore the structure of the language such as verb conjuga-

tion and word order (Merritt, 2013). The study also concludes that there is a definite

connection between “pitch awareness and phonological awareness” (Merritt, 2013).

Thus, through music learners are able to process various sounds and identify them

more easily. By being able to identify the various sounds and be able to begin to under-

stand the words in their context the student is intrigued to learn more. Relating back to

Krashen’s finding that students who study a foreign language have an interest and cu-

riosity to learn it and music can help to heighten that curiosity.

In sum, music is an extremely effective teaching tool that foreign language in-

structors have at the tips of their fingers. By using music in the lesson, instructors are

actively engaging the students and heightening their acquisition and learning of the lan-

guage. Music also engages students senses which could also add to their enticement

to continue with learning the new language. The use of music instruction in a foreign

language classroom the instructor is also veering away from the classic repetition

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method of learning a new language. Ellis and Beaton studied what promotes learning a

foreign language vocabulary and they concluded that: “Simple rote repetition is best for

learning to produce the new words, but that using keywords is best for comprehension”

(Harley, 137). Students need to be able to understand what they are saying, why some-

thing is constructed the way it is and how it is constructed. The rote method does not

give the students the tools to do so. Such a method is outdated and the retention and

memorization rates of using music during the lesson are so profound it makes sense to

engage second language learners in this more modern method.

1B) What language skills are most enhanced as a result?

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Sharpe finds that four skills that are most developed through modern second lan-

guage teaching are: confidence, communication, understanding culture, and context

(Harley, 137). It may seem redundant to point out that these skills are most developed

in a modern foreign language classroom but more traditional methods of teaching a sec-

ond language such as the rote method tend to leave out these aspects since there is no

real critical thinking or communication involved in the lesson. Below is a figure of

Sharpe’s “Four C’s of successful modern teaching” (Harley, 137). The figure demon-

strates what skills are most enhanced in a modern foreign language classroom. The

implementation of music in a lesson to teach enhances a student’s skill set in all of the

categories.

Communication: emphasis on aural communication

Confidence: given to learners

Four C’s of successful modern language teach-

ing

Culture: learning about the culture and de-emphasiz-ing direction translation

Context: providing comprehensible input

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking skills are enhanced through the use of music as a teaching strat-

egy. Students are encouraged to develop their critical thinking skills through the use of

music as as teaching strategy as they must listen to what they are hearing and try to de-

cipher that. Willingham writes that: “Critical thinking is not a set of skills that can be de-

ployed at any time, in any context. It is a type of that that even 3-year-olds can engage

in- and even trained scientists can fail in” (2007). A student’s critical thinking skills are

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enhanced through these activities because of the method in which they are created and

because of the music. The students must first listen to the song before they begin to at-

tempt any questions. They need to get a feel for the mood and decipher any words that

they may already know. The activities that accompany a song are presented in a fash-

ion where each question builds on the previous one. Students are asked to identify var-

ious aspects of a lyric like what is the verb, the subject, the direct object or to what part

of speech a word belongs. In comparison to the activities of D’Onofrio, these activities

encourage students to critically think about what they are hearing and reading. They

are not simply filling in the blanks with what they hear. Students must holistically look at

the lyric and deduce what is the verb, subject, direct object, preposition, adjective etc.

By looking at individual lyrics in the song the students are able to also find what the verb

patterns are; in other words students can begin to see a trend in verb form endings,

they can tell if the verb has an -ARE, -ERE-, or -IRE ending, and they can ruminate

what the tense of the verb is. The student is able to do the same thing for nouns and

adjectives by pointing out if it is singular or plural and masculine or feminine. As the

questions get more complex the student is expanding their previous knowledge and

continue to build these new skills. In these activities, students are asked to create mind

maps and map out all of the information that they know about a lyric of their choice.

Mind maps are visual aids that students can create to organize information. The stu-

dent must make the mind map on their own. Mind maps are so effective because they

are created solely by the student. The student decides how to map out the information

and can make it their own by adding colour, different shapes, arrows etc. This aids the

students’ long term cognitive memory and retention; therefore, they will be able to recall

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the key points of the lesson with more ease and clarity. The students’ problem solving

skills are thus enhanced through these activities as the answer is not in front of them

and they have to ruminate about a correct response. A student’s comprehension and

context of the song is also enhanced through their critical thinking skills. In the activities

students are asked to create a collage using words from the song. By searching what

the word is in Italian they will get a visual representation of the word and will be able to

have a holistic understanding of the song.

Communication

A student’s communication skills are also heightened through these activities.

Since music is used as a basis to convey the lesson, students must listen to what they

are hearing. Additionally, a student’s pronunciation will be enhanced through the use of

music as a teaching strategy. They are listening to how a native speaker of Italian pro-

nounces a word and they also get a sense of the speed at which a native speaker of

Italian speaks. In the various activities students see how words are spelled and they

visually see the set-up of a sentence. They visually see where the subject, verb, and di-

rect object in a sentence typically goes in Italian. This further develops their writing

skills and oral skills in Italian since they begin to see trends in the language. In the

book, The Psychology of Language, the author finds that: “Second language acquisi-

tion is often characterized by a phase or phases of silent periods when few productions

are offered...classroom methods that force students to speak in these silent periods

might be doing more harm than good” (Harley, 137). The activities are done indepen-

dently by the students therefore they are able to focus on each question individually and

work through the questions on their own time. None of the activities force students to

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speak or repeat anything from the songs. The effect of these independent activities is

that students must go back to the rules of how they learned their first language (Harley,

137).

2)Activities best designed for learning

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In the 21st century foreign language classroom, the instructor has an abundant

amount of technological resources at their fingertips. Forty years ago, teachers did not

have the technology we have presently. The most advanced and interactive piece of

equipment at their disposal was an overhead projector and an acetate. In 2015, tech-

nology such as the smartboard are incorporated into most classrooms to enhance a les-

son. The ways and methods which a teacher can instruct their lesson with a smart-

board are infinite and allow the students to participate actively in the lesson. However

in relation to using music as a teaching tool there are still very few pedagogical tools in

an educators tool belt (Engh, 117).

Where does an instructor begin in their composition of an activity incorporat-

ing music?

First and foremost, according to Krashen, in order to have an activity that best

presents a foreign language to students, using music will set the mood. Krashen finds

that: “an affective filter process with low anxiety and low stress environment” is crucial to

the students learning and understanding of the language (Engh, 117). Thus, the first

step for an instructor is to set the tone and mood of the class just as the tone and

rhythm are set by the composer. If the students are to learn the foreign language, it is

pertinent to their acquisition of the language that they feel they are in a safe space free

of judgement. Krashen’s “affective filter process” also helps the instructor to set the in-

tention of the lesson and/or activity. Right from the beginning, the intention and focus of

the lesson should be set so that the students are not lost and questioning the direction

of the lesson or activity. The authenticity of the song and activity are equally important

to the classroom’s learning atmosphere since the student is able to relate to the activity

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better by making a personal connection. Students are aware when an instructor is un-

motivated or uninspired by the lesson they are teaching. In consequence, the student’s

capabilities for learning will be curtailed. Therefore, choosing a song that the instructor

has an emotional connection to is important for the “affective filter process” as the pas-

sion and motivation the instructor has for a specific song is naturally expressed in their

lesson and activity which ultimately the students will pick up on.

Music selection in an activity

After implementing an “affective filter process” the instructor should select a song

that will effectively convey the lesson they wish to teach. In his study, Krahsen finds

that: “pop-songs create a conversation-like tone and atmosphere to the lesson” (Engh,

118). Selecting a pop-song thus is effective in presenting the second language learners

with a variety of grammar concepts, syntax, and vocabulary because of their conversa-

tion-like nature. Instructors should then put thought into their song selection and be dis-

cerning into that selection. Song selection should be affirmative with a positive theme

or moral to the song as opposed to something gloomy and sad. Songs with a fast

tempo and rhythm are more catchy and typically include lots of colloquial language.

Orlova finds in his study that “music acts as a conversation” therefore allowing a second

language learner to orally speak more fluidly at a pace closer to a native speaker pace

of speaking (Engh,119). The activity that coincides with such a song should be struc-

tured in a way that challenges students to think critically about what they are hearing

and should help students in their pronunciation of the words. Michela D’Onofrio has a

book dedicated to music and language. In her activities students listen to songs and

complete various activities. In each song, there is a fill in the blank section that the stu-

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dent fills in after listening to the song. Below is an example of an activity one finds

throughout her book Della Musica Contemporanea Italiana:

Una Settimana...Un Giorno

Riempire gli spazi vuoti con gli elementi che mancano:

Un______ settiman_____un_____giorno_____solamente un_____ or_____ a volte vale

un_____vit_____inter______il temp______ passa in frett______e ti ruba

quell______che hai (D’Onofrio, 96).

This is a typical listening and filling in the blanks activity that instructors use. However,

this is an older style and method to teach second language learners. There needs to be

an element of critical thinking involved in the activity as opposed to simply filling in a

blank with what a student hears.

Content and Critical Thinking activities

In order to aid in the understanding and comprehension of the vocabulary and

syntax structure of what the students are hearing, the instructor can have an action that

goes along with each word or phrase in the song. According to Smith’s findings, stu-

dents question “what is all of this noise saying essentially? What is the theme” (Engh,

118). By assigning a meaningful action to each word or phrase the student is associat-

ing the action to the word and will remember the word or phrase better but will also be

able to have a better understanding and comprehension of the word. This allows the

students to critically think about what they are hearing. If an action is associated with a

word group the student will listen to what they are hearing and be able to make a judge-

ment of what it means. According to Mora “music has a positive impact on a second

language acquisition learner and can create a song-stuck-in-my-head phenomena”

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(Engh, 118). With this phenomena created, the student is able to constantly repeat the

song over and over. Each time they play it back in their mind they will pick out new in-

formation. They will be able to discern what the verb in the sentence is and perhaps

recognize the tense endings of the verbs. After many repetitions the student may notice

what verb stems are regular and which ones are irregular. They will be able to pick out

what the qualifying adjectives are and their forms (i.e masculine, feminine, singular, and

plural forms). Through the “stuck-in-my-head” phenomena the student is constantly en-

gaged with both the song and thus ultimately the language lesson. By repeating the

song they justify the grammar rules and syntax structure. In addition to learning gram-

mar rules and syntax structure Allen and Vallette find that the student is also able to

learn “rules of stress, trill versus no trill, the difference between a single consonant and

a double consonant...”(Engh, 119). These are all extremely important rules to acquire

when learning any language especially Italian where so many words have double con-

sonants and there is a slight change in sound that distinguishes those words. For ex-

ample, the word “sonno” which means “sleep” and “sono” which means “I am” or “they

are” depending on the context. For a new language learner this is a subtle difference

that can be learned through music and song.

Next Step activities

Instructors can make “think aloud activities” from which they ask students ques-

tions based on the song and the student responds to the question and the student re-

ceives “feedback immediately” (Ortega, 208). This next step takes the students acquisi-

tion that much further by getting the student actively involved in the discussion of the

song they listened to and the student can receive feedback in a timely manner of their

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response. In addition to “think aloud activities” instructors should also try to get away

from the classic fill in the blank exercises. In a study, language teachers discuss the

advantages and disadvantages of fill in the blank exercises. They conclude that some

of the disadvantages include: “numerous possible answers, takes more time for stu-

dents to complete, they are harder to score, and they are not communicative” (Foreign

Language Teaching Method). Instead, instructors can put an action to the word to

demonstrate a lesson. For example, French teacher Clara Bolton began using an ac-

tivity in 1963 for her grade 9 students whereby she taught which past participles take

the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” in the simple past tense in French. The linguistic ex-

planation of this is transitive verbs take “avoir” as an auxiliary and intransitive verbs take

“être” as an auxiliary. She created an activity for the intransitive verbs that take “être”.

She groups the verbs in opposites and puts an action and a rhythm to the activity so

that the students can easily remember this nuance in the language. The figure below

outlines the activity that is used in high schools across Hamilton.

Aller Venir

Entrer Sortir

Arriver Partir

Naître Mourir

Monter Descendre

Rester Tomber Retourner

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Aller Venir

Revenir Devenir Rentrer

Figure 2.1

Parts of Speech GlossaryAdapted from “8 parts of speech flashcards”

nounnames a person, place, thing, or idea.

adjectivemodifies a noun or a pronoun and answers these questions: which? what kind of? how many? In Italian, adjectives usually end in: -o, -a, -i-, -e.

adverb

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modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb and answers these questions: when? where? how? how much? why? In Italian, adverbs usually end in: -mente.

pronounis used in place of one or more nouns or pronouns. In Italian, the subject pro-nouns are: io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro.

prepositionshows the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to some other word in a sen-tence. Some important Italian prepositions are: a, di, da, con, su, per.

verbexpresses an action or a state of being. Verbs in Italian end in: -are, -ire-, -ere in their infinitive form.

conjunctionjoins words or groups of words (phrases or clauses).

Word List: L’ombelico del Mondo

Look up the following vocabulary words by going to: www.wordreference.com or www.linguee.it/italiano-inglese. *Be sure to play close attention to the mean-ing of idiomatic expressions*

• Dentro-

• Questo1-

1 “Questo” has 4 forms: questo, questa, questi, queste

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• L’ombelico-

• Le facce2-

• Il millennio-

• Risalendo-

• Sorgente-

• Un bagaglio di fantasia-

• Uomini3-

• Trasformarsi-

• Farsi preziosa-

• Incontrarsi-

L’ombelico del MondoJovanotti

1A) Consider the first lyric: “Questo è4 l’ombelico del mondo.” In the space provided list what the subject, verb, and direct object of the lyric are.

Subject: Questo Verb: èDirect object: l’ombelico del mondo

2 The singular form of “facce” is “faccia”3 The singular form of “uomini” is “uomo”4 Did you know that the verb “essere” (to be) is one of the most important verbs in Italian and it is irregu-lar! It is conjugated as follows: sono, sei, è, siamo, siete, sono

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1B) What significance is the word “del”? Is it a word on its own or a contraction of two words?

Del= di +il. It is a contraction of the article and the preposition.

2A) Consider the lyric: “E qui che si incontrano5 facce strane.” Why do the words “facce” and “strane” end in the vowel “e”? Does gender or number play a part or both?

They are both feminine plural so both the noun (faccia) and the adjective (strano) must agree.

2B) Using the same lyric, identify the verb. Do you notice anything different about this verb in comparison to the verb in the first lyric? Do you think it is singular or plural?

It is 3rd person plural. It is different as it has the word “si” before it indicating the verb must be reflexive/reciprocal.

2C) Using the same lyric, explain what significance the word “si” has. Do you think it means “yes” or does it mean something else? What part of speech could it be?

It does not mean “yes”. It is a indirect pronoun in this instance since the verb is reflexive/reciprocal.

3A) Consider the lyric: “E occhi smeraldo come il diamante.” Is the “E” in this lyric dif-ferent then the “È” in the first lyric? What part of speech do you think the former is?

They are different. The latter is the verb essere the former means “and” therefore it is a conjunction.

3B) Using the same lyric, which word do you think is plural and why? Occhi is plural because it ends in a “i”.

3C) Using the same lyric, which word do you think is the article and which word is the noun? What is your reasoning?

“Il” is the article as is comes before the noun “diamante.”

4A) Consider the lyric: “E il nostro amore diventa azioni.” What part of speech do you think “il nostro” is?

It is a possessive adjective.

4B) Using the same lyric, where is the verb? Is it singular or plural? Do you think it is an -ARE, -ERE, -IRE verb in its infinitive form?

The verb is “diventa.” It is an -ARE verb as it ends in an “a” in the 3rd person singular form.

5A) Consider the lyric: “Dove6 non si sa dove si va a finire.” Where are the conjugated verbs in this lyric? Are they singular or plural?

“Sa” and “va” are the conjugated verbs. They are in the 3rd person singular form.

5 Depending on whether the verb is -ARE, -ERE or -IRE regular Italian verbs in the indicative end in: -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano or -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ite, -ono6 Some important question words in Italian are: Chi, Come, Dove, Che, Quando, Perché

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5B) Using the same lyric, where is the infinitive verb?“Finire” is the infinitive verb.

5C) Using the same lyric, what do you think “dove” means? Do you think it is an adverb, a conjunction, or a relative pronoun? Why?

It is a question word in this instance. In this case “dove” means “where”.

6A) Consider the lyric: “Dove la vita si fa preziosa.” What part of speech is “dove” in this case? Does it mean “when” or does it have another meaning?

In this case “dove” is a relative pronoun and means “in which.” It is connecting two lyrics together therefore it must be a relative pronoun.

6B) Using the same lyric, where is the adjective and what gender and number is it?The adjective is “preziosa.” It is singular feminine.

6C) Using the same lyric, look at the verb. Does is resemble the verb in 2A? How?It does resemble the verb in 2A because of the pronoun before it.

7A) Consider the lyric: “Esistono solo le eccezioni.” Where is the verb? Is it singular or plural? What do you notice about the endings of this verb contrasted to that in 2A? Is it an -ARE, -ERE, -IRE verb in its infinitive form?

The verb is “esistono”, it is third person plural. It ends in -ono which is different than the verb in 2A. It is an -ERE verb in its infinitive form.

7B) Using the same lyric, what part of speech is “solo”?It is an adjective.

7C) What is the article and the direct object? Are the singular or plural? Masculine or feminine? Do you think this is an example of a regular or irregular?

The article is “le” the direct object is “eccezioni.” The are feminine plural and are irregular.

8A) Consider the lyric: “Con un bagaglio di fantasia.” What part of speech is “con”?It is a preposition.

8B) Using the same lyric, what is the specifier?“Bagaglio di fantasia.”

9A) In Italian, the gerund is a compound tense meaning that there are two parts to it. To form it, one must use “stare” as the conjugated verb with a verb with the ending -ando or -endo depending on whether the stem of the verb is -ARE, -ERE, -IRE. Know-ing this find some example of the gerund throughout the song.

“Stiamo già ballando.”

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9B) Create a Venn diagram placing verbs found in the present in one circle and in-stances of the gerund in the other. Where do they intersect?

See appendix A i for an example.

10) Consider the lyrics, “Pelle di ebano di un padre indigeno” and “Da qui che parte ogni nuova via.” What parts of speech are “di” and “da”? Is there a difference between each of their uses?

They are both prepositions. “Da” usually indicates a motion of going away or is used to explain the origin of something. “Di” typically specifies a town or region a person is from, what something is made of, to indicate possession.

11) Throughout the song, there are many words that resemble English words that we call cognates. In the space provided, list as many cognates as you can find with their English equivalent.

-indigeno (indigenous)-diamante (diamond) -razze (races)-millennio (millennium)-dove (where)-fantasia (fantasy)-sale (salt)-energia (energy)-esperienze (experiences)-espressione (expressions)-preziosa (precious)-province (provinces)

12) Chose a lyric in the song that has not yet been explored in this exercise. Create a mind-map of this lyric. In other words, write as much information about this lyric as you can. Notice things like: gender, number, present, gerund, reflexive/reciprocal, preposition, conjunction, relative pronoun, regular, irregular etc.

See appendix A ii for an example.

13) Chose 10 adjectives in the song and search for corresponding images on Google Images to create a collage.

See appendix A iii for an example.

14) Look at the idiomatic expressions in the Word List. What do you think they add to the content of the song? What significance does “farsi preziosa” give to this song? Would the lyric have the same effect without using the idiomatic expression? Could you paraphrase the lyric without using the idiomatic expression?

The significance of “farsi preziosa” is “it becomes precious/valuable.” This idiomatic expression is used with the word “life” as the subject of the lyric. It is

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important to note that the verb is reflexive because it gives a more personal connotation to it . It connects the singer and the listener closer to the lyric of the song. Jovanotti could have easily chosen the verb “diventare” to express a similar meaning however that has a more impersonal connotation to it and the singer/listener would not be as invested in the lyric if he did not opt to use “farsi preziosa.”

15) What do you think the point of view of the song is? Does it reflect a certain time or political movement in Italy or in the world?

The point or message of the song is that this is the centre of the world. None of us know where we will end up but wherever we go there will be people around us. Our lives have value and meaning in this place as our love manifests itself into actions and there are no rules, only exceptions. The song promotes ac-

ceptance of one another regardless of race, class, sex etc. By accepting our neigh-bour, society is more harmonious and can work together for a common goal.

Appendix A

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Word List: Dimmelo tu cos’è

Look up the following vocabulary words by going to: www.wordreference.com or www.linguee.it/italiano-inglese. *Be sure to play close attention to the mean-ing of idiomatic expressions*

• Cane-

• Giù-

• Sguardo-

• Il cerchio-

• Cercare-

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• Donna-

• Estate-

• Più-

• Dimmelo-

Dimmelo tu cos’èAntonello Venditti

1) Consider the lyric: “Altri profumi, altre valigie da portar giù.” What words are plural? What part of speech are “altri” and “altre?”

The words: “altri, profumi, altre, valigie” are all plural. “Altri” and “Altre” are adjectives in this instance that agree in gender and number with the noun.

2A) Consider the lyric: “Il nostro cane non mi riconosce più.” What is the possessive adjective?

“Il nostro” is the possessive adjective.

2B) Using the same lyric, is the verb reflexive/reciprocal? What is it in its infinitive form? This verb is not reflexive/reciprocal because the verb in its infinitive form is “riconoscere” which takes a direct object after it therefore the pronoun in front of the verb is a direct object pronoun.

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2C) Using the same lyric, what part of speech is più?It is an adjective.

3A) Consider the lyric: “I libri quelli li7 ho portati8 via.” What is the subject? Is it singular or plural? Masculine or feminine?

The subject is “I libri” and it is masculine plural.

3B) Using the same lyric, what is the verb? What is different about this verb than the verbs in the song by Jovanotti?

The verb is a compound tense using “avere” as the auxiliary verb and “portare” as the past participle. In Italian one forms the simple past tense using an auxil-

iary verb (either AVERE or ESSERE) and a past participle.

3C) Using the same lyric, where is the direct object pronoun? Is is singular or plural? Masculine or feminine?

“Li” is the direct object pronoun and it is masculine plural.

3D) Using the same lyric, is there an agreement with the past participle?Yes, there is an agreement with the past participle because it ends in “i.” This is because the direct object pronoun “li” comes before the conjugated auxiliary verb and is masculine plural.

4A) Consider the lyric: “Dimmelo tu cos’è.” Where is the direct object pronoun?“Lo” is the direct object pronoun.

4B) Where is the indirect object pronoun9?“Me” is the indirect object pronoun.

4C) Where is the verb and what is its infinitive?“Di” is the verb and its infinitive is “dire.”

4D) What mood is the verb10?The verb is in the imperative form.

5A) Consider the lyric: “Un’ altra donna che non sia11 troppo vuota.” How many clauses are in this lyrics?

7 In Italian, direct object pronouns go before the conjugated verb. They are: mi, ti, lo/la, ci, vi, li/le. NB: when a direct object comes before a compound tense verb, there is agreement with respect to gender and number on the past participle.8 There are two verbs here. One is the conjugated verb AVERE and the other is a past participle. In Ital-ian, the simple past tense is a compound tense meaning there are two parts to it.9 In Italian, the indirect object pronouns are: mi, ti, gli/le, ci, vi, loro10 In Italian, verbs have different moods such as indicative, subjunctive, conditional, and imperative. NB: verbs in the imperative form express a command.11 The verb ESSERE in its subjunctive form is: sia, sia, sia, siamo, siate, siano

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There are two clauses in this lyric. There is a subordinate clause and a de-pendent clause.

5B) Using the same lyric, what do you notice about the verb essere?It is in its subjunctive form.

5C) Using the same lyric, what do you think indicates the subjunctive?“Che” is the clue word in this case that indicates the subjunctive. There are two different subjects in each of the clauses which is also a good indicator that the verb in the subordinate clause will be subjunctive.

6) The word “ci” comes up frequently in the song. Create a mind map showing its differ-ent uses in the song.

See appendix B i for example.

7) Using a word processing generator (word cloud generator) in conjunction with lyrics from this song, see what words come up most frequently. What can you deduce about the words, i.e what part of speech are they, are they masculine or feminine, are they singular or plural etc.

See appendix B ii for visual example. The words that are at the centre of the page that stand out the most are: che (conjunction), ancora (adverb), questa (feminine singular pronoun), di (preposition), non (negation), tu (2nd person singular subject pronoun), più (adjective).

8) Using google images find photos to create a collage that represent the adjectives and nouns in the song. From that collage, create a character profile of the main char-acter of the song by using adjectives to describe him/her.

See appendix B iii for collage.A) Unrecognizable/changed- the speaker of the song says in the first lyric of the

song that man’s best friend no longer recognizes him. It is apparent that something has changed about the speaker that even his dog does not recognize him.

B) Searching- the speaker of the song is speaking to the person he loves and wants to know what it is they are missing. They are missing or

lacking something in their relationship.C) Lonely- the speaker of the song is looking for another woman and house that

is not too empty. Obviously something is lacking in his life if he is searching for a person and a house that is not too empty. He is looking for someone or something that is the opposite of him,

someone or something that has substance to it unlike himself who is alone and void.

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Appendix B

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What a journey this independent study unit has been. It is hard to believe that

since September I have been brainstorming ideas with Dr. Schrobilgen on a topic for

this unique course and all of our hard work and innovative ideas have come to fruition.

Our course: “Creating Effective Learning Tools for Use in the FL Classroom” has

changed my approach to learning and teaching a second language. I have studied for-

eign languages, in particular French, for 15 years and in that decade and a half of ac-

quiring a secondary language not one of my teachers or professors used music to con-

vey a grammar point, to teach vocabulary and spelling or pronunciation. Up until this

point of my learning, my instructors have all used the rote method of teaching (repeating

vocabulary after the instructor) as their preferred or only method in the classroom. After

this independent study unit I can confidently say that such a method is outdated and not

as effective in comparison to new approaches to second language acquisition. Studies

show (see Literature Review) that the rote method is becoming outdated and that in-

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structors should consider using music as a pedagogical tool in their teaching tool belt.

Using music as a teaching tool in the foreign language classroom is a progressive way

of teaching a second language. Music has universal appeal so why, not use it to teach.

There is not only grammar and vocabulary to be learned from songs but there is a com-

prehension aspect to songs. There is always a cultural aspect to songs so students will

also get a cultural perspective in their acquisition of a new language through music.

The selection of the songs and creation of the activities which accompany them

was not only interesting and challenging but a lot of fun. For the first time in my univer-

sity career, I felt like I was able to express myself and ideas in a way I wanted to. Dr.

Schrobilgen let me chose songs that I liked and was interested in and did not force me

or suggest I follow a certain methodology/layout for the activities. She coached and ed-

ucated me on various 21st century learning styles such as differentiated learning and fo-

rum style learning in order to heighten the activities I was creating. I was given com-

plete autonomy over the creation of the activities and from that I was able to create au-

thentic and genuine exercises for second language Italian learners. I began to think

about what my struggles are with any language that I am learning whether it be French,

Italian or Spanish. I learned that when I break things down to their bare minimum I am

able to understand what I am reading or hearing as opposed to trying to trying to get a

general understanding of what I am reading or hearing. I created activities in a manner

in which each question builds on the previous one. In other words, what you did in

question 1 is going to help the student answer question 2 with more ease and the stu-

dent will understand why. The activities begin quite basic and simple with spotting the

subject, verb, and object in a lyric and culminate to creating a mind map of a lyric in the

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song which was not studied. The questions serve as a guide to the students in the cre-

ation of their mind maps.

Mind maps are something that I have used regularly since grade 12 English in

my essay writing process. I used to think it was a waste of time to make mind maps but

they helped me organize my thoughts and ideas better. I had never used a mind map in

a second language class in order to break down information and analyze it. It amazes

me how much information I know about a simple lyric of a song in regards to the gram-

mar and syntax of the lyric. I never would have come to this realization without creating

a mind map. Each lyric contains so much information to it and by mapping out the infor-

mation the students are not only able to better understand the song, they are able to

see the grammatical patterns and rules in Italian. In the Jovanotti song I created a mind

map for a lyric that contains a reflexive verb that functions as a gerund. The lyric is: “Si

sta alzando.” I thought that the “si” was the impersonal “si” but through the use of the

mind map I realized that it is actually a reflexive pronoun in this instance. Even though

students may think mind maps are a hassle or pointless, they help students to concep-

tualize what they are learning in a visual manner. They add finesse to the students’ lan-

guage as they are able to better understand each word in a text no matter how big or

small it may be. Ms. Finn was right in encouraging her students to use mind maps be-

cause they truly help.

After four years of studying Italian at McMaster I find it suitable that I am culmi-

nating not only my Italian studies but my degree with this independent course. My first

university class was bright and early at 8:30 am on a Friday with Dr. Schrobilgen and

one of my last courses in my educational journey is under her supervision. She is more

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than a teacher to me, she is a mentor. In this course, Dr. Schrobilgen has demon-

strated her trust and confidence in my potential. She was open to all of my ideas and

guided me with refining my ideas when necessary. I know that in my future endeavors I

will always be able to reach out to Dr. Schrobilgen and ask her advice whether it be

about a career, Italian, healthy eating or the Kardashians. I thank Dr. Schrobilgen for

her time and dedication to me and this course, it has truly been a pleasure.

Works Cited

D’Onofrio, Michela. Della Musica Contemporanea Italiana. M. D’Onofrio, 1988.

Print.

Engh, Dwayne. Why use Music in English Language Learning? A survey of the

Literature. London: Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2013. Web.

Foreign Language Teaching Method. Interviewed by Dr. Lia Plakans. University of

Texas at Austin, 2010. Web. 23 January 2015.

Hachmeister, Jeanette. Music as a Teaching Tool: Learning through Singing.

Chicago: Golden Apple, 2009. Web.

Harley, Trevor. The Psychology of Language: From data to theory. New York:

Taylor and Francis Inc., 2001. Print.

Jovanotti. “L’ombelico del mondo.” OYEAH. 2009. CD.

Krashen, Stephen. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition.

Pergamon Press Inc., 2009. Web.

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Medina, Suzanne. The Effects of Music upon Second Language Vocabulary

Acquisition. Dominguez Hills: California State University, 1990. Web.

Merritt, Anne. “Music- a gift for language learners. The Telegraph 9 Nov 2013. Web.

Ortega, Lourdes. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London: Hodder

Education, 2009. Print.

Venditti, Antonello. “Dimmelo tu cos’è.” Sotto la pioggia. 1982. CD.

Willingham, Daniel T. Critical Thinking: Why is it so hard to teach? American

Federation of Educators, 2007.