Teachers work with large student groups and their job is to make their pupils’ grow and evolve in their learning every day, even though the students may not be interested in the subject at all. How can teachers manage to do this with such a variety of students? What tools can be used to motivate as many of them as possible to achieve the most favourable learning outcomes? Music is a universal language that most people enjoy and for children it is even a natural part of growing up. Music can be a pleasant and fun element in the classroom, so we want to investigate if teachers could take advantage of this and use music and songs as an effective motivator to foster second language development. In the national curriculum, Skolverket states that teachers need to build upon the pupil’s confidence in their own ability to use language in different situations and for different purposes (Skolverket, 2011). What happens with the classroom environment when music is used and what happens to the pupils? There is research pointing to the benefits of using music in second language learning however, there exists some disagreement among researchers if music could improve language development or if it is just a fun activity. Researchers also discuss on how to use music in the classroom in the most valuable way. In the current study, we explore and provide an overview for the possible advantages of using music. We also investigate the effectiveness of different musical approaches for facilitating language learning for young children in an educational context. In particular, we will discuss how songs and music can motivate young English language learners in their process and how the second language development can benefit from this.

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka hur ett träningsprogram baserat på metoden Simultaneous Learning upplevs av lärare och elever. I bakgrundskapitlet beskrivs metoden som är skapad av Paul Harris och hur den förändrats över tid. Det finns endast lite tidigare forskning om metoden, på grund av att den är relativt ny, men den som hittats redogörs det för. Bakgrundskapitlet inkluderar också tidigare forskning om enskild musikundervisning och några viktiga problem som identifierats inom det området. Studien är en fallstudie där tre lärare, utan tidigare erfarenhet av Simultaneous Learning, fick delta i ett träningsprogram i metoden. Lärarna använde metoden i sin undervisning under 3-6 lektionstillfällen. Under datasamlingen intervjuades elever och lärare för att undersöka hur interventionen i form av träningsprogrammet upplevts. I resultatet framkommer att eleverna och lärarna upplevde skillnader, i form av till exempel nya moment i undervisningen såsom improvisation. De upplevde även att undervisningen efter träningsprogrammet påminde om den tidigare undervisningen. Det kan också lyftas fram att lärare upplevt att träningsprogrammet inom metoden gjorde det enklare att undervisa proaktivt. Ett sista relevant resultat var att elever uppskattade att momentet improvisation tillfördes i undervisningen. I diskussionen relateras studiens resultat till tidigare forskning samt till frågor kring hur olika perspektiv på lärande kan påverka synen på Simultaneous Learning som metod. Slutligen diskuteras hur Simultaneous Learning skulle kunna vidareutvecklas / The purpose of this study was to investigate how a training program based on Simultaneous Learning was perceived by teachers and students. In the background chapter the evolution of Simultaneous Learning, developed by Paul Harris, is traced. There is only little earlier research regarding the method since it is comparatively new. The research that was found is however presented. The background chapter also includes earlier research in the wider field of music-studio teaching, and the problems that have been identified within this style of teaching are presented. The study is a case-study where three teachers, with no prior experience with the method, participated in a training program and later proceeded to teach a selection of students with the method for between 3-6 lessons. To gather data semi-structured interviews with both the teachers and the students was conducted, to investigate how the intervention was perceived. Results show that both teachers and students noticed differences and similarities with their previous style of teaching. Some significant results include that teachers experienced that Simultaneous Learning was helpful in creating a pro-active teaching and students experienced the introduction of improvisation to the lesson as positive. In the discussion the results are related to earlier research and how different perspectives on the role of a teacher can affect how Simultaneous Learning is perceived as a valuable tool or not. Lastly, some suggestions on how the method could be further improved is suggested and discussed.

Der folgende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit den Möglichkeiten und Grenzen des Konzepts des Blended Learning für den Musiktheorieunterricht. / The following contribution addresses possibilities and limitations of the concept of blended learning in music theory teaching.

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Der Beitrag formuliert Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen einem musikdidaktischen Konzept „Aufbauender Musikunterricht“ und einem als „Musikpraxen erfahren“ konkretisierten Konzept ästhetischer und kultureller Bildung. In vier Abschnitten werden (1) Gemeinsamkeiten, (2) Populäre Musik in „Aufbauendem Musikunterricht“ und „Musikpraxen erfahren“, (3) Musikbegriffe sowie (4) Einwände und Erwiderungen dargestellt. Im vierten Teil werden in dialogischer Form das Verhältnis von schulischen Lernsituationen und musikalischer Erfahrung, die jeweilige Normativität des musikpädagogischen Musikbegriffs, die jeweilige Sach- und Schülerorientierung, das Verhältnis von instruktiven und offenen Lehr-Lernsituationen und Konzepte für einen roten Faden im Musikunterricht reflektiert. Das jeweilige Verständnis von dem, was unter Musik verstanden wird, erweist sich als folgenreich für das musikdidaktische Konzept. / The article deals with similarities and differences between a music teaching concept "Music teaching step by step" and an alternative one which is specified as a concept of aesthetic and cultural education known as "Experiencing musical practices". Topics are exposed in four sections: (1) common positions, (2) the role of popular music within "Music teaching step by step" as well as within "Experiencing musical practices", (3) what does "music" mean? and (4) objections and replies. The fourth section is presenting a dialogue, dealing with the relation between learning situations in the classroom and musical experience, as well as with the specific normativity of the music teaching concepts. Moreover, this chapter is asking, if the concepts are appropriate to the subject''s and to the pupil''s needs and if these concepts take into account the ratio of instructive teaching versus open teaching-learning situations as tools to increase the learning outcomes. The particular understanding of what we mean by "music" is seen to be crucial for music teaching concepts.

Research supporting the viability of music to promote language and literacy development as well as the theory of multiple intelligences suggests that any sound educational program employ a multifaceted approach to teaching and learning. This project created a thematically based multiple intelligence curriculum for first grade English language learners that emphasized the use of song.