This document discusses the benefits of using music in foreign language classrooms. It provides several studies that show music improves students' vocabulary acquisition, memorization, pronunciation and understanding of a language's structure. The document argues music engages students more than traditional repetition drills and allows them to learn in a more natural way. It concludes the language skills of confidence, communication, cultural understanding and understanding context are most enhanced when music is incorporated into language lessons.

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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
seconda lingua. Per primo, sia insegnanti esperti e debutanti possono beneficiare di
attuare 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
informazioni in modo più naturale, più olistico. L'istruttore è in grado di rompere le
informazioni in parti per analizzare alcuni aspetti e allo stesso tempo analizzare il pezzo
musicale nel suo complesso. Benché gli insegnanti 40 anni fa abbiano dovuto usare
proiettori 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
pensiero 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 comprensione.

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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
students 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
developmental 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
students 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 acquisition. Acquisition occurs in these classes when students are interested
in the subject 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
vocabulary” (5). Music is being recognized as having positive effects with respect to
language 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
learning is enhanced by music...research shows music and rhythm have been shown to
benefit the rote memorization process” (7). Therefore, students can learn a foreign
language more effectively through the assistance and use of music. This new idea of
implementing 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 language classroom where students memorize words. Medina cites Krashen’s
“input hypothesis 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
comprehensible 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

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significance of a 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 music and song during a foreign language lesson has on a student.
The students comprehension, 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
acquired 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

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memorizing 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
listening 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
classroom 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
conjugation 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
understand 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 curiosity to learn it and music can help to heighten that curiosity.
In sum, music is an extremely effective teaching tool that foreign language
instructors 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
language. 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

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repetition 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 something 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
language 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
second 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
demonstrates 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
teaching
Culture: learning about
the culture and de-
emphasizing direction
translation
Context: providing comprehensible input
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking skills are enhanced through the use of music as a teaching
strategy. 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 decipher that. Willingham writes that: “Critical thinking is not a set of skills that
can be deployed 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

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thinking skills are 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 attempt 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 fashion where each question builds on the previous one. Students
are asked to identify various 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 student 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;

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therefore, they will be able to recall 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
pronounces 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
direct 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 acquisition
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 independently by
the students therefore they are able to focus on each question individually and work

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through the questions on their own time. None of the activities force students to 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,
technology such as the smartboard are incorporated into most classrooms to enhance a
lesson. The ways and methods which a teacher can instruct their lesson with a
smartboard 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 incorporating 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
intention 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 better by making a personal connection. Students are aware when an

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instructor is unmotivated 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 passion 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
conversation-like nature. Instructors should then put thought into their song selection
and be discerning 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 structured 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

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the blank section that the student 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,
students 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
associating 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 judgement 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

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phenomena” (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 information. 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 engaged 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 grammar 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 consonants and there is a slight change in sound that distinguishes
those words. For example, 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
questions based on the song and the student responds to the question and the student
receives “feedback immediately” (Ortega, 208). This next step takes the students
acquisition 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

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their 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
students 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 activity 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
explanation 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
Na ître Mourir
Monter Descendre
Rester Tomber Retourner

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Aller Venir
Revenir Devenir Rentrer
Figure 2.1
Parts of Speech Glossary
Adapted from “8 parts of speech flashcards”
noun
names a person, place, thing, or idea.
adjective
modifies 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.
pronoun
is used in place of one or more nouns or pronouns. In Italian, the subject
pronouns are: io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro.
preposition
shows the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to some other word in a
sentence. Some important Italian prepositions are: a, di, da, con, su, per.
verb
expresses an action or a state of being. Verbs in Italian end in: -are, -ire-, -ere
in their infinitive form.
conjunction
joins 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
meaning 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 Mondo
Jovanotti
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: è
Direct 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
irregular! 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
different 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?
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, -ono
6 Some important question words in Italian are: Chi, Come, Dove, Che, Quando, Perché

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

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or -endo depending on whether the stem of the verb is -ARE, -ERE, -IRE. Knowing this
find some example of the gerund throughout the song.
“Stiamo già ballando.”
9B) Create a Venn diagram placing verbs found in the present in one circle and
instances 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?

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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
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
acceptance of one another regardless of race, class, sex etc. By accepting our
neighbour, 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
meaning of idiomatic expressions*
• Cane-
• Giù-
• Sguardo-

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• Il cerchio-
• Cercare-
• Donna-
• Estate-
• Più-
• Dimmelo-
Dimmelo tu cos’è
Antonello 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.

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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.
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
auxiliary 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.
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
Italian, 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, loro
10 In Italian, verbs have different moods such as indicative, subjunctive, conditional, and imperative. NB:
verbs in the imperative form express a command.

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5A) Consider the lyric: “Un’ altra donna che non sia11
troppo vuota.” How many clauses
are in this lyrics?
There are two clauses in this lyric. There is a subordinate clause and a
dependent 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
different 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 character
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,
11 The verb ESSERE in its subjunctive form is: sia, sia, sia, siamo, siate, siano

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someone or something that has substance to it unlike himself who is
alone and void.
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
foreign languages, in particular French, for 15 years and in that decade and a half of
acquiring a secondary language not one of my teachers or professors used music to
convey 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 instructors should consider using music as a pedagogical tool in their

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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 comprehension 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
university 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
educated me on various 21st century learning styles such as differentiated learning and
forum style learning in order to heighten the activities I was creating. I was given
complete autonomy over the creation of the activities and from that I was able to create
authentic 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
student 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

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the song which was not studied. The questions serve as a guide to the students in the
creation 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
grammar 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 information 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
conceptualize what they are learning in a visual manner. They add finesse to the
students’ language 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 because they truly help.
After four years of studying Italian at McMaster I find it suitable that I am
culminating 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

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