How can songs benefit foreign language classes?Find out in the new “9 Months, 9 Universities” webinar

Incorporating songs into foreign language classes offers numerous pedagogical benefits. Songs provide authentic language exposure which is crucial for developing listening skills and pronunciation. Moreover, songs often contain colloquial expressions and idiomatic phrases, making them valuable for learning everyday language use.

Werbinar: Songs in foreign language classes: Learning in and about cultural context.

21 January at 10 am CET.

A webinar by Kateryna Blyzniuk, from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

The cultural aspect of songs is particularly significant. Music reflects a society’s history, traditions, and values, and offers students a deeper insight into the target culture. For Ukrainian learners studying Polish, songs can bridge cultural gaps and foster a sense of connection. Polish songs can introduce Ukrainian students to Polish folklore, historical events, and contemporary societal issues, which can enrich their cultural competence.

At the same time, in the context of the ongoing war, modern Ukrainian students are facing emotional challenges. When selecting songs, educators need to be sensitive to the students’ experiences and avoid content that may trigger distress. Balancing the pedagogical benefits of using songs with the constraints imposed by the war requires careful consideration to ensure that the educational experience remains supportive and enriching, even in difficult times.

The speaker

Kateryna Blyzniuk is a senior lecturer in the Department of General and Slavic Linguistics and the Department of International Relations at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She holds a PhD in comparative-historical and typological linguistics.

Her main field of research is comparative linguistics with a special focus on Slavic languages, lexicology, and the influence of culture, history, and socio-political factors on the formation of languages.

She began her journey with the Polish language in 2009 at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She improved her knowledge of Polish at Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland) and Jan Dlugosz University (Częstochowa, Poland). She also participated in a course for Polish language lecturers from the University of Silesia (Katowice, Poland).

Kateryna Blyznyuk has been teaching Polish at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy since 2017. Other courses she teaches are General Linguistics, Comparative Linguistics, Introduction to Slavic Philology, and Linguistic Geography.

9 Months, 9 Universities is a series of guest lectures that focus on specific topics related to language and culture and target mainly graduate and postgraduate students as well as Early-Stage Researchers and lecturers interested in these topics. The lectures are intended to generate awareness and appreciation for the topic of multilingualism as well as an understanding of the many areas of our lives that are influenced by language.