Method 3: Earworms What is it Method 3: Earworms What is it? Audio-based approach to language learning Chunks of language – i.e. phrases/parts of phrases combined with rhythm, set to music – with TL and English together Why? What is the reason for claiming this method works? Language learning depends on memorisation of words & sounds Earworms uses some simple techniques that harness more of the brain’s native power and this ‘accelerates’ learning Listening to the rhythmic repetitions of English and Spanish a few times burns the sound patterns and meanings into the auditory cortex (part of the brain where sounds are stored) The power of combining the words with rhythm/music in repetition anchors them deep into the long-term memory (think how you don’t forget the words to Baa Baa Black Sheep!) Task: Listen to track nos. 5 & 10 – follow the stages 1-5 for each track – then be ready to evaluate next lesson. The tracks are to be found on StudentShared drive in MFL folder and called Earworms 5 and Earworms 10.

What do you have to do? 1. First time of listening – read the words at the same time from the booklet 2. Listen and relax – don’t actively ‘try’ to remember but enjoy the music in the background 3. Say the words out loud along with the track – this helps you to anchor the words in your memory 4. After listening several times, without stress, see how much you have retained by covering the English side of the booklet and see how many words you know the meaning of. 5. To ‘fix’ the learning even more, try to introduce some ‘memory hooks’ - think of what the word sounds like to you and create an image (the funnier/more bizarre the better) e.g. for the number 5 in Spanish, cinco (pronounced ‘thinko’, think of a 05 in a thought bubble (think 05) and you will remember both how to say the word and what it means.

Earworms Vol.1 Track 5: Numbers, days and time English Spanish Sounds like… 1 uno oono 2 dos doss 3 tres tress 4 cuatro kwattro 5 cinco thinko 6 seis sayeess 7 siete syetay 8 ocho otchoh 9 nueve nooebey 10 diez deeyeth 11 once onthay 12 doce dothay 20 veinte bayntay 25 veinticinco bayntaythinko 40 cuarenta kwarenta ‘past’ and ‘to’ half past… …y media ee medya a quarter past.. …y cuarto ee kwarto a quarter to.. …menos cuarto menos kwarto ten to… …menos diez menos deeyeth twenty to …menos veinte menos bayntay

Earworms Vol.1 Track 5: Numbers, days and time English Spanish Sounds like… Some examples: Seven o’clock las siete las syete Half past eight las ocho y media las otcho ee medya A quarter past seven las siete y cuarto las syete ee kwarto Nine twenty las nueve y veinte las nooebe ee bayntay A challenge! Try filling in the gaps! 10 o’clock ……..diez 11.30 las……….. y media 6.15 (six and a quarter) ……..seis………cuarto Twenty to nine ……….nueve…………veinte 3.15 ……..tres y ……….. Quarter to five (minus a quarter) las cinco ………cuarto Ten past eight ………..y diez Five to nine …….nueve menos…….. Half past twelve ……….doce y ………….. 9.45 las diez menos……….

Earworms Vol.1 Track 5: Numbers, days and time English Spanish Sounds like… Days of the week (on) Monday (el) lunes el looness (on) Tuesday (el) martes el martess Wednesday miércoles meeaircoless Thursday jueves jwebess Friday viernes beeairness Saturday sábado sabado Sunday domingo

Earworms Vol.1 Track 10: Do you speak English? Spanish Sounds like… Good morning/day Buenos días Bwenos deeass Good afternoon Buenas tardes Bwenas tardess How are you/things? (informal) ¿Qué tal? Kay tal? Do you speak English? ¿Habla inglés? Abla eengless? Do you speak..? ¿Habla…? Abla…? español espanyol Sorry, I don’t speak Spanish Lo siento, no hablo español Lo syento, no ablo espanyol I don’t speak.. No hablo… No ablo… M name is… Me llamo… Me yamo… I don’t understand No entiendo No entyendo More slowly Más despacio Mass despatheeo It’s difficult Es difícil Es deefeetheel It’s not easy No es fácil No ess fatheel What is this? ¿Qué es esto? Kay ess esto? How about an ice cream? ¿Qué tal un helado? Kay tal oon elado?

Earworms Vol.1 Track 10: Do you speak English? Spanish Sounds like… Ok, why not? Vale, ¿por qué no? Balleh, por kay noh? How about a beer? ¿Qué tal una cerveza? Kay tal oona thairbetha? How is it? What’s it like? ¿Qué tal? Kay tal? Do you like it? ¿Te gusta? Tay goostah? Yes, I like it. (very much) Sí, me gusta (mucho) See, may goostah moocho. I don’t like it No me gusta No may goostah Another (one) please Otra, por favor

Earworms method Student name: What is this method? (Say what it is, what you have to do to learn with this method) What do you know now that you didn’t know before using it today? Rate your progress (better/less good/as expected) What was effective/not effective? What did you like/dislike? Did it increase/decrease your motivation? How? Did it increase/decrease the length of time you could concentrate?