The Concept of “Vocalese” in the Class of FLE
Cynthia George
Ms. Cynthia George, M. A, Assistant Professor, French, Providence College for Women Spring Field, Bandishola, Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.
Manuscript received on 13 April 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 20 April 2019 | Manuscript Published on 26 July 2019 | PP: 1390-1392 | Volume-8 Issue-6S4 April 2019 | Retrieval Number: F12810486S419/19©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.F1281.0486S419
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open-access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: “Music is a world within itself a language we all understand “– Steve Wonder. According to these words if this language called “Music” can be used in the teaching of a foreign language it justifies the words of Plato “Music is a more potent instrument than any other form of education because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul”. This article aims To highlight the advantages of “Vocalese” in the teaching of French as a foreign langue (FLE) – Francais Langue Etrangere and to structure a formative and fun FLE course through the exploitation of a song aiming at functional, linguistic and socio cultural objectives. Why use songs? Why music? Music is a therapy. It is a communication far more powerful than words, far more immediate and far more efficient” – Yehudi Menuhin. Having understood well the advantages of using songs in the teaching of FLE, let us now analyze the concept the “Vocalese”. What is Vocalese? Vocalese is a style or musical genre of jazz singing wherein words are sung note for note to melodies that were originally created by a soloist’s improvisation. Why use Vocalese? Man can learn nothing except by going from the known to the unknown – Claude Bernard (French physiologist).In “Vocalese” one is familiar with the tune. When this (known) tune is combined with new lyrics (the unknown) learning is facilitated. Advantages of “Vocalese” in the concept of teaching – Vocalese uses the deductive method of teaching in lieu to the inductive method of teaching. Music is to soul what words are to mind and if these words can be altered it is nothing more than the alteration of the mind – the very first step needed in the teaching of any language. Thus the duty of every teacher is not to teach but to facilitate teaching in accordance to the words of Robert Frost “There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fills you with so much quail shot that you can’t move and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies”. I conclude with the words of Albert Einstein “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” and I as a teacher would like to awaken this joy via music and would prefer to be called an “Educational Rock Star”
Keywords: Music, Vocales, Teaching, ELE.
Scope of the Article: Natural Language Processing