My name is Desta Haile and this is Languages through Music.

 

For the past 15 years I’ve been a teacher in languages, theatre and intercultural communication, as well as being a musician. I've been lucky to travel a lot with different artists and to speak different languages. I’ve packed all of this personal and professional experience into Languages through Music. 

 

Why learn a language through music? 

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Because:

• it's fun!

• you can make new friends

• it can give you job opportunities that you wouldn’t have otherwise

• it gives you a different appreciation for your own language

• it gives you confidence – once you learn one language it gives you confidence to try others

 

If you’re learning Portuguese, you’re not just learning about Portugal – you’re learning about Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde. If you’re learning French, you’re not just learning about France – you’re learning about Belgium, Ivory Coast, Senegal. You’re travelling to all the places that speak the language you want to learn!

 

How does a class work? 

 

In each class you get a song. We learn about the artist, we learn about the style and we go through the song, line by line. 

 

You'll get to:

• work on pronunciation

• learn all the words

• learn the story

 

With a lot of repetition in music, it really sinks in.

 

Your job is to sing/speak along to it – slowly at first, until you’re so comfortable that you don’t even need to read it anymore.

 

After that, we pick out all the important vocabulary – words and grammar points.

 

With each song, you’ll get vocabulary and grammar in a “sonic package” that’s easy to remember, because it deals with emotions, stories, people. That’s what we remember! Not some random grammar book.

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I look forward to learning a language with you soon!

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Desta