How to Learn Vocabulary from Songs in Other Languages

I have been meaning to write about listening to songs in foreign languages for months now, but wanted to wait until I found enough international singers and songs that I liked that I could share with you. As Olly mentions in the video below, songs are one of the best ways to increase your vocabulary in another language, but aside from that, you can also learn what some typical contractions of words are, and can even use them to practice your pronunciation.

I am a big proponent of songs, because as Olly says, “the kind of vocabulary you get in songs is not the same, often, as the kind of things that you will say when you are speaking the language.” You may be asking yourself why that would be positive, but do not worry, I will get to that in a little bit. When you first learn song lyrics, you have to be aware of the fact that people do not typically talk like that. In words or phrases that are found in songs, you should notice that it can be difficult to easily drop them in conversation. “It is important to ask yourself questions such as: "Is this normal language? Do people actually speak like that’”? More oftentimes than not, the answer will be no.

I agree with Olly, in that most songs that are in English are not like the way that we speak on an everyday basis. For example, in the song “Echo” by Jason Walker, he says:

“Cause my echo, echo

Is the only voice coming back

Shadow, shadow

Is the only friend that I have"

I am sure that you could notice that most people do not usually burst out those words.

Since the words that are found in songs are not generally the most common words that are used in everyday speech, you get to learn complex ways of expressing yourself and describing the world around you in a more meaningful, and, oftentimes, more poetic, or romantic way. If you want to increase your vocabulary, when you are learning a song and you see a lot of words that you want to use in conversation, you have to write them down. Whether you use flashcards, read a lot and give yourself as much as exposure as you can with new words, or write them down in a notebook, the most important part of the process is to be consistent. I cannot stress enough how much the application Anki has personally helped me in my language-learning journey. I will continue to refer to my post "Foreign Language Vocabulary Builder Using Anki (Application)" from 6/25/16, because I strongly encourage you to download the application and to make it a habit to regularly use it. I have yet to find a method that is as fun and immersive as Anki.

I find that studying words separately by putting them onto Anki is the most efficient way to retain difficult vocabulary that I come across in songs, while still remembering those words in the context of the song (ex: the phrase in which it is used and the syntax associated with it). You can oftentimes also indirectly learn, or review grammar by looking at the ways in which words are put together. If you are learning a language that has a case system, songs tend to be a less overwhelming way of reviewing the endings of words. I have already taught myself several songs in German and Russian and have found many grammatical patterns in them without having to tediously review case charts. You can even find websites and YouTube channels that have songs in other languages that are already translated for you in your native language, which is very convenient!

I also highly recommend printing out the lyrics of a song that you enjoy, looking up any unknown words by translating them from your target language into your native language if you cannot infer the meanings of certain words, and, finally, putting them onto Anki. Make sure to have the lyrics in front of you every time that you listen to a song for the first couple of times in which you try to memorize it. As you start to become more comfortable with what you are saying and can sing the song without looking down every couple of words, try to challenge yourself by singing it without the lyrics in front of you. Eventually, you will be able to understand every word. It may take you a day, or two weeks before that happens depending on your level in the language and on how difficult the lyrics are, but I promise that the process is worth it in the end.

As a bonus, I will add the names of some of my favorite artists in 6 languages. Some of my favorite genres of music are R&B, soul, hip-hop and alternative, and I also like songs that are soft, soothing, or that talk about experiences and feelings that you have other than love. Here is some of my favorite foreign music (Feel free to click on some of these artists of languages that interest you, so that you can check out their YouTube channels and songs):

English:  Coldplay- Coldplay Official : "Yellow"

               Courrier – "Between"

               Daughter- DaughterVEVO : "Medicine"

               The Fray- thefrayVEVO : "Be Still", "Look After You"

               Imagine Dragons- ImagineDragonsVEVO "It’s Time"

               Jack Savoretti- JackSavorettiVEVO : "Changes, "Hate & Love"

               Jason Walker- "Echo", Kiss Me"

               Nick Lachey- "What’s Left of Me"

               Ross Copperman- "Holding on and Letting Go"

               S. Carey- "Neverending Fountain (Alt. Version)"

French- Amir- Amir: "J'ai cherché", "On dirait"
              Coeur de pirate- CoeurDePirateVEVO: "Crier tout bas", "Tu oublieras mon nom"

              Corneille- "Parce qu'on vient de loin"
              Grégory Lemarchal- "Je rêve"
              Hazerka- "En silence ft. Ornella Tempesta"
              Jonah-  Jonah Music : "Pas Le Droit à L'Erreur"
              MAGIC SYSTEM- Magic System Official: "Magic In The Air Feat. Chawki"
              Moker- "J'trace ma route"
              M. Pokora - M. Pokora Officiel: "Le monde"

              Vianney- VianneyVEVO: "Je m'en vais"

              Zaho- Zaho Officiel : ": "Je Te Promets", "Tant de choses"

              Zazie- Zazie - Topic: "Je ne sais pas", "Les contraires""J'ai cherché"

German- Andreas Bourani- AndreasBouraniVEVO: "Auf uns", "Eisberg"
                Die Toten Hosen- "Tage wie diese"
                Joel Brandenstein- Joel Bandenstein: "Diese Liebe", "Lebenskraft", "Polaroid"
                Lina Maly- Warner Music Germany: "Schön genug" 

                Marie Bothmer - Es braucht Zeit (Official Video)

                Mark Forster- markforsterVEVO : "Anna", "Wir sing groß", "Zu dir (Weit weg)"
                Unheilig- "Geboren um zu leben"
                Wincent Weiss- Digster Pop: "Feuerwerk" 

                Xavier Naidoo-Xavier Naidoo - Topic : "Alles Kann Besser Werden", "Führ mich ans Licht", "Und Wenn Ein Lied",  "War Wir Alleine Nicht Schaffen", "Wo Willst Du Hin"

                Yvonne Caterfeld- Yvonne Catterfeld- "Irgendwas feat. Bengio"

Italian- Alessandra Amoroso-AlessandramorosoVEVO

             Arisa- Arisa - Topic : "Controvento", "Il Tempo Che Verrà","La Notte",                      

            Marco Mengoni- MarcoMengoniVEVO: "Guerriero", "Sai che", "Ti ho voluto bene veramente"
             Nek- Nek - Topic :"Laura non c'è"

            Tiziano Ferro- Tiziano Ferro - Topic: "Ti scatterò una foto"

Russian-  "MBAND - Посмотри на меня"

Spanish- Carlos Vives- CarlosVivesVEVO

                Franco de Vita- FrancodeVitaVEVO- "Te Amo"

                Juan Luis Guerra- Juan Luis Guerra - Topic- "Ojala que llueva café"

This is just a small taste of some of my favorite artists, bands, and foreign songs, but I hope that you enjoy some of them and start listening to them. I am personally very picky with my music, because I like purchasing and listening to songs that have meaningful, poetic lyrics, so now you get a small taste of to what I usually listen. I will be updating this post in the upcoming months to add more music that I enjoy, so be sure to watch out for an update sometime soon.

What makes songs so amazing is that when you learn them, they “exist in [their] own bubble inside [of] your head.” The more times that you listen to a song, the more likely it is that you will not forget it. After you have memorized the lyrics of a song and have truly understood what it is that you are saying and the deeper meaning of it, it is very likely that it will forever be ingrained in your memory. When you least expect it, you will hear lyrics of songs that you know pop up into your head. That is the power songs- they are like memories that never fade away, making them a powerful language-learning tool. Good luck finding music that you like and do not forget to have fun while doing so!