John Swain underlines the importance of a good melody in language-learning songs.

Children learning English

As the world moves further into the 21st century, almost every nation’s ministry of education has made learning English compulsory for primary school children.

Vast market

This means there is a vast market for young learners’ material – both online and off, digital and paper-based. Despite educationalists’ recognition of the benefits of combining music and language in the classroom, the use of presentative songs, especially action songs, is still a much neglected didactic methodology.

Importance of a good tune

However one aspect is clear. If you want to use presentative songs in the classroom, the song itself must stand up as a valid artistic and aesthetically pleasing musical creation in itself. If the language song is banal or hackneyed (as so many language course songs are), children, won’t embrace the dynamic activity with the enthusiasm required for learning to take place.

Demand for Charles Goodger’s music

The fact that world famous singers such as Al Bano consider Charles Goodger’s melodies and songs good enough to record is testimony to Charles’s ability to write good, ear-worm tunes. Listen to the strong melody of “Land of Amber – Terra d’Ambra” (music by Charles Goodger; words by Charles Goodger and Alberto Zeppieri. As well as writing for FunSongs and Al Bano, Charles has written songs, music and poems for the famous Zecchino d’Oro children’s song contest, for the cinema (the horror film “Clara – the movie” by Francesco Longo) and several educational publishers including Mondadori, SEI, Young Digital Planet, NowaEra and Aschehoug in Norway.