Pilot project: Making music should make learning German easier
training
The Musikum Salzburg has started a project at the elementary school in Obertrum (Flachgau) in which German and music lessons are combined. This should make learning easier for the children.
The four cases of the German language are on the timetable in the elementary school in Obertrum. Each case is assigned its own instrument, explains ten-year-old Johanna: “I know the cases much better now than if we only discussed them in a book”. Nine-year-old Jonas added: “We learn musically and also play fun games. I like that better than just writing.”
The combination is about rhythm, speech melody and pitch. Music is structured in the same way that sentences and words are structured, explains Christina Schindlauer, the 4b class teacher in Obertrum: “Children react more strongly to musical stimuli than spoken words. It’s all about having a positive experience while learning through music. That increases receptivity.” According to the teacher, this would explain learning content better in the brain.
Trial run for the curriculum
A music teacher from the Musikum visits the school class once a week. Verena Strasshofer from Musikum Salzburg explains that content is then conveyed together as part of the curriculum: “Music is also important for building up vocabulary. Through the rhythm, through the melodies in the songs and the structures of the music and listening, we can understand language more easily or differently”.
In the further course, this part should then be taken over by the class teachers themselves. The 4b in Obertrum is currently the experimental class. If this works well, this form of teaching should be integrated into the curriculum and installed in schools.
Musical German lessons
Making music together is intended to improve learning ability during German lessons