Learning a Language Through Music

Can you combine language learning with music? Speaking from my own experience, I’d say yes.

Ten years ago, before I had even really started learning Korean, I tried to memorise Korean songs. The main reason was that I wanted to explore Korea’s noraebang (karaoke) culture. The Koreans who introduced me to this tradition were genuinely impressed that I could follow the lyrics on screen, even though I could barely speak string a sentence together.

There’s a good reason to why this works: it’s simply easier to remember sounds if they’re attached to a melody. And unlike dialogues or vocabulary lists, songs tend to stick. They’re also a surprisingly effective way to build reading skills, especially in languages with unfamiliar writing systems.

I’ve been testing this recently with Mandarin. For the past week I’ve been listening to Chinese songs while following the lyrics, and what started as a blur of unfamiliar characters has slowly begun to make sense. I’m now recognising signs I’ve encountered in vocabulary practice. And the feeling of progress, however small, is a powerful motivator.

That’s really the heart of it. Music makes language learning feel less like studying and more like exploration. It keeps motivation alive in a way that grammar drills rarely do. And as a bonus, you might just discover a whole new musical world along the way. Chinese music had never featured in my playlists before, and now it does.

So if you’re learning a language, put on a song. You might be surprised how much you pick up.