Songs im Zentrum des Englischunterrichts auf der Oberstufe

Abstract

In his Nobel Lecture, Bob Dylan (2017) illustrates the cultural, intertextual and lyrical wealth that can be unearthed in songs. He ruminates about Buddy Holly, Melville’s Moby Dick and Homer’s Odyssey, among other influences on his music, and concludes that his lyrics are rooted in folk music as well as the literary tradition. Like Dylan’s work, many other songs can be viewed as sources of cultural knowledge. They contain archetypes and images that often beg to be interpreted, but don’t
always need to be understood. In this article, we explore some of the  opportunities and challenges that intense song analysis can offer in upper secondary language classes. We present a teaching unit that exemplifies cultural and linguistic learning focused on songs, and we argue that learners should take centre stage when working with songs and lyrics in the classroom.