As they say, one of the most effective ways to teach a language is to learn one yourself. To understand the true needs of the student, the teacher really should “walk the path.” My time in Taiwan has been spent both as a Happy Marian English School teacher and as a beginner Chinese student. My encounters and frustrations as a Westerner learning Chinese have greatly informed me about teaching my native language to Chinese children.
Of course there are the predictable struggles I should have with the Chinese tones and the phonetics of newly learned words. Surely these have all had an impact on the way I now teach English phonics and vocabulary. But something else has recently come to my attention, and it has to do with my hobby as a jazz saxophonist. Since I came to Taiwan I have been fortunate enough to meet a variety of artists and musicians. Many of them are foreigners like me, and many of them are also studying Chinese.
I noticed something very interesting: the foreigners I know in Taiwan who are most comfortable speaking Chinese are those who play Indian music or American jazz. (Also, the Taiwanese people I know who are most comfortable with their English are those who also play this music.) What is the point, you ask? Both of these kinds of music depend on improvisation, the ability to make up the music as you perform it. To play this music, we learn the notes and rhythms that can be used in certain musical situations, but we freely “speak” our own musical “sentences,” choosing which notes to play as we perform. We are speaking a musical language together, and it has helped us learn Chinese faster!
There have been many comparisons between music and language. However, a classical musician doesn’t do much “speaking.” The classical musician reads the notes of another composer, but rarely does he “speak” his own “words.” Unless you play improvised musical styles, you never encounter music’s full capacity as a language. Consider this: the classical musician only learns to “read” and never speaks. But if you play Indian music, American jazz, or some other style that requires the improvising of melodies, these musicians are not only reading, they’re speaking conversationally. Languages such as English or Chinese similarly provide the same basic tools to “improvise” with. In conversation, we use the words we know to form sentences as we compose them. The improvising musicians I know here are the ones who also and most effectively speak a second or third language.
As a parent, I am sure you want your child to have the best opportunity to learn English. I am excited to share this new finding with you! And I suggest you use it too: if your child is learning music, or if your child is quite young and might learn music at a later age, start exploring improvised musical styles now. Go to the library and use the internet to learn something about American jazz, Indian music, or other styles based on improvisation. Gather CDs. Build an appreciation from a young age. And if your child is old enough, consider playing an instrument or learning one or more of these styles. By listening and practicing, your children may very well incur these secondary effects on their English skills.

Louis J. Goldford (Happy Marian, Xinchuang, Taipei County)