INTEGRATING MUSIC AND SONG HERITAGE OF GREAT BRITAIN INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

The importance of teaching a foreign language alogside with its culture, history and modern life has been universally acknowledged. The article focuses on integrating music and songs of Great Britain into the English language training program for MGIMO undergraduate students as a means of developing their foreign language communicative competence. Music and songs appear to be powerful incentives for enhancing students’ motivation to learn by positively impacting their emotions and creating a favorable learning environment. There are several examples of pieces of music, songs and tasks to follow that would arouse students’ interest and improve their language skills as well as their critical thinking, creativity and broaden their horizons. Another major issue dealt with in the article is the process of selecting songs for a particular age group of students with a focus on British Studies integrated into the English language training program. By highlighting the cultural component in the English language classroom, educators emphasize the signifcance of the communicative function of a foreign language that is particularly important for students specializing in international relations. Students will be able to access all supplementary learning materials, i.e. audio tracks, music video clips, creative task on MGIMO portal via their PCs and mobile devices.