LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS
CHRISTMAS MUSIC*
LinguaHouse
Nov. 25, 2022
Level: Upper-Intermediate (B2-C1)
Type of English: General English
Tags: Celebrations and Special Events; Sound and Music; Behavior, Feelings and Emotions; Describing Music; Celebrations and Commemorations; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old; Article Based
Publication date: 11/25/2022
*This lesson has been updated.
In this lesson, students read an article on our love-hate relationship with Christmas music. The worksheet focuses on vocabulary, reading, and speaking.
- CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in American English.
- CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
- CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
- CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in British English.
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT (American English)
Christmas earworms: The science behind our love-hate relationship with festive songs
In the run-up to Christmas, we’re exposed to a shower of festive music – on the radio and television, in stores, train stations, restaurants, pubs and bars. In the UK, our favorite old bands are being played everywhere along with newer singers like Kelly Clarkson and Justin Bieber. And, of course, Britain’s two most popular Christmas songs by Mariah Carey and The Pogues are getting their annual airing.
Are you humming Jingle Bells or All I Want for Christmas while you wrap your presents? Catchy music, “sticky tunes” or earworms, as they have become known, are songs that get stuck in our heads – and while about two-thirds are pleasant, some can become quite annoying.
Musically, earworms seem to come more often from songs which have fairly conventional melodic patterns together with something unusual – a key change, or unexpected repetitions.
There’s a popular article written by journalism professor Adam Ragusea, who claims to have identified a mysterious “Christmas chord” that might explain the popularity of Christmas songs and why they give us earworms, although not all commentators are entirely convinced. But research suggests that even though there could be some common features, the specific songs that become earworms are different from person to person.
What’s different about Christmas music is that we are all listening to a much smaller pool of musical options at this time of year. Because of the dominance of Christmas music in public places such as shops and bars, we all get a lot more exposure to the same songs than we do at other times of year. So we could argue that Christmas music helps bring us together – whether we love it or hate it.
Dreaming of a hit record
Among the cheesy sleigh bells-filled tunes, there are some great Christmas classics – and it’s interesting to note that “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin is not only consistently one of the most well-known Christmas songs but is the best-selling song of all time. It also has the characteristics of an earworm, and it contains that funny “Christmas chord”. But how does a song like that maintain its popularity over the decades?
According to some theories, when we first hear a new piece of music, we tend to not like it very much. But repetition sparks liking – and repetition both within a song and through repeated listening over days, weeks and months will usually increase our fondness.
There’s a limit to this repetition effect. Too much of it sends liking down the other side of the curve, meaning that when we have heard something too much we eventually, and quickly, get fed up with it. In one research study, we find that people regulate their own exposure to their own music over very long periods of time.
A lot of Christmas music, whether we think it’s good or bad, will be more popular than it might deserve to be as it usually only gets aired a few months of the year. By the time we’re taking down the Christmas tree in January, we’ve all become fully sick of Mariah and so we put it away in the attic with the tree, to be dusted off and enjoyed again next year.
Sources: The Conversation, The Guardian
Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/christmas-music. Accessed on December 23, 2022. © 2008–2022 LinguaHouse.com. All rights reserved.
