Finding a Voice, Finding a Home

How Choirs Help Newcomers Learn Language and Belong

A recent study with adult newcomers in Québec explored how joining an 8-week choir impacted French language learning, social connection, and well-being. Participants sang French songs, learned pronunciation and vocabulary, and shared informal breaks with fellow singers.

The results were striking. Newcomers reported stronger speaking and listening skills, greater confidence, and a deeper sense of belonging. They produced more fluent speech, made new friends, and began to view the new language less as a barrier and more as an invitation.

For music educators, the implications are powerful. Singing slows down speech, making pronunciation easier. Lyrics embed vocabulary in rhythm and melody, boosting recall. Group music-making provides a safe, joyful space where mistakes aren’t failures, they’re just part of the harmony.

In a school, this could mean welcoming newly arrived students into a choir or song-based language group from day one. Imagine a Ukrainian student in a Canadian high school learning English idioms through folk songs, or a young Syrian child in primary school joining a lunchtime singing circle to build both language skills and friendships.

Such programs could be a cornerstone of newcomer welcome plans, accelerating language acquisition, helping students communicate more confidently, easing the emotional weight of transition, and re-engaging them in learning after the disruption of moving countries. With the music teacher as a key ally, schools can make song not just an art form, but a lifeline.

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