Please make your recording naturally. At the end of yours, if you would like to answer these questions, please do it. So I can learn some natural expressions from you too!
1. Do you think children should learn how to sing?
No, I wouldn’t actually say it is all that necessary, simply because it’s something that we are all able to do inherently, regardless of whether or not we’ve been taught. So unless a child is really serious about becoming a singer, I’d say there’s no real need for them to learn how to sing.
2. What kinds of music are popular in your country?
Well, thinking about it, I would say that there’s an increasingly wide variety of music which is popular nowadays in Vietnam, such as pop music of course, as well as rock, R&B, and traditional Vietnamese folk music. But out of all of these, I’d say that pop music is, by far, the most popular at the moment, and I’m sure if you looked on anyone’s mp3 player here, you would find that the majority of the music on it, if not all of it, was pop music – at least that’s the case with all of my friends anyway.
3. What are the differences in the music that young and old people listen to?
Well, I suppose there are a handful of differences, one of which would be that young people, on the whole, mainly like listening to pop music, whereas the older generation tend to prefer listening to more traditional music, like folk music, Vietnamese opera, and even old revolutionary songs. So that’s one difference, and I guess another would be that young people often listen to Western music as well as Vietnamese music, whereas in contrast, I think it’s fair to say that most elderly people just tend to listen to Vietnamese music.
4. Is it necessary for children to listen to traditional music?
Well, I don’t think I would go so far as saying it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s certainly a good thing to do, because it’s one way of helping children become more aware of their culture. So for example, if parents occasionally put on some traditional music at home, it gives children the chance to develop an interest in this aspect of their culture, even though they might not be able to fully appreciate it.
5. What kinds of songs do children like listening to?
Well, based on what I remember from my own childhood, I would say most kids tend to like listening to short, simple songs which have catchy tunes and memorable lyrics, and I suppose a lot of them are the theme songs to their favourite cartoons.
6. What music is suitable for children?
I think it’s probably fair to say that more or less all music is, even classical music, because although kids might not fully appreciate it, they can still enjoy it, and it’s even been said that listening to composers like Mozart can make them smarter! So I would basically say that, as long as a song’s lyrics don’t contain any bad language, then it’s suitable for children to listen to.
Thanks a lot for the recording, josski32!!! :)