Excuse me, but do you have Earworms?

MANILA, Philippines - Do you sometimes hear a tune, a song or a jingle playing in your head that you can’t turn off?

Fret not. You’re not going out of your head and you don’t really need a tune-up up there. You just have earworms. Yes, you heard that right, earworms!

FYI, we don’t mean those crawly, creepy critters although earworms burrow their way into our ears in the same manner that earthworms dig into the soil. Do lend us your ears and we’ll tell you more.

The literal translation of the German word ohrwurm, earworm is also called the stuck song syndrome or repetinitis or audio virus, which afflicts some people at some points in their lives. It’s like brainwashing; it just keeps repeating itself involuntarily — yes, like an annoying TV commercial jingle or your mother’s incessant nagging.

But hear this: Something irritating has now been put to scintillating use. Earworms Musical Brain Trainer (MTB) is worming its way into Singapore and across the Asian region for the first time via Berlitz, which introduces literally the easiest way on earth to learn a foreign language.

In 2005, researchers at the Dartmouth College, keeping their eyes and ears wide open, were able to pinpoint the region in the brain where earworms, such as catchy tunes, reside. And that part of the brain where these repetitive notes are burned is called the auditory cortex — repeat, the auditory cortex.

The idea is as ancient as time, but to repeat what the researchers found: Sounds and words that have actually been heard can be readily recalled from the auditory cortex, where the brain can listen to them “virtually” again and again and again. And according to Bulgarian physician Georgi Lozanov, there’s nothing like music to put listeners into a state of relaxed alertness or the alpha state, said to be the ideal state of consciousness for learning.

Enter the Earworms, which takes advantage of the proven fact that the mind can memorize words so much better when they’re presented in melodic patterns. Thus, with soothing music playing in the background, you will hear a mellifluous male voice speaking in English and a native speaker for the target language translating it. This goes on and on and on (the words and phrases will literally be ringing in your ears) until it worms its way deep into your memory.

Memorization never sounded this fun! Now, why didn’t they think of that ages ago when we had to memorize, for instance, the scientific names of plants that all sounded Greek to us?

Indeed, with Earworms, learning can be so much easier and fun: Just imagine schoolchildren listening to hip-hop songs while trying to memorize historical events or the capitals of all the countries in the world!

Marlon Lodge, course author, language coach, and Earworms co-founder (with his brother Andrew Lodge), notes that “the idea is as old as it is simple, using melody as a memory hook.” Both the CD and booklet contain a number of helpful memory hooks.

Lodge chirps, “The line ‘Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?’ from the song Lady Marmalade is locked in your memory forever, even if you don’t speak the language.”

But of course, “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir” (read: Do you want to sleep with me tonight?) is something you don’t ask someone you just met while strolling down Champs Elysees in Paris. When in Italy, if somebody asks for your name, you say “Mi chiamo ____ (just remember Micky Armo). In Greece, if you want to say “Excuse me,” just imagine saying “messy oil heater” and you will remember the Greek words messee ohriteh.

Oui, Earworms is simply perfecto for frequent travellers, package tourists, backpackers, people who travel to a foreign country for pleasure or pressure, and even flight attendants. Fact is, Cathay Pacific already has Earworms audio in all its long-haul flights as part of its in-flight entertainment programming.

Call is a survival kit of words and phrases that may come in handy next time you go abroad and order food and drink at a resto, ask for directions or ask where the washroom, toilette or baño is. And naturally, shopaholics would not want to be lost in translation when they ask this all-important question: How much?

Stop, look, and just listen. This musical brain trainer is a no-brainer. Simply listen to your Earworms as you would the songs on the radio. Take this tip: Listen a couple of times on the first day to tune your ear into the sounds of the language you want to learn. Then listen regularly over a period of one week. It also helps to familiarize yourself with the written words in the booklet, which comes with the audio packs, the first time you listen. And you can listen to it while in the car caught in traffic, instead of cursing under your breath, or while in the bath or while doing household chores. No sweat, no fuss, no muss!

And hear ye, there are 16 languages to choose from, which include Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Berlitz Earworms language courses come in two volumes: Volume 1 or the Earworms Rapid Series, your travel survival kit, and Volume 2, which allows you to talk about yourself, chat, and even flirt. In the pipeline is Volume 3 or “Rap It” School Tools for kids.

Messee ohriteh, but I’ve got to go. Au revoir! Ciao! Das vidanya! Auf wiedersehen!

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The new Berlitz Earworms audio books will be available in major bookshops around Asia.