Using songs in teaching English is unquestionably very
natural, very scientific.
Teaching alphabet to a child through song more
effectively than offer to learn it by heart. Child
picks them up faster and memorizes them better. This
is the precise reason that rhymes and verses are the chief modes of teaching
the basics - both numerical lessons and linguistic lessons to a child in the
early years of life. Actually, the melody echoes in the child's mind and the
child soon grows familiar with the music and with the accompanying word or
number. There are yet other, more valid reasons for using
songs in teaching English. Songs are generally a real source of authentic
language and since a large fraction of the world populace listens to English
songs, it will be more fun than hard work for the learners to acquire mastery
in English if, as a teacher, you try using songs in teaching English . As said, songs are a powerful means of teaching
English and you can use songs as a classroom activity to enrich your students'
English vocabulary, to improve their grammar and accents. Using songs in
teaching English can be very effective, provided you are quite selective with
the songs. Choose songs that are good to listen to - not a loud, earsplitting
background score overlapping the singer's voice, rather soft renderings with
each word, each syllable being clearly articulated. Equal emphasis should also
be laid on the theme of a song. However, choose songs that your students can
associate with. Go for plain, simple language; avoid songs that have slang and cultural
references or else you'll have a tough time in the classroom. Whilst using
songs in teaching English to young learners, stick to songs that involve them
both physically and mentally. Some surefire
classroom activities using songs in teaching English are as follows:
Fill-in-blanks is the most popular classroom activity.
However, this is not as simple as handing out worksheets full of gaps to
students. We can omit the rhyming words or adjectives, etc. but whatever do
needs to be properly planned.
Spotting the mistakes is another game that can be involved
students in. Change a few words (not more than 8 to 10) in the lyrics and
asking students to correct them as they listen to the song. Here again, we will
have to choose the words sensibly. A nice idea will be providing the antonyms. We
can use synonyms in case we are using songs in teaching English to adult
learners. Translation and interpretation of songs inherent meaning, the use of
various symbols, etc. nurture creativity in students; composing follow-up
verses for a song is an equally effective task for higher-level students.
Filling in the blanks
Songs are often used in this way in the ESL classroom.
We can carefully choose which words to blank out depending on what lexical area
we want our students to work on.
Listening Comprehension
Instead of doing your usual listening comprehension
out of the course books, do a song instead. Getting students thinking about the
subject and doing any pre-teaching of vocabulary as necessary. As with standard
listening comprehension, there are a variety of exercises that we can do with
songs: true or false, matching exercises, open comprehension questions, etc.
Phonetics
We can use a song with a clear rhyme pattern to do
some phonetics work on particular phonemes. The
main reason songs work so well is that many kids are what's called
"Musically Intelligent". It simply means that new phrases stick in
their memory if it's accompanied by a melody. It's the same thing that happens
when you hear the new Madonna song on the radio and can't get it out of your
head all day!
But although musical intelligence is very common, some
kids are also intelligent in different ways and we have to try and incorporate
as many types as we can into the class. So for kids who are more physical we
add in gestures and actions for each line of the song.
Picture Cards
for Each Word or Phrase
Just as some kids are more physical, some learn more
visually. More effective than simply writing the lyrics on the board, a
colorful picture card to illustrate each lyric is recommended. Now we have
actions, melody and pictures for each new word or phrase. Ideally we'd also
have a smell for each one, but I think we'll leave that for now, as we have
most of the kids learning styles covered!
By listening to English songs, students can hear
the native pronunciation of words. It improves their ability of hearing the
language.
How can teachers use the material effectively? Murphey suggests the
following
activities that teachers can do with students when teaching English through
popular
songs:
- study grammar
- practice selective listening comprehension
- read songs for linguistic purposes
- compose songs, articles about songs, letters to singers, questionnaires
- discuss a song
- translate songs
- write dialogues using the words of a song
- use video clips in many ways
- do role-plays (as people in the song, or the artist/interviewer)
- dictate a song
- use a song for gap-fill, cloze, or for correction
- use music for background to other activities
- integrate songs into project work
- energize or relax classes mentally
- practice pronunciation, intonation, and stress
- break the routine
- do choral repetition
- teach vocabulary
- teach culture
- learn about your students and from your students, letting them choose and
explain their music
- have fun
For teaching vocabulary, the most appropriate activities are probably
writing
dialogues using the words of a song, dictating a song, using a song for
gap-fill, cloze, or for correction, integrating songs into project work,
practicing pronunciation, intonation, and stress. However, Murphey stresses
that teachers should “be careful not to kill the material by doing too much of
serious work , that is why he believes that probably the most important thing
to do with a song in an English classroom is just to have fun because it can stimulate very positive associations to the study of a language, which
otherwise may only be seen as a laborious task, entailing exams, frustration,
and correction".
