ESL / EFL Songs Page
MUSIC
IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Songs, according to many scholars, are among the best ways of teaching a foreign
language. Singing can build students’ confidence by allowing them to enjoy a
degree of fluency in English before they have achieved it in speaking."
Also,songs can be incorporated to all language skills ( listening, reading,
writing and speaking).
Here are some techniques and procedures when using music in the ESL / EFL classroom:
1. Cloze
This is possibly the way that most teachers use songs. Choose a song that has
some connection with the structure or part of speech that you are teaching.
Delete a few words from the lyric and hand the incomplete lyric to the students.
For lower levels, you can include the deleted words in the bottom of the page (
of course, out of order) Hand out the incomplete lyric to the students and play
the song a few times, depending on the level of the song. Students listen and
complete the missing words. Then hand out the complete lyric (or write the
missing words on the board). Give the students some time for correction and
answer any vocabulary questions. Then play the song again , asking the students
to join in and sing (they might not be aware of that, but by doing so they are
actually practicing pronunciation and stress)!!
As a follow-up, you can prepare a sheet pointing out a grammatical point that
you might want the students to learn at that point, and have a structural or
communicative activity after that. Some great songs that can be used for
specific grammatical purposes:
Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight (simple present tense)
The Beatles’ Hello,Goodbye (beginning levels), I’m So Tired ( so/such plus
result clauses) and Penny Lane( use of the)
Tom Jobim’s How Insensitive (use of must as a logical conclusion)
Supertramp’s Logical Song ( adverbs vs. adjectives)
Queen’s Lazing On a Sunday Afternoon(days of the week, prepositions)
2. Topic Introduction
Many topics exist in an advanced/intermediate classes, and songs are great for
some topics, such as love, jealousy, friendship, money, and many others. You can
give the song in cloze form or simply the whole thing just for introduction.
Again, you can have a communicative activity as a follow-up to the topic, such
as a role-playing activity.
Some suggestions are:
Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Waters and Queen’s Friends Will
Be Friends (Topic: Friendship)
John Lennon’s Jealous Guy (topic: Jealousy)
Pink Floyd’s Money (economy/business)
Eric Clapton’s Nobody Loves You (When You’re down and Out)
Bonnie Raitt’s Thing Called Love (love)
3. Singalong Videos
Singalong videos are great because they have the lyrics on screen and students
have fun watching the visuals while they sing. They are also easily available.
My personal favorites are The Beatles Singalong Video and Singalong With Disney
4. Relaxing
Relaxing is great for opening a class, as long as if it’s not early in the
morning, which might put the students to sleep. Play a slow song (classical, if
you wish) and have students close their eyes. Guide them through and imaginary
"trip" such as to an island, or through the mountains. This kind of
activity is great for stressed adults that have come home from work and feel
uncomfortable for being in class. You’ll be surprised by the results.
5. BGM (Background Music)
I personally enjoy having music in the background while I teach. Just select a
calm tape (or cd) and let it play, in low volume, during the whole class. It
works by relaxing the students and making them feel a little more comfortable in
class, making the atmosphere a bit more informal.
I can be reached at:
Ernest Silveira ernie@ibeue.com.br