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Publicado en el Bs. As. Herald el 27 de diciembre de 2004
ENGLISH THROUGH MUSIC!
"What will a child learn sooner than a song?" Alexander Pope (English poet)
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The
purpose of this article is to illustrate how songs can be used successfully for the teaching of EFL.
I have verified that songs are extremely useful tools to develop students' language abilities in listening, speaking, reading and writing and also can be used to teach plenty of lexical items, sentence structure, pronunciation, rhythms and so on.
Several times, we have underrated the importance of songs for teaching English and several times songs have been used just to relax students or perhaps to fill in the final ten minutes' gap or just as a recreational activity.
The use of songs as invaluable teaching tools has often been unfairly neglected.
However, in my opinion, I think that a song should be regarded as a precious stone if properly used and exploited to find the different essential needs in a language class. Let's discuss how a song can find these needs:
1) "The value of songs in motivating students to learn English and enhancing learner involvement is becoming widely acknowledged by EFL practitioners" (Reeve and Williamson, 1987)
Music creates a relaxed learning environment, a special atmosphere in which students feel especially interested and encouraged. Even shy students feel particularly stimulated to participate.
2) A song can be used to teach English in many ways and also a teacher can adapt the same song to different levels. As I have said above, they promote and enhance language learning and furthermore they provide interesting topics for discussion and debate. They always lead students to "discover" their message. This discovery lights a fire and at the same time arouses enthusiasm.
3) Most students and teachers enjoy listening to and also analyzing songs for they provide a sort of healthy break from the textbook routine.
4) Music is also a manifestation of culture and of the human need to communicate . It also stimulates images for the inner eye, even in those students who claim to have no imagination.
5) Undoubtedly, music affects our emotions in a special way therefore it is a great boon to develop and boost our emotional intelligence. According to Professor Scott Enright (Georgia University), a feeling of joy should be created in the classroom and, what could be more joyful than a song?
Therefore, the advantages of music are of paramount importance to accomplish our teaching tasks and goals satisfactorily.
What kind of songs should be chosen ?
The song to be taught should be carefully chosen and the teacher should make sure that it will fit the corresponding activity.
The lyrics should be easily discernible, each word must be clearly pronounced.
the vocabulary should be rich and varied.
The song should tell an interesting story to bring about food for thought and provoke oral discussion.
Some caveats
Teachers should avoid:
Songs that are too fast- paced
Songs in which the music covers the singer's voice.
Songs that verge on the obscene or that include discriminatory lyrics (as regards religion, race, etc)
Jingoistic songs .
Also songs encourage students to get involved in their learning process.
Although the communicative approach has become the mainstream in ELT, many learners are still very passive recipients of knowledge. Such under involvement constitutes a hindrance to successful language learning.
A song is a safe road leading to motivate a student to learn. Automatically he will find himself involved and interested in his learning process.
A selection of top-notch songs for ELT purposes
Since lyrics of songs studied in the classroom are to become an interesting topic of discussion among students, it is important to know what they are about and what the message involved is. A song may be not only an English language lesson but a life lesson as well.
I could classify songs according to their subject-matter. The categories could be the following ones:
1. Songs about love and romance
I am going to mention some of the classical songs that everybody has listened to or danced some time in his life.
I will give the title of the song and its singer and/ or composer.
Name of the song
|
Singer or composer |
“Woman” |
John Lennon |
“Lady” |
Kenny Rogers |
“Words” |
The Bee Gees |
“She” |
Charles Aznavour |
“Unchained Melody” |
The Righteous Brothers |
“Only You” |
The Platters |
“I Can’t Take My Eyes Out of You” |
Frank Valli |
“When a Man Loves a Woman” |
Percy Sledge |
“Missing You” |
Chris de Burgh |
“My Heart will Go on” |
Celine Dion (Film:Titanic) |
“Just the Way You Are” |
Billy Joel |
“The Wonder of You” |
Elvis Presley |
“I just called to say…” |
Stevie Wonder |
“How Deep is Your Love” |
The Bee Gees |
“Unforgettable” |
Nat King Cole |
“You are the sunshine of my life…” |
Stevie Wonder |
2. Songs about longing for/ expressing friendship, brotherhood, hope, peace,
harmony, a better world, etc…
Name of the song
|
Singer or composer |
“Ebony and Ivory” |
Paul Mc Cartney |
“Let it be” |
Paul Mc Cartney, John Lennon |
“Imagine” |
John Lennon |
“My Sweet Lord” |
George Harrison |
“You’ve Got a Friend” |
B. Streisand |
“That’s What Friends Are for” |
Perry Como |
“Silence is Golden” |
The Tremeloes |
“In My Dreams” |
Ennylou Harris |
“I Have a Dream” |
Abba |
“What a Wonderful World” |
L. Armstrong |
“Heal the World” |
Michael Jackson |
3. Songs showing a feeling of nostalgia, melancholy for birthplaces or certain geographical places.
Name of the song
|
Singer or composer |
“New York, New York” |
Frank Sinatra |
“Georgia on My Mind” |
Ray Charles |
“Massachusetts” |
Bee Gees |
“San Francisco” |
Tony Bennett |
“Chico “ (California) |
Kenny Rogers |
“Copacabana” |
Barry Manilow |
“Yellow River” |
Jess Christie |
“Edelweiss” |
Julie Andrews |
“Last Train to London” |
The Righteous Brothers |
“It’s Nice to be Home Again” |
James Taylor |
4. Poetical songs
Name of the song
|
Singer or composer |
“The Sounds of Silence” |
Simon and Garfunkel |
“The Memory of Trees” |
Enya |
“Candle in the Wind” |
Elton John |
“Penny Lane” |
The Beatles |
“Let the River Run” |
Carly Simon |
“Bridge over Troubled Waters” |
Leann Rimes |
“Blue Moon” |
Bob Dylan |
5. Songs that tell or suggest a story.
Name of the song
|
Singer or composer |
“The Gambler” |
Kenny Rogers |
“Spicks and Specks” |
Bee Gees |
“Melody” |
Bee Gees |
“Thank you for the Music” |
Abba |
“Fernando” |
Abba |
“Chiquitita” |
Abba |
“Rain Drops” |
B. Bucharach |
“High Noon” |
N. Mouskouri |
“Hey Jude” |
Beatles |
“Bonnie and Clyde” |
Toni Amos |
“My Way” |
Frank Sinatra |
“Strangers in the Night” |
Frank Sinatra |
“Yesterday” |
Beatles |
“Yesterday Once More” |
Carpenters |
“Tie a Yellow Ribbon to the Old Oak Tree” |
Perry Como |
6. Songs dedicated to a person in particular
Name of the song
|
Singer or composer |
“Sweet Caroline” |
Frank Sinatra |
“Mandy” |
Ray Conniff |
“Melody” |
Bee Gees |
“Macarena” |
Edgar Martinez |
“The Girl from Ipanema” |
Frank Sinatra |
“Mrs. Robinson” |
Frank Sinatra |
“Mr. Postman” |
Carpenters |
“Isn’t She Lovely?” |
Stevie Wonders |
A suggested procedure to be followed to teach a song in an ELT class
There are eight steps to follow:
1. Hand out lyrics (no explanations, for the sake of arousing curiosity)
2. The teacher reads the lyrics in a loud voice
3. Listen to the song
4. Concentrate on the lyrics: Grammar and language analysis
5. Listen to the song again
6. Questions about its content (First in pairs then, the whole class)
7. Topic for discussion (The whole class)
8. Listen again and sing it (to practise pronunciation)
The song should be sung and practised every now and then during the academic year.
A practical example
To finish up with this research work, I would like to give you an example of how a song can be put into practice to teach the new language, to trigger off a wealth of ideas for speaking and creative writing and why not? to enjoy it.
The song I have chosen is "Thank You for the Music" by Abba.
| Thank you for the music (ABBA) |
I'm nothing special, in fact I'm a bit of a bore 1
If I tell a joke, you've provably heard it before 2
But I have a talent , a wonderful thing 3
'Cause everyone listens when I start to sing 4
I'm so grateful and proud 5
All I want is to sing it out loud 6
So I say 7
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing 8
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing 9
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty 10
What would life be? 11
Without a song or a dance what are we? 12
So I say thank you for the music 13
For giving it to me 14
Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk 15
She says I began to sing before I could talk 16
And I've often wondered, how did it all start? 17
Who found out that nothing can capture a heart 18
Like a melody can? 19
Well, whoever it was, I'm a fan 20
So I say 21
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing 22
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing 23
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty 24
What would life be? 25
Without a song or a dance what are we? 26
So I say thank you for the music 27
For giving it to me 28
I've been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair 29
I wanna sing it out to everybody 30
What a joy, what a life, what a chance! 31
So I say 32
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing 33
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing 34
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty 35
What would life be? 36
Without a song or a dance what are we? 37
So I say thank you for the music 38
For giving it to me 39
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Suggested procedure
Follow the eight steps I have already mentioned.
Step 4: Grammar analysis: Points to be taught / practised:
Tenses:
Simple Present (line 1)
Present Continuous (lines 8-9)
Simple Conditional (line 11)
Simple Past (lines 15-16)
Present Perfect (lines 17)
Language analysis:
Verbs: To hear vs. to listen / to bring/ to ask/ to give/ to be/ can/ to begin/ to talk/ to start/ to capture/
Nouns: Joke/talent/joy/honesty/life/dance/dancer/heart/melody/fan
Adjectives: special vs. especial- especially etc…/ a bit of a bore/ boring/ bored/ Wonderful/ grateful/proud/lucky
Adverbs: Sing it out loud (line 6)
Step 4: Can be done both in pairs and then the whole class depending on the students' needs and the teacher's strategies to fulfill these needs.
Step 6: The teacher asks: The student answers:
Who is singing? _______________________ A girl.
How do you know? _____________________ Because she says: I am the girl with
golden hair Let's give this girl a name _________________ Laura
Oral questions:
1. So Laura is grateful to life. Why?
2. Do you think she is boring? Are you boring? When do you feel bored? Etc.
3. What is Laura proud of?
4. Are you proud of anything? What?
5. Laura has a talent for music, Do you have any special talent? Which one?
6. When you do this (whatever your talent is) how do you feel?
7. How would Laura feel if she couldn't sing?
8. How would you feel if you couldn't …………?
9. Are you grateful too?
10. Describe Laura physically.
11. Describe her personality.
12. Describe Laura's mother What's her name?
13. How old is Laura?
14. Brothers or sisters?
15. Who are you grateful to? Why?
Creative Writing task
a. Imagine you are Laura. Write a mail or letter to a pen friend telling him/her about your life, your family and your wonderful talent.
b. Now you are yourself write another mail to another friend telling him about your special talents or something you would really like to do or learn, practise etc.
Other possible activities:
Complete and answer:
1. If you are not a special person, then you are a ______________ person.
2. If you are not boring, you are _________________
3. If you are not bored, you are_________________
4. A person who has a talent is a _______________ person
5. If you do not sing in a loud voice, you sing in a ______________ voice.
6. Does music bring joy to your life?
7. What kind of music do you like?
8. If you are not joyful, you are_______________
9. "Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk" What were the mother's exact words?
10. "I have often wondered…." (line 17) What have you often wondered?
11. If you are not an honest person, then you are a ________________ person.
12. Are you a lucky person? What's your lucky number, colour, etc?
13. Have you ever had a LUCKY STRIKE?
14. When, where? etc…
Note about the author: Doctora Alicia Ramasco. She is a PhD in English graduated from Universidad del Salvador. She was a Fulbright and an American Field Service Scholar. She has got an Honours Diploma in American History from Mesa College, Colorado, USA. She has been teaching EFL for 25 years at different schools and institutions. Currently, she teaches US History at Pontificia Universidad Católica Santa María de los Buenos Aires. She is also the co-author of "Performance", a series of three textbooks for TEFL at Secondary level. Her doctoral thesis was about "Creative Writing"