Using songs for English language learning has been around for decades. Yet their use is rarely used to their full potential cartoon, often just for so-called gap-fill pronunciation practice or fun. With creativity and thorough planning, songs can accomplish many pedagogical goals such as teaching vocabulary structures, developing listening and speaking skills, grammar analysis, stimulating creativity, teaching morals and values, and exposing students to foreign cultures. Here are creative ways to leverage songs in the classroom:
Get Students Involved & Set Off Hopes for Ideas
The songs are great devices for starting a lesson. They foster a fun environment with student engagement while aiding as a triggering mechanism for prior learning. For instance:
- Prediction Tasks: Before introducing a song, show students the title and/or a relevant image and ask them to predict the theme or key vocabulary.
- Scaffolded Listening: Give word banks or visuals and have students pair them to the song content.
Example: In a lesson about daily routines, students could listen to “The Routine Song”, tick actions included in the lyrics, discuss them with a partner and register in class.
Songs as Flexible Fillers
Songs are handy for energizing or soothing students at transitional times:
- Energizers: I asked students to sing a song we had previously learned in class together when they looked “sleepy”, and learners helped add Total Physical Response (TPR) activities like clapping or pretending to do actions.
- Calming Strategies: In contrast, soft, soothing songs can assist students to realign and create a calm learning space.
Building Listening and Speaking Skills
Songs are real listening scripts and they also offer natural speaking contexts:
- Create Listening Stages: Lead with listening for the gist, move to listening for specific details, and end with listening for inferences.
- Speaking Up: After listening, students can retell the song’s story, role-play its characters, or talk about its message in small groups.
For example, give students partial lyrics with blanks and ask them to write the missing words while they listen. Then talk about the story the song tells.
Teaching Pronunciation
Songs are great for practicing pronunciation while adding that repetition and rhythm in:
- Focusing on Sounds: Emphasize specific pronunciation features (e.g. stress in sentences, intonation, rhyming words)
- Chorus Drills: A repetitive, catchy chorus is great for practicing word stress, weak forms, etc.
- Activity Idea: Have students list words that rhyme from the lyrics or write their verses following the same rhyme scheme.
Word and Grammar Analysis
To introduce or reinforce grammar and vocabulary, songs can serve as authentic texts:
- Grammar Focus: Identify the target structures (e.g. tenses, conditionals) in the lyrics and check their usage.
- Singmania: Use the song to create vocabulary bingo or matching activities.
For example, you could use “If I Were a Boy” by Beyoncé to introduce or practice conditional sentences, asking students to rewrite lyrics in different tenses or structures.
Leveraging Background Music
Having soft background music in the background as the students work can lead to enhanced attention and create a soothing environment. Consider:
- Instrumental Tracks: Classical or instrumental versions of songs are the best to avoid distraction.
- Thematic Music: Play music related to the lesson to transport students into the theme.
Developing Reading Skills
As authentic texts, songs can promote reading comprehension:
- Pre-Reading Predictions: Students predict the song topic will be about based on the title or key phrases.
- After Reading Activities: Turn lyrics into prose, summarize the message, and visualize it with a poster.
- Activity Idea: After listening to the song, students are given scrambled lyrics to put back in order.
Tips for Creativity and Writing
Songs can spark projects and writing activities:
- Lyric Writing: Have students craft an additional verse, or reimagine the song with entirely new lyrics focused on a particular theme.
- BMI —Background, Melody, and Inspiration of the Song Creative Output: As an extension activity, students can create posters, storyboards, or skits inspired by the song.
Citizenship, cultural identity, and moral value advocacy
There are whole worlds in songs — cultural, and moral.
- Explore Cultures: Play international songs to encourage learning about cultural diversity and respect.
- Educational Songs: Lyrics that teach kids important life lessons about inclusion, resilience, and caring for the earth.
- Activity Idea: Use an excerpt from “We Are the World” to discuss global citizenship and inspire students to brainstorm actions to improve the world.
Cross-Curricular Connections
Songs can link English lessons with other subjects:
- History: Use songs, such as John Lennon’s “Imagine,” to talk about historical events or movements.
- Science: Songs about nature or animals can include environmental education.
For example, if you teach a science lesson about sustainability, pair it with a song about recycling.
With some creative thinking and specialized activities focused on songs, they can make language learning fun, engaging, and a memorable experience. Songs are a different medium in every culture.
Explore the endless ways songs can enhance your classroom.