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Using Music in the ESL Classroom “Music is the universal language of mankind.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

When students make a major breakthrough in learning, it is music to a teacher's ears. There is nothing

more rewarding for a teacher, than seeing their students smile and laugh while they learn. The same can

be said for students. Students who are taught in a fun and creative way, love coming to class. Using

music in the classroom is a great way for teachers to achieve success with L2 learners. Oliver Wendall

Holmes suggests taking a musical bath once a week, saying that music is "to the soul what water is to the

body."

Benefits of using Music

Have you ever heard of anyone who doesn't like music? Some people may not like art, dancing, reading,

or movies, but almost everyone likes one kind of music or another. Most people like many different kinds

of music. Studies have shown that music...

improves concentration

improves memory

brings a sense of community to a group

motivates learning

relaxes people who are overwhelmed or stressed

makes learning fun

helps people absorb material

"Music stabilizes mental, physical and emotional rhythms to attain a state of deep concentration and focus

in which large amounts of content information can be processed and learned." Chris Brewer, Music and

Learning

Techniques for Using Music with L2 Learners

There are a variety of different ways to use music in the classroom. Some teachers prefer to use

background music and others use music lyrics as the basis of a lesson. Music can be used to:

introduce a new theme or topic (Christmas/colours/feelings)

break the ice in a class where students don't know each other or are having difficulty communicating

change the mood (liven things up or calm things down)

teach and build vocabulary and idioms

review material (background music improves memory)

teach pronunciation and intonation

teach songs and rhymes about difficult grammar and spelling rules that need to be memorized ("i

before e", irregular verbs, phrasal verbs)

teach reading comprehension

inspire a class discussion

teach listening for details and gist

"Music is the universal language of mankind." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Suggested Activities

Many teachers try using music once in the class, but forget to do it again. It might take a few times

before you and your class get used to hearing music while learning. If you can commit to using music

once a week, you may soon see the benefits, and realize that you want to do it more often and in a

variety of ways. Here are 10 activities for you to try:

1. Use background music such as classical, Celtic music or natural sounds to inspire creativity

2. Teach your national anthem

3. Teach a song that uses slang expressions ("I heard it through the Grape Vine")

4. Teach a song that uses a new tense you have introduced

5. Add variety to your reading comprehension lesson. Students can read lyrics and search for main

idea, theme, details.

6. Teach Christmas vocabulary through traditional carols

7. Write or choose a classroom theme song

8. Create (or use already prepared lessons) cloze exercises using popular song lyrics

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9. Create variations to familiar songs by making them personal for your class members or your lesson

10. Have "lyp sync" contests. Allow students to choose their own songs. A little competition goes a

long way in the classroom. Have groups explain the lyrics of their song before or after they

perform.

"When the music changes so, so does the dance." African proverb.

Teaching Kids with Music

Using music with ESL kids has all of the same benefits mentioned above and more. Children are natural

music lovers. You don't have to convince them that it will help them learn. If you feel uncomfortable

singing in front of the class to teach a song, use a tape or CD player. (Don't expect your students to sing

if you don't. Remember, that they don't care about the quality of your singing voice, just like you don't

care about theirs.) Here are some suggested activities to use with kids (If you are not familiar with any of

the songs mentioned, simply put the titles into an online search):

Transition songs: Teach simple songs that indicate transitions from one activity to another, such as

"clean up" songs and "hello/goodbye" songs.

Energy boosters: Teach simple action songs that require kids to stand up and move around. Think

of traditional birthday games that use songs, such as pass the parcel (use a classroom mascot or

other favourite item instead of a gift) or musical chairs.

Animal songs: Children love learning about animals! Teach animals and animal sounds using

repetitive songs like "Old McDonald had a Farm" and "There was an Old Lady who swallowed a fly."

Remembering Names: Help students remember names of their classmates (this helps teachers too)

with songs like "Willoughby Wallaby Woo."

Alphabet songs: Use lots of different alphabet songs (not just the traditional ABC) to help kids

remember them in English. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault is a

catchy children's book and song.

Colours: Teach the colours with various colour songs and rhythms, such as Louis Armstrong's "What

a Wonderful World" or Kermit the Frog's "It aint easy being green."

Rewards: Reward hard working kids with "Music Time". Let them make requests for background

music that they can listen to while they work on their written exercises.

Student teachers: Encourage the kids to teach each other songs from their own language. Turn this

into an English lesson by having students translate the meaning.

"Musical nourishment which is rich in vitamins is essential for children." Zolton Kodaly

Tips for Using Music Effectively

When teaching students a song, it is a good idea to introduce an instrumental version first (If an

instrumental version is not available, play the song softly in the background while they are working

on something or hum the melody before introducing the lyrics). If students become familiar with the

sound of the music first, they will be more likely to understand the words.

Make a vocabulary list ahead of time. Go over the words once before you introduce the song.

Expose students to a certain song many days in a row. Within a few days, students will not be able to

get the song out of their head!

Choose interactive songs whenever possible. Adding actions enhances language acquisition and

memory.

Have soft or upbeat music playing before class to encourage a positive atmosphere. Turning the

music off is a great way to signal to a large class that it is time to begin.

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Planning for the use of songs in class

The process of selecting a song is one of the most difficult aspects of using music in a lesson. Here are

some things you probably need to think about to ensure you get the right song.

Carefully examine what it is you want your class to learn in the lesson

Is this going to be a lesson focusing on vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, or a particular topic? I once

used „You‟re so vain‟ by Carly Simon to introduce a text that looked at vain people. In another lesson, I

used „In the air tonight‟ as it uses the present perfect continuous tense. Whatever your focus, remember

that this doesn‟t necessarily place a limit on what you can do with the song. For instance, you might wish

to use the song in question to exemplify a particular verb tense, and structure your lesson accordingly,

but you might at the same time wish to take the opportunity to look at those interesting idioms in the

lyrics!

Think about the language level of your class

The language level of your class will determine not only which songs you can use, but also what other

activities – such as games or written exercises – you will use to develop the lesson. Lower levels will

become extremely frustrated with fast-delivered lyrics, for instance, while simple repetitive lyrics might

not be interesting for more advanced-level learners.

How old are your learners?

If you‟re a teacher of young learners, you will probably want to use songs that are repetitive and very

easy to understand. For teenagers, however, use contemporary or fairly recent pop and rock songs. My

advice: it‟s often best to ask them „what‟s cool‟. Alternatively, for adult learners, who will probably have a

more open approach to classes, use songs that are interesting to their age group.

Are there any specific cultural issues regarding the make-up of your class?

What kinds of things are generally unacceptable in the culture in which you teach? Whatever you do, don‟t

use music solely based on your own cultural norms. Consider the audience and their sensibilities; even

better, let them choose the songs that you use.

What kind of access do you have to the song?

Let‟s face it, this is the age of YouTube and you can find practically any song on this website.

Nevertheless, an mp3, which doesn‟t require a connection, or even a good old-fashioned CD, can often be

a useful backup.

Six steps for making a song the focus of your class

The intention here is to provide a basic outline you can use with any song. Remember, these are just

suggestions so make sure to keep the profile of your learners in mind.

1. Listen to the song

That‟s it – start things off by just listening. It‟s important to remember that this is supposed to be a fun

activity; don‟t make it too serious or boring.

As an alternative, you can show a video clip if you have one – in fact, I strongly recommend it, as it will

cater to more learners‟ needs in terms of learning styles (visual and audible).

Ask learners if they‟ve heard it before, and don‟t overload them with tasks at this point; simply let them

enjoy the music.

2. Ask some questions about the title

Here are a couple of examples of the types of questions you can ask:

For John Lennon‟s wonderful „Jealous Guy‟:

„What is a „jealous guy‟?‟

„What are three things a jealous guy might do?‟

„What kinds of jealousy are there?‟

For Queen‟s classic „We are the champions‟:

„What is a champion?‟

„What kinds of champions are there in the world?‟

„What activities have champions?‟

Such questions tend to work really well as conversation starters, so group three or four learners together

and then get feedback from each group on their thoughts. If you think it would help, make this your first

step, i.e., before the initial listening.

Alternatively, prior to having listened to the song you can teach a couple of words and give a simple task

for the first listening. My favourite strategy is to give three or four words from the song and ask to them

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to listen out for the words that rhyme with them. You could also brainstorm possible rhymes before

listening.

3. Listen to the song again, this time with lyrics

This time, you should give learners the chance to read the lyrics to the song. At this point you might do

one or more of the following activities:

Learners can just read the lyrics while they listen. They can possibly highlight unknown words for

later discussion.

You can make a lyric worksheet as a gap fill; learners fill in the gaps as they listen.

You can make cut-out strips of selected missing words and again make a lyric worksheet as a gap

fill; this time learners match the word strips to the gaps as they listen.

4. Focus on a particular verb tense or aspect of grammar

Virtually every song centres on a particular verb tense. This is too good an opportunity to pass up in

terms of uncovering the grammar. My suggestion is to start with questions such as these:

How many examples can you find of the past simple in the lyrics?

Why did the writer of this song choose this verb tense?

This acts as a springboard for discussing the function of a specific tense, as well as examining its form.

Furthermore, it often tends to raise awareness of grammatical flexibility and „poetic licence‟ in the

construction of song lyrics. Students often expect songs to obey the grammatical rules that have been

drummed into them. In a surprisingly large number of cases, this can lead to the enlightening discovery

that rules can be broken!

5. Focus on vocabulary, idioms and expressions

We‟ve noted that many songs bend the rules of grammar. It‟s also useful to focus on the creative and

artistic use of vocabulary we encounter in lyrics. Start with questions like these (again, for Queen‟s classic

song „We are the champions‟):

What does „I‟ve paid my dues‟ mean?

What does „my share of‟ mean?

What does „I‟ve taken my bows‟ mean?

Go through the meanings, illustrating with other examples if necessary. Songs often serve as really good

contexts for phrases and idioms, but it‟s good to make sure that the meaning is clear. As with grammar,

years of misunderstanding can come to light in this way!

6. Round things off with some creativity

Creativity is an important part of maintaining motivation but it shouldn‟t be limited to the teaching

approach. Depending on the factors highlighted in the first part of this post (age, language level, cultural

specifics, etc.), you might want to try finishing things off with an activity that stimulates creative thought.

Here are a few examples of things you can do to get the creative juices flowing:

Write another verse of lyrics, maintaining the same mood and style as the original. This can be

done individually or in groups. These new lyrics can be presented to the rest of the class. Perhaps

several groups can work on this to come up with a completely new set of lyrics for the whole song.

A song tends to give you the perspective of the singer. Write a response (this can be a paragraph,

i.e., not necessarily in lyric form) from the point of view of the person the song is being sung

about, or any other protagonist.

Have the learners plan a music video for the song. In groups they decide the location, the

characters, and what happens. Then each group explains their idea to the rest of the class and the

learners vote on the best one. The results can be surprising, as they frequently come up with an

interpretation that hadn‟t even occurred to you!

Write a diary entry for a character in the song. Get learners to examine the thoughts and feelings

that inspired the story being played out in the lyrics.

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Songs can be exploited in many ways:

1. The Cloze or gap fill. This is the most familiar and popular activity, and for that reason is

probably overused. However, there are many important things to bear in mind when using them,

and there are many different ways to use them.

Have a point, be it vocabulary or prepositions or whatever.

Don't cloze 3 or more in a row.

For lower levels: give the first letter, miss out word endings, give dashes for letters, or give a glossary.

Give vocabulary clues or synonyms for the missing words.

Get students to work in pairs to predict words before you play the tape.

Insert extra words which students then cross out as they listen.

Change the words, as in "Careful Shouts" or "Countless Whiskies."

Cloze unstressed, then stressed words in the same song, and have students discuss why one is easier than

the other.

Cloze several words in a row and Ss have to guess not only form (adj., adv., n., vb, prep.) but words, rhythm

and rhyme.

2. A-B activities.

Students match beginnings and ends of lines, such as ."Another Day in Paradise" (simple) or

"Private Investigations" & "If Only..." (more complicated).

3. Mixed-up activities. Generally, have the lines of the song on separate strips of paper

Students put down strips as they hear them.

Mixed-up lines/verses.

Students try to organize in advance (use prompts).

4. Dictation

Wall dictation

Self-dictation (whole song blanked)

Part Dictation

5. Jigsaw-listening.

Groups listen to different songs with the same (Luka/Behind the Wall) or different themes (Easy Street/Money for Nothing) and peer teach vocabulary, compare.

6. Composing

Listen to the song

Students add verses of their own. Good songs for this are, "Imagine" & "Man Gave Names To All The Animals"

by Bob Dylan.

Students finish the line in each verse, then listen to check.

In groups, students then write their own verse.

7. Writing.

Put random words from the song on the board. Students try and write the "tale of the song."

Students paraphrase the song

Cut the song in half. Students predict the other half.

8. Pronunciation.

He's got the whole world... /h/ sound

Do I speak double Dutch to a real double duchess... /d/ sound

9. Vocabulary

Miming verbs

Dictionary work

Matching

10. Listening.

Give Ss word list. Ss number as they hear them.

Sound discrimination, e.g. tempted/tended

11. Song Posters

Arrange lyrics and pictures, or just lyrics

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Using Songs in the English Classroom

Songs in the classroom: a useful tool

Songs are part of daily life for most people. Who doesn‟t enjoy music at home, while travelling or

studying, or even at work? Language teachers can use songs to open or close their lessons, to illustrate

themes and topics, to add variety or a change of pace, present new vocabulary or recycle known

language. But how do songs actually benefit your students? In the first part of this article we look at the

theoretical background to these questions; in the second half we look at what we can do with songs in the

classroom.

There is strong practical evidence supporting the use of music in the English language classroom; there is

also a growing body of research confirming that songs are a useful tool in language acquisition. In fact

musical and language processing occur in the same area of the brain. (Medina, 1993)

Types of songs

There are many types of songs which can be used in the classroom, ranging from nursery rhymes to

contemporary pop music. There is also a lot of music written specifically for English language teaching. A

criticism of the latter is that they often lack originality and musical appeal but there are good examples to

be found of stimulating, modern, „cool‟ music, appealing to the real tastes of language learners. „Real‟

music that the children hear and play every day can be extremely motivating in the classroom, too.

However, the lyrics may not always be suitable: they may, for instance, contain slang or offensive words,

there may be grammatical mistakes and they may only marginally teach the language points you want to

focus on.

Which learners like songs?

Howard Gardner once said: “It’s not how intelligent you are, but how you are intelligent.” No two students

learn in exactly the same way. In any classroom there will be a mix of learning styles, and one student

may „use‟ more than one style, depending on what the task or topic is. To appeal to these differences is a

huge teaching challenge. Gardner distinguished eight styles of learning, and students in his „aural/musical‟

category will have a lot of benefit from learning through songs. They are strong in singing, picking up

sounds, remembering melodies and rhythms; they like to sing, hum, play instruments and listen to music.

This is not to say that learners with other learning styles cannot benefit from songs. Of course they can,

because in the activities we develop with songs we can dance and act (physical learning style), read, draw

and do puzzles (spatial intelligence) tell stories, and write (verbal learning styles).

Why are songs so suitable?

We can‟t generalise, but research has found that pop songs have characteristics that help learning a

second language: they often contain common, short words; they are written at about 5th grade level (US);

the language is conversational, time and place are usually imprecise; the lyrics are often sung at a slower

rate than spoken words and there is repetition of words and grammar. (Murhpy, 1992). Furthermore,

songs are also known to lower the “affective filter” or, in other words, to motivate learners to learn. So,

what positive contributions to language learning can songs make?

Socio-emotional growth: You‟ll often find learners of any age singing together socially – when they are

visiting friends, at a party or in karaoke bars. Teenagers and young adults seem to know an endless

number of songs by heart and share them continuously through the Internet and portable music players.

Even though it‟s not always easy to copy this spontaneous love of music in the classroom, singing songs

in and with a class is a social act which allows learners to participate in a group and express their feelings,

no matter what their English is like.

Physical development: Songs provide a great opportunity for young learners to move around. Clapping,

dancing and playing instruments stimulate memory, which makes it possible for learners to hear chunks

of language as they sing and use them in different situations later. Older learners can also benefit from

clapping, dancing, rocking, tapping, and snapping their fingers to music and songs.

Cognitive training: We all know the phenomenon of the song-that-is-stuck-in-my-head. With the right

kind of song it is easy to simulate that in the classroom. Interacting with songs again and again is as

important to language learners as repeatedly practicing a tennis technique is for a tennis player. The skill

which develops from this is called „automaticity‟. Learners get to know what to say and to produce

language rapidly without pausing.

Cultural literacy: Now that most music is accessible to almost anyone anywhere, either through radio,

CDs, DVDs and downloads from the Internet, learners can enjoy songs from all corners of the globe.

Songs used in English classes can, in that way, shed light on interesting musical traditions in countries,

but can also teach teens, young adults and adults to appreciate other cultures. For adult learners they can

be “a rich mine of information about human relations, ethics, customs, history, humor, and regional and

cultural differences‟ (Lems, 2001).

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Language learning: In a world where non-native speakers of English are likely to produce the majority

of songs in English, learners have the opportunity to listen to pronunciation in a wide range of varieties of

the language. Songs will help learners become familiar with word stress and intonation, and the rhythm

with which words are spoken or sung also helps memorization. Again, this will enable learners to

remember chunks of language which they can then use in conversations or in writing. As language

teachers, we can use songs to practice listening, speaking, reading and writing.

What can you do with songs in the classroom?

The sky is the limit! There are a few things to keep in mind: simple, repetitive songs often contain a

recurrent grammatical pattern which is useful to teach (especially with younger children). More difficult

songs often contain interesting vocabulary and idioms. Also there is often a message, a theme, or a story

underlying a song which students can discuss, explain, debate, and write about at almost any level.

Practical tips and tasks for using songs:

Focus it Start with a focusing activity: anything that will get students thinking about the subject of

the song. Have them think about the title of the song, in groups of pairs. Find a picture that relates to the

subject of the song and have students make guesses about it.

Highlight it Put a selection of important words from the song on your board. Have students ask each

other what the words mean. Then, have students in groups write or tell a quick story that uses the words.

You can also get students to circle, underline or highlight specific words or word categories.

Stop it Again, write a selection of words on the board. Students must shout STOP any time they

hear one of the new words. You could also stop the song before a word you want them to guess.

Lip sync it Have students lip sync the song before a team of judges in a Class Idol show. This allows

them to become familiar with the words, rhythm, stress and intonation before actually singing the words

out loud.

Strip it Cut the song into strips. Give each student one strip to memorize. Students put the strips in

their pockets. They get up and tell each other their part of the song, without looking at their part or

showing their part to anyone else. Students then organize themselves in the right order, speak the song

and then listen and check. You can also have students put the strips on a table in order.

Question it Have students ask each other questions about the song (about the words, about the topics

or about characters in the song). For more advanced students you could choose two songs of a similar

theme, and split the class into two teams. Have each group listen to their song and draw up a list of (open

or True/False) questions. Pair each student with a member of the opposite team and have them take

turns asking their questions.

Gap it You can prepare a gapped version of the lyrics and let students complete them before

listening and then check afterwards.

Write it Have students write a letter to the main character or the singer, send an answer to a person

referred to in the song, rewrite the song as a story, write a story which began before the story in the song

and led to it, or write a story which will continue after the song.

Change it Change words (adjectives, adverbs, nouns -names, places or feelings), and invent new

lyrics for the melody. If you have karaoke versions of the songs you can then let students sing their own

versions.

Draw it Get students to draw or collage the song and compare the visualisations in class.

The possibilities are endless. Music and songs are fun, and most people enjoy them. Make songs a regular

feature in your lessons!

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Try These 10 Musical ESL Activities

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Start your class with a discussion. What type of music do you listen to? Have each student share either

with the entire class or with a small group. Each person should explain his answer as well. What groups

do you like best? How did you first get interested in this type of music? What is it about this type of

music that is appealing? If possible, allow each student to share a bit of his or her favorite music with

the class.YouTube is a good resource for finding music on line if you have internet access in your

classroom. Otherwise, ask your students to share from a portable music device.

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A discussion of favorite music will naturally lead into the topic of genre. Explain to your students what

the word genre means, and then as a class brainstorm a list of musical genres. You may want to

print this extensive list of genres available from Wikipedia (or from here) and give it to your

students. How many genres are they familiar with? Which have they never heard of? Which have you

never heard of? Set small groups of students to do a little research either in class or for homework, and

ask each group to give a presentation on a musical genre that is unfamiliar to them. Their presentations

should include a description of the genre as well as an example from that genre if possible.

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To take a more whimsical approach to music, give your students a list of the most popular music titles

from a previous era. You may want to use a decade like the 1960‟s, 1970‟s or 1980's. If your students

are all the same age, try getting a list of the top 100 songs from the year of their birth. Then

have your students read the titles of these popular songs and then share their reactions. Do they have

any comments on the titles of the songs? Do they seem strange or silly or just fine? What is most

striking about them? Do they think songs with these titles could be popular today?

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After looking at a list of these titles and playing some excerpts for your students if possible, ask your

class to discuss how popular music has changed over time. What qualities did successful songs

and musical groups possess in the past? How have those qualities changed for bands today? You may

want to have your class create a Venn diagram in which they list the qualities of popular songs of the

past and those of popular songs today. Then have your students write a paragraph in which they affirm

or reject how popular music has changed.

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If you have the hardware for it, you can download the free application “Top 100 Hits” which lists the top

100 songs from many countries around the world. You can also listen to samples of those songs with

the app. Let your class explore this popular music, and then ask them to share their opinions on the

songs. Do they notice any changes from one country‟s popular music to another‟s? What do they like

about the music from other countries? Are there any consistencies across cultures? Are there any songs

which show up on more than one list? If you desire, allow your students to share some of their favorite

music from their home countries.

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If you want to give your students a challenge, ask them to translate a favorite non-English song

into English lyrics. Duplicate the lyrics and then share them with your class. Does the idea and

message translate when its language changes? What cultural elements can be found in the songs?

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Do any of your students play an instrument? Some countries have traditional instruments for traditional

music. If any of your students plays one of these culture centered instruments, invite him or her to

share a song with the class. Have each student who performs explain how to play the instrument, and

then allow the rest of the class to ask questions about the instrument or the music that their classmate

played. If you do not have any of this type of talent in your class, ask your school‟s music teacher (if

you have one) whether he knows of anyone who might be able to come to class and share some live

music with your students.

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If you are looking to bring a little creativity to the musical classroom, challenge each of your

students to create his or her own original instrument. This can be done either on paper with a

drawing or in three dimensions by creating working models. Have each student describe how it was

made and give instructions how to play it in a class presentation. You can then have the class vote on

awards for the most original, the most beautiful sounding and the strangest overall instrument.

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Your students may or may not have heard of the Blue Man Group, so introduce them to this atypical

musical group with one or two videos available on YouTube. Then play this interview about the group for

your class. What makes the Blue Man Group different from other groups? How did the group come

about? Ask your students to answer these questions. You may want to play the interview three or four

times before asking for the answers.

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The Blue Man Group is well known for using nontraditional materials to make music.Have each of your

students write a personal letter to the group suggesting a material that they could use in their

performance and what they could do with it.

Music can bring people together or push them apart, and sometimes music makes us wonder,

“Just how did they do that?”

Whether your students have musical talents of their own or simply admire the talents of others, they will

enjoy your class when it is filled with these musical activities!

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How to Teach Using Songs

Songs can be a useful tool when teaching ESL because they give students the opportunity to listen to

someone other than you, their teacher.

Often students become familiar with how one person sounds and may have difficulties understanding

others. Songs can be a challenge for students because they are often faster than an instructor‟s speech

however they can also be enjoyable and serve to reinforce certain aspects of English.

How To Proceed

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Grammar

Often songs can be used to practice particular grammar points. Some textbooks spend enormous

amounts of time on particular topics and creating new activities may become challenging so songs are

something you can turn to. You can find song worksheets and suggestions for certain English

grammar points right here, on BusyTeacher.org. Using songs in ESL classes has become quite

common. For instance, when teaching thepresent perfect tense (here’s a great article on teaching

it!), songs such as “I Still Haven‟t Found What I‟m Looking For” by U2 and “We Are the Champions”

by Queen may be appropriate. Students are unlikely to grasp the entire meaning of the song but giving

a brief summary or including the translation would be beneficial. When using songs, it is common to

have a worksheet where students must fill in certain words. For this present perfect lesson, you can

remove the present perfect verbs altogether and have students try to fill in the blanks with the

appropriate words. If this is too challenging, including the present tense of each verb will assist students

immensely.

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Mad Libs

Mad Libs are a great way to practice parts of speech. You can really use any passage to make a Mad

Libs activity but it can be fun to use songs too. For example, you can use “Frosty the Snowman” to

make your worksheet. Simply take the song and delete particular words leaving blanks for your

students, this will be the second worksheet they receive. Then make up a list with parts of speech that

correspond to the blanks. If the first blank is “Frosty the ________man” then the first word in the list

would have to be a noun. To conduct this activity, give students the list with parts of speech and have

them work individually, in pairs, or in groups to complete it. When they have finished, give them the

second sheet and have them fill in the blanks with their words. Usually the result is very funny. Seeing

as you used a song to create this activity, you can finish the class by listening to the song and having

students write down the missing lyrics.

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Holidays

Using songs in your holiday lessons can be fun too! Songs such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

can be easily explained even to beginner and lower intermediate students. There may not be a

particular point to using the song in your class besides to conduct a listening activity using a popular

holiday song, but sometimes that is sufficient and your students are sure to enjoy it. If your students

are willing, it may be appropriate to practice singing the song too. Some classes will enjoy such an

activity and some certainly will not so it is important to gauge how your students will respond.

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Discussion

Certain songs can be used to lead into discussions. This type of activity would be appropriate for more

advanced learners. You can use a song such as “Another Day in Paradise” by Phil Collins for this

purpose. Initially, have students listen to the song and complete a fill in the blank exercise. Listening to

the song several times would be appropriate but once the answers have been checked, have students

read the lyrics trying to understand the meaning of the song. You can ask general questions to test

comprehension. If you are not exactly sure what kinds of questions will be appropriate, you can start off

with very simple ones such as “Is this a happy song?” and when students say “No” ask them why not?

This can lead into a discussion about people‟s indifference, homeless people, or something similar.

When choosing songs, please be aware of their speed.

The song “Last Christmas”, for example, can be useful however if you choose a version which is much too

fast, students will not be able to follow along. This song, by WHAM, is a good speed for ESL learners.

Organizing your worksheets so that the verses are clearly laid out will also help students because even if

they get lost during one verse, they can be prepared when the next one begins. Songs should generally

be played at least twice before checking the answersand then once again after the correct answers

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have been given so that students can listen carefully to parts they missed.

Songs are just another way to add some variety to your lessons and expose students to a different

culture‟s music.

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Classroom Songs: 16 Creative Ways

From Abba to Bob Marley there's much more you can do than just play songs in the classroom on a Friday afternoon as a wind down to the weekend: Grammar practice, vocabulary, a change in pace, listening skills, lead-ins to discussions, teaching culture or ethics/values, and much more; the list is almost endless:

1. Brainstorming: With evocative titles they can be used for brainstorming vocabulary. Students can

make up a story given the keywords from the song.

2. Amend the song: Insert wrong words into the song. This can be used with synonyms or antonyms.

You could make two versions changing different words in each so that students can check with a

partner.

3. Add extra words into the song: Students must listen and strike out the extra words.

4. Ordering the song: Cut up the song into manageable chunks and students can reorder as they

listen. Students order pictures representing the song.

Split sentences in two so students must match up the first and second half of sentences.

5. Using the text of the song: Give the students true or false sentences from the text of the song.

Students find synonyms and antonyms in the song to words given on a handout.

6. Bingo: Students select 9 keywords from a selection of about 20 on the board and insert them into a

3 by 3 grid. When students listen to the song they tick the words off until they have 3 in a row and

then a full house.

Using keywords the students retell the story of the song in a narrative.

7. Expand the song: Students can write an extra verse for the song.

Students can compose a verse perhaps using keywords from an original verse and then compare it

with the original.

Students can write a letter from or to the singer or a character in the song.

8. Pronunciation: Rhyming words can be extracted from the song.

Weak forms, contractions and unstressed words are commonplace in song lyrics.

Make out a survey for students to rate the song from 1-10. You can include questions like: Does

this song make you feel happy? Does it make you feel sentimental? How would you rate the lyrics? How

would you rate the tune? Will it be successful? Would you buy it? would you want to listen again? Is it

suitable for background music? etc.

9. Song Review: You need at least 20 questions. Students answer the question while or after they

listen. Next they can write up a review of the song. If you have the facilities you may get them to do

different songs or as a homework exercise they can do it at home with a favourite song in English or

their mother tongue.

10. Grammar Practice: Structures (especially modals and conditionals) and tenses are often repeated

in the song. Blank these out as reinforcement of the grammar. Transfer lyrics from direct to

reported speech.

11. Colloquial: 'Ain't' and 'gonna' and other colloquial words which are often neglected in lessons

frequently come up in songs.

12. Cloze Activities:

Blank out all the verbs, adjectives, rhyming words, etc.

Give students a chance to predict the missing words before they actually listen.

Students must choose from a multiple choice which could be used for synonyms or confusing words.

Give the students the missing words in a jumble on the whiteboard.

13. Storyboard

All the words are blanked out so that students put the song together starting from nothing.

14. Music without lyrics

Play a piece of music and students write down any words that come into their heads and explain this

to the group afterwards. Students draw as they listen and afterwards explain their picture.

15. Games to play: In pairs students listen for words ending in '-ing', rhyming words, adjectives etc

Play charades using song titles.

16. Miscellaneous

Students can act out the story of the song. You need a suitable song and give them time to prepare

for this. e.g. 'Don't you want me?' by The Human League.