singing in class

1. Songs in the
Classroom:
A Useful Tool
Kathiuska Murcia Cortes
FUNLAM
2012

2. Songs are part of daily life…
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 topics,
present new vocabulary or recycle known
language. But how do songs actually benefit
your students?

3. A useful tool
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)

4. 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

5. What positive contributions to language
learning can songs make?
 Socio – emotional
growth
 Physical
development
 Cognitive training
 Cultural literacy
 Language
Learning

6. Types of songs…

7. 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
 ‘Real’ music that the children hear and play every day
can be extremely motivating in the classroom, too.
 WATCH OUT ! the lyrics may not always be suitable

8. WHICH
LEARNER
LIKES SONGS?
Aural / Musical
Intelligent
Learners
Physical Learning
Style Learners
Spacial Intelligent
Learner
Verbal Learning
Style Learner

9. Why are songs so suitable?
Pop songs help learning a
second language:
• Contain common,
short words
• Language is
conversational
Murphy (1992)
• Lyrics are often sung at
a slower rate than
spoken words.
• There is repetition of
words and grammar
• Motivate learners to
learn

10. Using songs in the English
Classroom
• “Music is the universal language of mankind”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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.

11. “
Music stabilizesMusic stabilizes
mental, physical andmental, physical and
emotional rhythms toemotional rhythms to
attain a state of deepattain a state of deep
concentration andconcentration and
focus in which largefocus in which large
amounts of contentamounts of content
information can beinformation can be
processed andprocessed and
learned."learned."
Chris Brewer, Music and
Learning

12. Techniques for Using Music with
L2 Learners
 Introduce a new theme or
topic
(Christmas/colours/feelings)
 Change the mood
 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
 Inspire a class discussion
 Teach listening for details
and gist

13. PRACTICAL TIPS AND TASKS
FOR USING SONGS
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 some activities
for you to try:

14. Focus it
• Find a picture that relates to the subject of the song and
have students make guesses about it.

15. Highlight it
• or Get students to circle, underline or highlight
specific words.

16. Stop it
• 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.

17. Lip sync itLip 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.

18. Strip it
• Cut the song into strips and give each student one strip
to memorize. Students then organize themselves in the
right order, and then listen and check.
When I see your face there's not a thing…
that I would change… …Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are… …And when you smile
the whole world stops… …and stares for a while
…Cause girl you're amazing Just the way you are.

19. Question it
• What is the best explanation for this: "I love you
just the way you are when not being just the way
you are"?

20. Gap it
• You can prepare a
gapped version of
the lyrics and let
students complete
them before
listening and then
check afterwards.

21. Draw itDraw it
• Get students to draw the song and
compare the visualizations in class

22. Tips for Using Music Effectively
The possibilities are endless. Music
and songs are fun, and most
people enjoy them.

23. Can’t get it outta my head!
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!

24. ADDING ACTION TO IT
Choose
interactive songs
whenever
possible.

25. POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE
Turning the
music off is a
great way to
signal to a large
class that it is
time to begin.

26. … and most
importantly ..
ENJOY
IT!!!

27. References and Cibergraphy
• Lems, Kirsten, Using Music in the Adult ESL Classroom,
ERIC Digest, 2001.
• Medina, Suzanne L, The Effect of Music on Second
Language Vocabulary Acquisition, ‘National Network for
Early Language Learning’, Vol 6-3, 1993.
• Murphy, T (1992), The discourse op pop songs, TESOL
Quarterly 26”(4), 770-774.
• http://www.englishclub.com/teaching-tips/music-
classroom.htm
• http://www.eslbase.com/articles/songs