A Song for All Languages

11/1/09 10:11 PM

A Song for All Languages!

Tim Murphey The Twelve Days of Christmas has always been one of my favorites, however I regretted that it didn't contain more useful language for my EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. The message was not exactly transformational either. So, a few years ago, I wrote other words to the melody for positive use in my English classes (Murphey 1993, 1995). I even rewrote it in Japanese (with some friendly help) for my own learning (Murphey 1995b).

The 12 lines of the but after I adapted it Development Lesson #1: has also become a tool their physiology.

Christmas version used to really tax my students (and me), and and started calling it the Five Ways to Happiness (Materials KISS Keep It Short & Simple) and it worked wonderfully. It to show how one can control ones emotional state by changing

Some of my seminar students have used it for their senior thesis and investigated its use with JHS students and others. For example, there is firm research which shows that smiling (and laughing) moves facial muscles which send messages to the brain which releases endorphins (chemicals) in our bodies which kill pain. People who smile actually make themselves feel better because they have a better chemical balance in their bodies with less pain. Lots of research also shows that if you dont breathe . . . you cant live. Better than that, when you breathe deeply, you get more oxygen to the brain and think more clearly. Looking up is where you go to dream, visualize, and create your mission. Singing does much the same as smiling and breathing, and daring to show your love is just good emotional intelligence.

Finally, I tell my students that the opposite of the posture of the first three is a recipe for depression. In fact, people can change from a depressed state by looking up, breathing deeply, and smiling. (Try it yourself. Go ahead, no one is looking. Try it!) Finally, that same posture of depression is also the posture of test-taking and for some people studying. Tell your students they will do better on tests if they pause a few times while taking it and look up and smile and take a deep breath (they will also probably drive the teacher crazy with curiosity about what is on the ceiling!) In the next Languaging we hope to bring it to you in Spanish, Chinese, and maybe Irish! (The other Dokkyo Languages!)

Five Ways to Happiness!

English: When You Want to be Happy
file:///Users/mits/Desktop/Sept152007/homepage/public_html/articles/5Ways4Languages.htm

(Tim Murphey)
Page 1 of 3

A Song for All Languages

11/1/09 10:11 PM

When you want to be happy, theres (#) thing you can do (#: one, two, three, four, five) (Tune: The 12 Days of Christmas) 1. Smile from ear to ear. 2. Breathe in deep. 3. Look up at the sky. 4. Sing a melody. 5. Dare to show your love. : (Sanae Takenaka, MakikoTakemura, Atsuko Suga) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
French: Pour tre heureux (Christine Vendredi-Auzanneau)

Pour tre heureux, il y a (#) chose(s) faire (# : une, deux, trois, quatre, cinq) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Faites un sourire clatant. Respirez fond (et). Regardez le ciel. Chantez une chanson. Osez montrer votre amour.

German: Willst du 'gluecklich 'sein (Markus Rude) Willst du 'gluecklich sein, brauchst du eines nur zu tun, 1. lach von Ohr zu Ohr. Willst du 'gluecklich sein, kannst du (#) Dinge tun, (#: zwei, drei, vier, fuenf)

2. 3. 4. 5.

atme tief ein, lach von Ohr zu Ohr... schau zum Himmel auf, atme tief ein, lach von Ohr zu Ohr sing ein Lied, schau zum Himmel auf, atme tief ein, lach von Ohr zu Ohr zeig dass du liebst, sing ein Lied, schau zum Himmel auf, atme tief ein,lach von Ohr zu Ohr

Works cited in this article

file:///Users/mits/Desktop/Sept152007/homepage/public_html/articles/5Ways4Languages.htm Page 2 of 3

A Song for All Languages

11/1/09 10:11 PM

Murphey, T. (1993). Twelve Ways to Blissness, Anchor Point, P. 18-19, Dec. Murphey, T. (1995a). Twelve Ways to Blissness, Modern English Teacher 4 (1) 42-43 Murphey, T. (1995b). Twelve Ways to Blissness (in Japanese), The Language Teacher (JALT) 19 (9) 54-55.
The above publication can be cited as

Murphey, T. (2005 Summer). A song for all languages. Languaging 5 :22-24.

file:///Users/mits/Desktop/Sept152007/homepage/public_html/articles/5Ways4Languages.htm

Page 3 of 3