Jazz

Chants TTD Torun April 2014, Lisa Wilson

Jazz Chants
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So, what IS a Jazz Chant?
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Jazz chants are the rhythmic expression of Standard American English as it occurs in
situaEonal contexts. They are a language acquisiEon tool to develop students appreciaEon of
the rhythm and intonaEon paJerns of spoken English.
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Just as the selecEon of a parEcular tempo and beat in Jazz may convey powerful and varied
emoEons, the rhythm, stresses and intonaEon paJerns of the spoken language are essenEal
elements for the expression of feelings and the intent of the speaker. Linking those two
dynamic forms has produced an innovaEve and exciEng new approach to language learning.
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Although Jazz ChanEngs primary purpose is the improvement of speaking and listening
comprehension skills, it also works well in reinforcing specic structures used in a situaEonal
context. The natural rhythms and humour of the chants are highly moEvaEng and may be
used eecEvely for both classroom pracEce and individual home study.
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Graham, C Jazz Chants Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978
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Why use them?
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- To make drilling more fun adding rhythm can make a world of dierence to how
engaged your students are with pracEsing pronunciaEon
- To help students remember language think of Jazz Chants as being like an annoying
radio jingle that you cant get out of your head. Then watch your students singing them
on the stairs.
- To help students develop more natural speech instead of Teacher! What write
sugar? , students learn How do you spell.? in a jazz chant which gives them both
the language and the intonaEon to get them speaking more naturally.
- To challenge your students there is very liJle challenge in parroEng a word back to
your teacher. But when your teacher asks you to think about the sounds youre hearing
and form them into a chant, suddenly the challenge level jumps right up.
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Who do we use them with?
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Jazz chants are applicable at all levels, all ages and with all class sizes. Really. Everyone needs
to pracEse pronunciaEon and very few students wont get caught up in a liJle bit of rhythm
going on around them, even if theyre hesitant at rst. That said, starEng out with kids classes
is ocen the best way to get your condence up as the teacher rst. If youre embarrassed,
your students will be too so when youre using Jazz Chants in the classroom, relax and enjoy
them!
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Jazz Chants TTD Torun April 2014, Lisa Wilson

How do we do it?
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The structure of creaEng a Jazz Chant never changes:
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1. Start with a topic (countries)
2. Brainstorm vocabulary around that topic (Poland, Italy, Spain, Canada, Cuba etc)
3. Sort the vocabulary into words with 1 sound, 2 sounds and 3 sounds (Spain /
Poland, Cuba / Canada, Italy)
4. Put the words into a chant! A chant follows the structure of:
- 2 sounds
- 3 sounds
- 1 sound
- clap! (or similar)
(this can also be done using a 3/4/2 structure)
5. So, with the example of countries, we get:
Poland, Canada, Spain *Clap*
6. Then, we repeat to make a longer chant, using the structure:
2 / 3 / 1 / clap x2
2 / 3 / 2/ 3
2 / 3 / 1 / clap
7. Giving us:
Poland, Canada, Spain *clap*
Poland, Canada, Spain *clap*
Poland, Canada, Poland, Canada
Poland, Canada, Spain *clap*
8. We can then expand the chant by adding relevant grammar. For example:
Wheres he from?
Hes from Poland
Wheres she from?
Shes from Canada
Where are they from?
Theyre from Spain
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Where can we get examples and more info?
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Carolyn Graham has a series of books including Jazz Chants, Small Talk More Jazz Chants,
Jazz Chants For Children, Grammar Chants More Jazz Chants and Jazz Chant Fairytales all
available through Oxford University Press. They have advice and prepared chants.
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The following websites are also really useful:
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hJp://jazzchants.net/home
hJp://jmhdr.wordpress.com/about/
hJp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/seabiscuit/jazz-chants-jazz-your-classes
hJp://www.nystesol.org/pub/idiom_archive/idiom_fall2003.html
hJp://www.teachingvillage.org/2010/05/23/how-to-create-a-jazz-chant-by-carolyn-graham/
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Jazz Chants TTD Torun April 2014, Lisa Wilson

Our vocabulary chant:

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Stages of making a vocabulary chant with students:
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Stages of making a grammar chant with students:
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1. Start with a demo
2. Elicit the demo to the board ordering / recall
3. Drill the demo open class
4. Drill again (dierently)
5. IdenEfy what can be changed within the demo, keeping the structures
6. Students personalise the chant with their own ideas
7. Students teach their chants to each other
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Ideas for drilling:
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