How to use songs in the classroom

• Songs shouldn’t be used just as a “filler” activity.

• Songs can be used in many of the same ways that you might
use a speech recording.
• When students listen to audio tracks (or a live speaker) in the
classroom - and do activities and exercises - we call this
INTENSIVE LISTENING.
• When they listen outside the classroom, often by themselves
and for pleasure, we call this EXTENSIVE LISTENING.
 How to use songs in the classroom
RECEPTIVE SKILL FRAMEWORK:
 PRE-LISTENING
• Generate Schemata - give students a chance to PREDICT what they are going to hear (to
get ready and to remember what they already know about the topic).
• Pre-teach vocabulary - but only vocabulary which is absolutely necessary for the topic - or
vocabulary which is impossible to guess from the context.
 WHILE-LISTENING
• This stage is used to help learners become familiar with the text.
• During this stage, we explain the Target Language (TL) and students practice using the TL
via controlled activities, for accuracy.
 POST LISTENING
• To allow an opportunity for learners to react and respond to the text.
• During this stage, we set tasks related to the listening and learners practice using the Target
Language via free activities (with little or no control by the teacher), for fluency.
 How to use songs in the classroom
IDEAS OF:
 Controlled practice:  Free practice:
• Filling the blanks; • Debate;
• crossword puzzles; • Discussion;
• substitution exercise; • Role Play;
• True or false; • Creating a poster;
• matching; • Creating a presentation;
• Make sentences from prompts; • Arguing a point;
• Etc. • Etc.
 How to use songs in the classroom
PRACTICE: PRE-LISTENING

 Pre-teach voabulary:
• I don’t reckon = I don’t think.
• Overdosed = took too much of a drug.
• To barely get by = to have just enough money to live, but no extra
money.
 How to use songs in the classroom
PRACTICE: WHILE-LISTENING
TEACH GRAMMAR:
 Past Simple (Simple Past)
• We use the Past Simple to talk about completed past events.
• The simple past is common in stories and descriptions of past events.
• In general, the simple past tense is the 'normal' one for talking about the past.
 Form:
• Regular Verb + ed or Irregular verb
 Questions: Did I …?; Did you …? etc.
 Contracted negatives: I didn't …, you didn't … etc.
 Negative questions: Did I not …? or Didn't I …? etc.
 Questions and negatives of irregular verbs are made in the same way as those of regular verbs
(with did + infinitive).
 Spelling of irregular verbs must be memorized.
 How to use songs in the classroom
PRACTICE: WHILE-LISTENING
TEACH GRAMMAR:
 Spelling of regular verbs:
 How to use songs in the classroom
PRACTICE: WHILE-LISTENING
ACTIVITIES:
 1 - Review the past tense verb forms before working on the lyrics of ‘Castle on the hill’ by Ed
Sheeran.
Regular Verbs Irregular Verbs
Present - Past Present - Past
overdose - overdosed am / is - was
raise - raised break - broke
roll - rolled find - found
taste - tasted get - got
watch - watched have / has - had
leave - left
lose - lost
make - made
 How to use songs in the classroom
PRACTICE: POST LISTENING
ACTIVITIES:
 3 – In pairs, discuss with each other about the events you can remember from you childhood and
adolescence. After that, share with the class what you learned from your partner’s life.
 REFERENCE

 HARMER, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language Teaching. 3rd Ed.,

Longman, 2001.
 HARMER, Jeremy. Essential Teacher Knowledge: core concepts in English
Language teaching. Pearson, 2012.
 SCRIVENER, Jim. Learning Teaching. 2nd Ed., MacMillan, 2005.