The Language Teacher
06 - 2003
An Idea for Using Songs in the EFL/ESL Classrooms
Morris S. Kimura
School for International Training, SIT TESOL Certificate Program
<morris.kimura@worldlearning.org>
QUICK GUIDE
Key Words:Songs, EFL/ESL
Learner English Level: High beginner and above
Learner Maturity Level: High school and above
Preparation Time: One hour to rewrite a song to fit your class
Activity Time: 90 minute lesson, depending on level and how many details or variations are included
Materials: Depends on which options you choose
Using music in your ESL/EFL classroom is a great way to motivate students and generate enthusiasm for what they are learning. In this activity, students learn about U.S. American culture through a song. They develop their vocabulary through practicing and singing the original song. Students then personalize their learning as they write and share their own simple lyrics to the same tune. Through this lesson, students will have fun learning through music. For this activity, I selected the song This Land is My Land, although many other songs will also work well. I used only the first verse, which is short and easy to learn. The song is a good level for beginners, as it does not have too many high-level vocabulary words. Here are the lyrics for the song:
This land is your land,
This land is my land,
From California
To the New York Island,
From the redwood forest,
To the Gulf stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.
Procedure
Step 1: Eliciting background knowledge
The first part of the lesson is designed to generate vocabulary and work with what students know relevant to the songÕs topic. Ask students to share where they all come from. Students then talk in pairs to describe the neighborhoods/areas where they live now or in their home country.
Step 2: Introduce the song
This part of the lesson introduces the students to the tune and the lyrics. Prepare a copy of the lyrics for students to read and follow along as you play the song. Play it a few times until students can get the tune and feel comfortable singing it or mouthing it on their own.
Variations:
Higher level students can do a cloze while they listen and fill in the gaps in the lyrics with the words on the blackboard.
or
Have the lines of the song cut up into single strips. While they listen to the song, students work in pairs or groups to put the lyrics in order.
Step 3: Vocabulary check
With This Land is Your Land, students are put into groups, given maps of the U.S.A., and are asked to find the geographic locations of California and New York. An explanation of redwood forests and Gulf Stream waters along with their general locations will need to be provided by the teacher. Students then try to come up with the meaning of the song in their own words and share it with their group. The teacher can share his/her own meaning of the song with the class.
Variations
For songs with a more complicated vocabulary, you can also create a vocabulary and definition matching sheet, where students try to guess the meanings of new vocabulary words through the context of the lyrics.
or
Assign each student to be an expert on one of the vocabulary words. Students find out the meaning of their word in the dictionary and prepare to explain it in their own words to a partner. They then explain their vocabulary item to each other in their own words and provide an example sentence.
or
Students can draw pictures or images of the meaning of the song and present it to the class.
Step 4: Sing the song together
Once the students know the meaning of the lyrics, they can work on pronunciation and rhythm through singing the song together with their classmates. Teachers can add a kinesthetic element by asking them to create a set of matching gestures to go along with the song lyrics while they sing. Step 5: Write your own song!
This is the fun part of the lesson, where students create their own lyrics and personalize the song. For my beginning level students, I gave them a template of the new lyrics where they could fill in the gaps with their own information and be creative with the language.
Here are the new lyrics for This Land is Your Land:
This is our classroom
We are learning English
My name is Morris
I live in Brattleboro
I like to play tennis
I enjoy teaching English
This class was made for you and me.
Where it is underlined, students fill in their own information. In the second to last sentence, students must come up with a new sentence of their own. Depending on the level of the students, you can grade the task by having the students write more or fewer lines or verses with guiding questions or fewer prompts. At the end of the lesson, students can present their songs in pairs or groups by singing their lyrics. If a student is too shy to sing, I ask permission to sing their lyrics to the class myself. At the very end, you can let your students know that they are now songwriters in English! This lesson structure can be plugged into any song that you want to use in the classroom. I have found that personalizing the song allows students to be creative with English, share information about themselves, and learn about their classmates.
This lesson was adapted from Lisa VarandaniÕs community/team building activity, which was presented at Tokyo Jogakkan Junior College/SIT project in 1999 in Tokyo, Japan.
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