1.1 Songs in English language teaching - IS MU

Contents:
Introduction
.............................................................................
..........3
1. Theoretical
part........................................................................
......5
1. Songs in
ELT.....................................................................
......6
1. Reasons to use songs in
ELT................................................6
2. Different usage of songs in
ELT.............................................7
3. Selection of
songs.............................................................9
2.
Motivation...............................................................
..............10
1. Songs and
motivation........................................................1
0
3. Teaching techniques and
procedure................................................12
1. Teaching
techniques.........................................................
12
2. Teaching basic language skills through
songs............................13
3. Teaching
procedure..........................................................
16
4. Description of different age
groups................................................18
1. Very young
learners..........................................................1
8
1. Course
design.........................................................
....18
2. Class
management......................................................
..19
3.
Assessment.........................................................
.......20
4. Activity
types............................................................
..20
2.
Teenagers...............................................................
........21
1.
Pedagogy............................................................
.......21
2. Class
maganement......................................................
...22
3.
Assessment.........................................................
........23
4. Activity
types............................................................
..23
3.
Adults..................................................................
.........24
1.
Andragogy.........................................................
.........24
2. Class
management......................................................
...25
3.
Assessment.........................................................
........26
4. Activity
types............................................................
...26
5. Important types of intelligences and learning styles connected with
song
activities............................................................
.....................27
1. Musical and bodily-kinesthetic
intelligence................................27
2. Auditory and tactile/kinesthetic
learners....................................29
2. Practical
part........................................................................
.........31
1. Song activities for very young
learners.............................................32
1.
Kindergarten............................................................
........32
2. Lesson
plans...............................................................
......33
2. Song activities for teenage and adult
learners.....................................45
1.
Classes...............................................................
............45
2. Lesson
plans...............................................................
......46
3.
Evaluation...............................................................
................57
1. Very young
learners...........................................................
.57
2. Adults and
teenagers..........................................................
.58
Conclusion
............................................................................
............61
Résumé
............................................................................
................63
Bibliography
............................................................................
..........64
Appendices
..............................................................................
..........68
Introduction This work looks at ways in which songs can be used in the process of
teaching English as a foreign language. I have chosen this topic because I
believe that songs are important in English language teaching.
Using songs as a teaching method is an effective way to activate and
practice all the four basic language skills, listening, speaking, reading
and writing. Songs tend to be taken as a means of relaxation but this work
will try to demonstrate that songs are important in English lessons and it
will also show the way to use songs in the teaching process.
The aim of this work is to find and show various teaching methods and
techniques that should help to make learning an enjoyable activity and to
motivate students to learn foreign languages, and find out if this type of
teaching activity is useful for learners. I will test these different
methods and techniques in different age groups and I will conclude which
techniques can teachers use to provide the learners with an effective
learning and which song activities where the most enjoyable for learners
themselves. This diploma thesis tends to be useful for my future teaching
career.
In my theoretical part of this thesis I would like to look into the
theoretical background of using songs in English language teaching and I
would like to find out a good way to motivate students for song activities.
This part will also introduce some theoretical support for best-known
teaching techniques and activities, different types of intelligences and
learning styles that are useful for song activities. Lastly it will
specify different age groups of learners and note some basic criteria to
select a good song for English language teaching.
The practical part consists of three sections. The first section
includes my teaching materials (lesson plans) that I used in two groups of
children in the kindergarten. The groups will be specified and described in
the practical part. For these two groups I preferred action and repetition
songs that are sometimes connected with drawing. Each lesson plan consists
of learners´ evaluation.
The second section contains lesson plans for song activities that I
taught in two adult groups and one teenage group during my teaching
practice; the concrete description of these three groups will be in this
section too. The majority of songs used in these groups are popular songs
chosen according to level and age of learners and other rules or criteria
that will be mentioned in the theoretical part. Lesson plans also include
learners´ evaluation.
The last section is evaluation of techniques that were used, and
learners´ evaluation of each lesson plan and my comments on it.
Theoretical Part
1 Songs in English language teaching 1.1.1 Reasons to use songs in ELT Saricoban and Metin (2006) state that songs are one of the most
fascinating and culturally rich resources that can easily be used in
language classrooms. Songs offer a change from routine classroom
activities. They are precious resources to develop students abilities in
listening, speaking, reading, and writing. They can also be used to teach a
variety of language items such as sentence patterns, vocabulary,
pronunciation, rhythm, adjectives, and adverbs. I will specify the learning
items later in this work.
The use of songs in ELT has many advantages but the major two are that
music and songs are very memorable and they are very motivating for
learners. Most of us like songs, especially children and teenagers, and so
it is easier and more enjoyable way than any other learning methods, which
can improve learners´ listening skills and more important is that we
practise all four basic skills at once.
Other reason to use songs in ELT is that most of the best-know songs
are English or American and we can hear or listen to them everywhere (at
home, at concerts, in cars, in shops, in restaurants). My own experience is
that I always try to sing songs that I listen to. I used to sing just the
parts that I was able to hear but I did not understand most of it. That is
why I use songs in my lessons, it can help students to understand their
favourite songs by their idols and at the same time it motivates them to
learn English.
Songs mostly use the informal language of spontaneous life and
language of real life situations and that is why the language in most songs
is easy to understand and there are very useful phrase that are easy to
remember. Songs are responding to people's thoughts a