Adam Simpson from the British Council explains, “One of the big problems we all face, whether teaching English to children or adults, is maintaining learners’ interest throughout our lessons. Consequently, we often have to be very creative in the techniques we use. What makes music such a great teaching tool is its universal appeal, connecting all cultures and languages. This makes it one of the best and most motivating resources in the classroom, regardless of the age or background of the learner.”[i]

Why?

  • Songs are fun and relevant. There is no motivator quite like enjoyment. Even lower-level learners can learn words to a song they like.  You can choose songs that fit your topic too and ones that are current/older.
  • Songs are a natural listening activity. Your learners have the opportunity to hear native speakers without even realising they are participating in an activity.
  • Songs help teach new words and grammar structures. Sometimes songs can generate more effective learning than board-based work!
  • Songs are helpful for pronunciation practice.
  • Singing relieves stress and fosters community in your group.

How? Think about…

  • Choice of song does it present values that you agree with?
  • The ages of your learners.
  • Cultural differences that make up your class.
  • Access to the song – phone/laptop/wi-fi/YouTube/download/speaker.
  • Your learning objectives for the lesson.
  • The level of your class.
  • Vocabulary you want to teach – it should have some words that your learners don’t know yet, but they should know enough to understand the general meaning of the song, thus allowing them to learn new words in a context.
  • Grammar appropriate for the level of your students or they will be confused.
  • Clarity of the song – some songs are difficult even for native speakers to understand.
  • Popularity of the song especially for younger learners.

What? The song in the lesson

  • Before you listen to the song give your learners the title and ask some questions about it. Get them to predict the song content.
  • Play the song or show a video clip if you have one – this will cater to more learners’ learning preferences.
  • Ask learners if they’ve heard it before, and don’t overload them with tasks at this point; simply let them enjoy the music.
  • Listen to the song again, this time giving learners the lyrics. Play it as a lyric video on YouTube or print out the lyrics from a website like AZLyrics
  • Learners can just read the lyrics while they listen, or you might like to give them a task to do at this point.

Possible tasks

  • Get learners to highlight unknown words for later discussion.
  • Make a lyric worksheet as a gap fill; learners fill in the gaps as they listen.
  • You can make cut-out strips of selected missing words and again make a lyric worksheet as a gap fill; this time learners match the word strips to the gaps as they listen.
  • Focus on a particular aspect of grammar e.g. a verb tense.
  • Focus on vocabulary.
  • Focus on the creative and artistic use of vocabulary we encounter in lyrics.
  • Highlight phrases/colloquialisms/idioms and expressions.  Go through the meanings, illustrating with other examples if necessary. Songs often serve as really good contexts for phrases and idioms, but it’s good to make sure that the meaning is clear.
  • End creatively e.g. write another verse, respond to a question asked by the singer etc.

Examples of songs to use in class

Beginners/Elementary
You want a song that uses simple vocabulary, present tense verbs (a little past simple) and clear pronunciation.

Intermediate
At this level, you can use songs with a bit more complexity. Songs from musical shows can be a good option because they exist within the context of a narrative, which makes for good discussion.

  • ‘Waving Through a Window” by Ben Platt’, from the musical ‘Dear Evan Hansen’, has a good mix of present tense verbs and present participles, along with simple vocabulary and useful colloquialisms. It also has a relevant message about being an outsider that can be good for discussion.
  • ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus’ Explain that this is a ‘cultural’ song and not about the birth of Jesus which explains the real meaning of Christmas. It reached the number one position on the charts in 1952 and tells of an unsuspecting child endeavouring to sneak up on Santa Claus finding him (presumably his father) kissing his mother underneath the mistletoe. This song works well if you create questions for the learners about what is happening in the song.  Learners can also mime all the ‘verbs’ in the song which would be rather fun and amusing.
  • ‘Silent Night’ (choose a version you like). This classic Christmas carol was originally written in German but is now sung in over 44 languages so many learners may even know it in their language.
  • ‘Mary did you know’ 2:19 has a ready prepared Christmas lesson using this song.

Upper-intermediate/Advanced
You can challenge your higher-level learners by selecting songs that are at a faster tempo and include a variety of verb tenses and that also contain colloquialisms.

  • “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa includes past, present, and future tense verbs and is rapped at a fast tempo. It features useful slang expressions and a message of loss and friendship.
  • Roar” by Katy Perry has a good mix of past tense verbs and present participles. It has a message about standing up for yourself and overcoming obstacles.
  • “No Boundaries” by Adam Lambert has lots of common vocabulary words regarding time and nature. It also uses a variety of verb tenses and talks about achieving your dreams.
  • ‘Joy to the world’ (choose a version you like of this Christmas carol). It would be a joy indeed to sing with your class at Christmas time! Get learners to identify the abstract nouns (love, joy, truth etc.) and nature words and then discuss the deeper question about what it means to ‘let every heart prepare him room’.
  • ‘How many kings’ This song contains many questions that learners can answer as they listen as well as present perfect work and some beautiful vocabulary to look at. Good for deeper discussion.

Learners can sing along at home
The website https://lyricstraining.com/  has gap-fill exercises where learners can fill in missing words as they listen, and they can choose the level they want to work at.  Good for practice at home.

Resources

Books for using songs with pre-made worksheets available online (please note that 2:19 have not tested all of these resources).

  • Pop Songs for the ESL Classroom by Dr Brian Girolametto
    Independently published; ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1686945035
  • More Pop Songs for the ESL Classroom by Dr Brian Girolametto
    Independently published; ISBN-10 ‏: ‎ 1690657782

[i] Adam Simpson (https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/how-use-songs-english-language-classroom)

Article by Marina Swainston-Harrison, ESL Lead Specialist for 2:19 Teach to Reach
October 2022