20.06.2019
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Teaching Grammar with Pop Songs

To maintain learners’ interest teachers have to be creative and use different techniques all the time. When “classic” approaches run out, such a great tool as music might be helpful. It has universal appeal, is motivating and always up-to-date. Teaching grammar with songs is a good way to boost students’ skills in an exciting and engaging manner.

How to plan the use of songs in class?

The first step is to choose a song.

As there is a huge variety to choose from, it might be a challenging and time-consuming task. To make your life a bit easier here is the list of songs you can use categorized by grammar points:

Present Simple

  1. What a Wonderful World — Louise Amstrong
  2. Wonderful Tonight  — Eric Clapton
  3. She Loves You  — The Beatles

Present Continuous

  1. I`m Only Sleeping — The Beatles
  2. Sailing — Rod Stewart
  3. Fool’s Garden — Yellow

Past Simple

  1. Candle in the wind — Elton John
  2. Because You Loved Me — Celine Dion
  3. Yellow Submarine — The Beatles

Perfect Tenses

  1. We Are The Champions — Queen
  2. Have You Ever Loved a Woman? — Brayan Adams
  3. Lately — Stevie Wonder

Used to

  1. This Used To Be My Playground — Madonna
  2. We Used To Be Friends  — Dandy Warhols
  3. The Way It Used To Be — Pet Shop Boys

Future structures

  1. I Will Survive — Gloria Gaynor
  2. I’ll Always Love You — Whitney Houston
  3. We’re Going To Be Friends — Jack Johnson

Conditionals

  1. If I Fell  — The Beatles
  2. If you Had My Love — Jenifer Lopez
  3. Money Money Money — ABBA

Passive voice

1.Written In The Stars — Westlife

  1. Kirsty Are You Doing Okay? — Offspring
  2. Let’s Mend What’s Been Broken — Gloria Gaynor

Reported speech

  1. Somebody Told Me — The Killers
  2. Norwegian Wood — The Beatles
  3. Mama Told Me Not To Come — Stereophonics

The second step is to listen to the song.

Make it fun for your students. Use audio or video clip, the latter variant is more preferable as it is more engaging. Discuss with the learners if they have heard it before. Avoid overloading them with tasks at the point, let them just enjoy the music. Ask some gist questions: about the title of the song, its general theme.

The third step is listening to the song again with lyrics.

Give your students the chance to see, read and follow the lyrics while listening. They can possibly underline unknown words for a follow-up discussion. Alternatively, create a worksheet with while-listening tasks.

The fourth step is focusing on a particular verb tense or grammar structure.

Make your students find examples of the needed grammar aspect in the lyrics. Then discuss why the writer has chosen this verb tense, the function and the meaning of it, examine its form. It’s important to show the students that songs don’t always obey the grammatical rules. Learners should be aware of grammatical flexibility in song lyrics.

Whatever grammar aspect your focus on, don’t limit yourself on what you can do with the song. For example, you might wish to take the opportunity to study interesting idioms/expressions/vocabulary in the lyrics! It can be the fifth step. Go through the meanings, illustrate them with other examples, draw learners’ attention to contexts for idioms.

The sixth step should be creative.

You might want to give it as a home task. Depending on the age and  language level of your students you can ask them to write another verse of lyrics; to write a short response from the point of view of the recipient or a protagonist; to plan a video for the song; to make up a diary entry of a song’s character in the song, etc.

Комментарии (1)
  • Фото аватара
    Antonina

    thank you, Tatyana, a lot for the useful & well-organised material, sure, I will use it.
    have a nice day & heaps of other bright ideas, stay as generous as you are to share them with us. THANKS again.

    21.06.2019

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