DIDACTICS UNIT 4:

SONGS
English and Didactics I
20/11/2017
Prof. Mara Muelas
Contents:
1. Why should we use songs in the English classroom?
2. Advantages of using songs
3. Limitations of songs
4. What counts as a song?
5. Example: developing tasks
6. The three stages of a song
Preparation Stage
Core activity (song)
Follow-up activity
7. Creating original songs
8. Some useful links
9. Examples
1. Why should we use songs?
BRAINSTORM
First, refresh the characteristics of our VYLs
Then, link those characteristics to the reasons why songs
are good in the English classroom

Short attention span

Not very well-developed motor skills
Still developing their L1
Cannot read or write
Silent period
Fiction Vs. Reality
Active and dynamic
Learn quickly forget quickly
 Why songs?
Repetitive, strong rhythm.
Easily learnt by primary children.
Fun and motivating
Natural context.
All children will enjoy this.
They develop a sense of class identity.
Opportunity to show off for the children
They help develop memory,
concentration and physical co-
ordination.
2. Advantages of using songs

Vocabulary
Cross-
curricular Grammar
contents

Artistic skills Memory

What can I improve?

Body Listening
coordination compreh.

Musical sense Pronunciation

Cultural
knowledge
3. Limitations
The teacher needs to take care in selecting a suitable song
for his or her class. The language, vocabulary, and
sentence structure of some songs can be quite different
from that used in spoken English.
Example: Jack be Nimble
Jack be nimble,
Jack be quick,
Jack jump over the candlestick.

Overuse GOOD REPERTOIRE of songs avoid losing their

interest.

Stress and timing might be challenging PRACTICE!

Singing songs in itself will not teach anyone to use or

communicate in the language FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
4. What counts as a song?

Taylor-made Traditional
Latests hits
songs songs
Course Well-known Our
book all around students
Specifically the world personal
likes Very
designed Famous motivating as
for a given songs they know them
method

Others: jazz chants, nursery rhymes,

didactic songs
5. Example: developing tasks
Ex: The Wheels of the bus

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

round and round,
round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
all day long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFHBfFAmcbc

- Monosyllabic words
- Short phrases with long pauses
- Simple vocabulary
- Repetitive rhythm
6. The three stages of a song
Cameron (2001):

PREPARATION CORE ACTIVITY FOLLOW UP

Cameron argues that the core activity is central to the

language learning task and without the core, the task
would collapse. The preparation activities should help
to prepare the students to complete the core activity
successfully. This might include pre-teaching of
language items or activating topic vocabulary. The
follow-up stage then should build on the completion of
the core activity (2001, p. 32).
6.1. Preparation stage
Activate the vocabulary and to form basic sentence
structures in the preparation stage.
Example: use a picture of a bus to elicit vocabulary.
The teacher pointing to the bus driver could ask, Who is
he? Students reply, A bus driver. The teacher then asks,
What does the bus driver do? Students reply, The bus
driver drives the bus.

Pictures/cards could be used to elicit vocabulary and

practice the sentence structures.

The aim is that, at the end of the preparation stage, the

students are ready to sing the song in the Core Stage.
6.1. Preparation - practice
Think of different ways of working the preparation stage:

Children could predict or guess words from a song

They could try to guess the missing words in a gapped
song.
They could try to put the jumbled lines of a song in order.
They can circle or tick pictures of what is included in the
song.
They could be asked to order or sequence pictures or
words as they listen.
They could be asked to match half-lines.
The teacher could give true/false statements.
6.2. Core stage: the song
To involve the students and maximize interest, we
should sing the song several times in the core.

Important: varying the pace or volume and having the

students perform actions and sing along chorally.

IMPORTANT: USE GESTURES!! Actions enhance

language acquisition and memory

Example: ask the students to sing the word wheels at first,

and have the students make a circle shape with their
hands.
Then the teacher could have the students turn around
360 degrees when singing round and round.
6.3. Follow-up stage
The follow-up stage should attempt to build on the
successful completion of the core stage.

The students have sung the song and now should be

encouraged to use the vocabulary or sentence
structures from the song.

Example: The follow-up stage could be used to develop

oral production where the vocabulary learned is used in
a situational role-play.
The teacher asks the students to form a bus and
pretend they are on it while they go around the class
and sing the song again
6.3. Follow-up. Practice
Think of different ways of working the follow-up stage:

Changing the words or adding verses

Arts and crafts activities

Drama and acting out narratives

Listen and sing again

7. Creating original songs
Some teachers might have a limited repertoire, but they can
always adapt a song to introduce new vocabulary. For example:

The fish in the sea goes swim, swim, swim,

swim, swim, swim,
swim, swim, swim.
The fish in the sea goes swim, swim, swim,
all day long.

The crab in the sea goes click, click, click,

click, click, click,
click, click, click.
The crab in the sea goes click, click, click,
all day long.
 PLANNING!

Song:
Level: Timing:
Contents:
Grammar:
Vocabulary:
Pronunciation:
Culture:
Co-ordination:
Cross-curricular:
Others:
Comments:

Use this table for your presentation

Three stages table

PREPARATION STAGE

CORE ACTIVITY

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
8. Some useful links
http://www.eslkidstuff.com/esl-kids-
songs.htm#.VT_9v1Xtmko

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/the
-alphabet-song

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/i-
can-sing-rainbow

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs/if-
youre-happy-and-you-know-it
9. Examples
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIRZ79YWAIM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GouPaw9ceTI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrHBHfkJEbc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F70BcRUCfTI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP3QW7YDIIY&t=29
s