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УДК 378.147.3400_
USING SONGS IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Бурдынская Светлана Петровна,
кандидат педагогических наук, доцент кафедры иностранных языков Ленинградский государственный университет имени А. С. Пушкина, Санкт-Петербург (Россия)
Svetlana Petrovna Burdynskaya,
PhD (Pedagogics), Assistant Professor of Foreign Languages Department Pushkin Leningrad State University, Saint Petersburg (Russia) © 2018г
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, fight to the imagination and life to everything.
Plato
ABSTRACT
Songs are a perfect tool for learning English while having fun. They can be used to learn or practice the target language in a motivating and enjoyable way. Songs are a powerful means of teaching English and you can use songs as a classroom activity to enrich your students' vocabulary, to improve their grammar and accents. Using songs in teaching English is unquestionably very natural, very scientific. You can be very effective, provided you are quite selective with the songs and activities. Here are some ideas on how to use songs with your classes
Keywords
Teaching English, young learners, songs, music, pre-teaching activities, while-teaching activities, post-teaching activities , songs, song, learners, children, pupils, young learners, teacher, while-teaching activities, new songs, music, natural human need, perfect learning tool.
The aims of this article are to study the role of songs in teaching and learning English as a foreign language and describe some of the techniques of using them in teaching practice. To use or not to use songs in teaching EFL? If the answer is "yes", then when, what for, what kind of songs - these are the main problems to be investigated.
There is no human society without its poetry. There is no human society without music. When put together, they constitute a powerful force for both cultural cohesion and identity and for individual development. In our time it is hard to escape music and songs as it occupies even more of the world around us: in restaurants and cafes, at sport centres, in hospitals (music
therapy), etc. Many of us have experienced with amazement how quick students are at learning songs. It is a common experience to forget nearly every thing except the few songs that we learned. A song can be used as a means for teachers to increase rapport with their students. The use of music and song in the classroom can stimulate very positive associations to the study of a language, which otherwise may only be seen as boring tasks, exams, frustrations and corrections of mistakes. Clearly, it would be unwise to ignore this flexible and attractive resource.
What is a song? It is a poem set to music intended to be sung. It is a combination, interaction of poetry and music. It influences human beings in a very specific particular way. It seems quite natural for most teachers to use songs in their teaching practice as everything we do in the classroom is based in what we believe in about teaching and learning. Having looked through many course books of EFL such as Oxford Progressive English for Adult Learners by A.S. Hornby, Essential English by Eckersley, Practical Course of English by V. Arakin, etc., we came to the conclusion that they lack song material. To our mind one can find more songs in the English textbooks for young learners, such as in textbooks by T. Klementyeva, B. Monk, «English Adventure» and in Headway by Liz and John Soars. But nowardays more and more teachers are ready to use songs in their teaching practice though the technology is rather new. As with any new technology, there are usually advantages and disadvantages. In relation to language learning Alan Maley in the foreword to Tim Murphey's book "Teaching One To One" which provides many stimulating ideas on the use of teaching techniques claims that the use of music and songs offers the following advantages:
S Music is pretty memorable, whether this is because its repetitive pattering reinforces learning without loss of motivation -whatever the reason, songs and music stick in the head. "the song stuck in my head" phenomenon (the echoing in our minds of the last song we heard) seems to reinforce the idea that song works in our short or long term memory (Murphy, 1994).
As a matter of fact we can often watch our students leaving the English classroom and singing the song they learned at the lesson. Songs are easily learned if they immediately catch the learner's interest. If well taught they are seldom forgotten. Not all language material is so easily retained and evoked.
S Songs are very motivating. Popular music in its many forms constitutes a powerful structure with its methodology, rituals and lyrics. As such it is a part of students' lives which moves and motivates them to master the language.
S Songs provide variety, if not used too often. We must admit there is no one right and single way to teach. Different teachers teach in different ways, just as they have various needs and likings. There might be one right way for each person to learn but even so most people benefit from variety.
S Songs facilitate language acquisition. This is the question of 'what' to teach?
1. A very high value is placed on teaching culture through EFL, using songs as part of culture. 2. In teaching grammar songs can be used to focus on a special point of grammar, to revise, to practice: degrees of comparison, the Present Simple, prepositions, the Present Perfect, etc. 3.Songs are used to introduce, to revise, to practice vocabulary. They reinforce and use simple language with a lot of repetitions. Recently composed songs contain interesting and petinent vocabulary and open wide the possibilities for teaching realia. 4. When teaching pronunciation songs are used to focus on contractions, linking, weak and strong forms, rhythm, stress, distinguishing sounds.
The "how " to teach is a question of skills.
5. Songs are used in listening comprehension. What listening skills do the students need to have? Listening for gist, specific information, to see if you have the right answer, to check for mistakes, to mach pictures, etc.
6. Songs are used in teaching writing.
7. Songs are used in reading comprehension.
8. Texts of the songs can be used as a lead or in follow up to discussion i.e. in teaching speaking.
9. Songs can be used to create special atmosphere, set a certain mood, Starting the music for a few minutes before the first arrival you get a learner involved, the process of decoding from the mother tongue to the target language goes faster (i.e. more effectively). Songs may relax or excite students - depending on the music -cheer up a classroom that may be depressingly silent, raise energy where seems to be none. In my opinion it is underestimated in common practice, though some authors of different approaches to teaching consider these facts as very important.
It is Humanistic Education that takes into consideration that learning is affected by how students feel about themselves. The author of the Comprension approach James Asher shares with humanistic psychology a concern for the effective/ emotional factors in language learning. Need to reduce stress will help a lot. Teaching should minimize learner's stress. Reduction of stress is seen as a very important.
Suggestopedia, a teaching methodology, developed by Dr. Lozanov from Bulgaria (1975) claims "the use of music one of the prominent features of it". The idea of using the music is apparently to relax students' defences and to open up their minds to the language. Songs are useful for "freeing the speech muscles and evoking positive emotions".
The importance of music has been stressed by Gaston in 1968 (Music and Therapy). Its uses are:
- to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of personal relations,
- to increase self-esteem,
- to use rhythm and energy and bring order.
Suggestopedia uses background music as an integral part of the course.
So we can conclude that music and song is not really one of the conventional categories of language study (reading, listening, comprehension, speaking, grammar, vocabulary etc.), but it can be the content matter of any of these categories.
Of course, songs alone, however, will not teach anyone how to use language - no matter how great their memorability, how much fun it is to sing and listen to them, or how energizing the change of pace might be. Just listening to and singing songs will not make students able to communicate in another language. As song materials and song based tasks are rarely available in Course books teachers themselves have to develop them.
What activities can be used?
1. Pre- listening activities:
- give a title of the song, predict what a song might be about;
- give a title and brainstorm possible vocabulary for the song;
- discuss the theme/topic for the song;
- give several questions to be answered;
- ask students to put a set of pictures for the song before listening.
2. While- listening activities:
- gap-filling. Random words are rubbed/blanked out, specific grammar points are blanked out;
- wrong words. Students listen and correct;
- added words. Students listen and delete the extra words;
- match pictures to the topic of the song from a selection of pictures;
- put pictures in the right order as they appear in the song;
- match sentence-halves before and during listening;
- tasks to check understanding: true/false, multiple choice, grating etc;
- pronunciation tasks: students mark stressed/weak forms, contractions, reductions etc.. They practice linking, rhythm in chants and songs;
- students listen and write out words (in simple songs) or parts of the songs;
- students act out actions of the song. Some songs employ the use of hand/ body actions (clap, stamp, click) which help teachers to activate learners' musical or kinesthetic intelligence;
- jumbled sentences: students put in the correct order while listening.
3. Follow-up activities:
- singing the song;
- discussing topic or music;
- writing a summary of the song;
- writing conversation from the song;
- role-play conversations/situations;
- discussing/writing about the characters, scenes, situations from the song;
How should songs be chosen?
Songs can be chosen so that they:
- are suitable for the lessons objectives;
- help teach what is to be taught;
- suit the age and the level of learners ;
- raise the interest of students;
- should be of appropriate length;
- challenge students for thinking;
- should be attended by suitable exercises;
- are accompanied by relevant pictures and surrounding material.
Any activity used by a teacher should be evaluated according to:
- how efficient it is (the E-factor);
- how appropriate it is (the A-factor)
The efficiency of an activity is guided by determinating its economy, its ease , its efficacy (producing the desired result). The appropriacy of an activity takes into account learner's needs and interest, his attitudes and expectations, the educational context and available re-sourses. Both A and E factors should be well thought of and only after that a teacher makes up his mind what activity to choose.
Authentic or non- authentic materials?
There is no short satisfactory answer to this question. It depends on many factors, one of them is the level of learners. However, it must be kept in mind that the use of material for listening differs from reading. Whenever possible, some authentic materials should be used and on increasing scale as the course progresses.
We believe that there is no right way to teach or learn anything. It is up to the teacher to decide whether to use songs and song-based activities in his work or not. Bit taking into consideration the unique properties of songs, we think it's worth doing it. We find them very helpful for the creating of supplementary teaching ideas and it is an effective teaching tool that motivates pupils and helps them acquire the foreign language in an enjoyable and natural way.
References:
1. Буриева Н. Г. Using songs and music in teaching English to young learners // Молодой ученый. — 2017. — №6. — С. 413-415.
2. Graham, Carolyn. Creating Chants and Songs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
3. Murphey, Tim. Music & Song. Oxford: University Press, 1992.
4. Scrivener, Jim. Learning Teaching: The Essential Guide to English Language Teaching. 2nded. Oxford: Macmillan, 2005.
