“Best Practices” Presentation
Title: Teaching with songs – Reviewing the Present Progressive Tense
Presented by: WU Yuen-ching, Joely
Date: 30 July 2003
The lesson aims at using music to teach grammar. Students are exposed to the use of the present
progressive tense in an amusing way. The four skills, reading, speaking, listening and writing,
are integrated in this lesson.
Teaching Point

Target language: consolidate and recycle students’ knowledge of the present progressive
tense by reviewing and practicing the target grammar form through a song: Tom’s Diner by
Suzanne Vega

Vocabulary: talking about present and action verbs
Intended Audience
Secondary one students with intermediate level of English and moderate motivation to learn and
participate in class activities
Objectives

To consolidate and recycle students’ knowledge of using the present progressive tense by
doing a controlled exercise

To enhance students’ skills in listening for specific information

To practice talking about present actions by exchanging information with classmates

To increase the students’ vocabulary of words by reading the lyrics of the song and
exploring the meaning of unfamiliar words

To activate students’ imagination by writing a story
Materials

Tape with the song/ CD for listening activity

Worksheets/ Exercises of the present progressive tense

Lyrics of the song: Tom’s Diner

Board/ OHP
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Relevance or application of this technique to your teaching situation in Hong Kong
As students in Hong Kong are rather passive and lack motivation to learn English, the teacher
must put in concerted efforts to arouse students’ motivation and interest in learning grammar.
This lesson attempts to consolidate what students have already learnt through an interesting way
i.e. learning English grammar through a song in order to make grammar learning enjoyable.
Teaching through music can accommodate students with different learning styles. In this case, I
believe it can definitely help stimulate the auditory area of the students’ brain and grasp students’
attention in class. Also, learning English through songs lowers students affective filter providing
a non-threatening atmosphere for students who are anxious when speaking English as a second
language in a formal classroom setting.
In Hong Kong, most of the English teachers teach grammar by means of explaining the
grammatical rules to students explicitly and then follow with lots of drilling exercises. By doing
so, students will find that learning grammar is very boring and useless because grammar is taught
in an isolated context without any real communication purpose. According to Stephen Krashen,
“language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does
not require tedious drill” and “acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language natural communication - in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances
but with the messages they are conveying and understanding". In this sense, teachers should put
grammar items into context so that students can have the actual practice of using the grammar
item. Songs are the means through which people expressing personal thoughts and feelings.
They provide authentic texts and thus are motivating. Learning grammar through songs, students
can actually understand the grammar item being taught can be used authentically for
communication purpose.
Procedures
Presentation
1. Inform students what the lesson is about
2. Recap the knowledge of the present progressive tense
Warm-up Activity
3. T asks Ss whether they know what diner is (a small restaurant at the side of the road).
T shows Ss a picture of a diner to contextualize it
4. T elicits answers from Ss and explains the word
5. T asks Ss to imagine that they are in Tom’s Diner and asks Ss what they are doing in
the diner.
6. T elicits answer like: I am sitting…, I am eating…, I am drinking…
7. Distribute a worksheet to Ss (a handout with pictures describing the song)
8. Groupwork
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Divide Ss into groups/ pairs: work together to find out the differences in each pair of
pictures in the worksheet (can do it as a competition: the group who can find out the
most differences with the least time is the winner)
9. T invites the group to circle the differences in the OHP. Ss have to tell what are the
differences such as it is raining, the woman is shaking her umbrella. <Skills involved:
Speaking and listening >
Listening Activity and grammar practice
10. The song is played. Ss pay attention to the lyrics (Ss relax and listen to the song)
11. T tells Ss to find out which picture the song is referring to. The song is played again.
Pause between each pair of pictures. T elicits answers from Ss and asks them which
line of the lyrics gives the hint, e.g. The woman is shaking her umbrella.
12. After listening to the song, Ss are asked to do the controlled exercise using the present
progressive tense.
13. T checks answers with Ss by eliciting answers from Ss.
Post-listening Activity
14. Distribute the lyrics to Ss.
15. T asks Ss if they find any unfamiliar words and elicits meanings of the words from Ss
(Ss can easily guess the meaning from the pictures) <Skills involved: reading and
vocabulary building>
16. Writing – Ss are divided into groups to write the song as a story. After they have
finished, Ss are invited to share their stories with others.
Lesson ends
Useful website for teaching English through music and songs

http://esl-lounge.com/songstop.html

http://eslcafe.com/ideas
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Exercise: fill in the missing verbs in the present progressive tense. Add pronouns if necessary.
pretend look
wait
turn think watch
try
sit
kiss shake feel
listen
Tom's Diner - Words and music by Suzanne Vega
(source: http://www/etmo.org.il/grammar/tomsdiner.com)
I __________________ in the morning at the diner on the corner.
I __________________ at the counter for the man to pour the coffee.
And he fills it only halfway, and before I even argue
He ____________________ out the window at somebody coming in.
"It is always nice to see you," says the man behind the counter
to the woman who has come in. She __________________ her umbrella.
And I look the other way as they _________________ their hellos.
____________________ not to see them. Instead I pour the milk.
I open up the paper, there's a story of an actor
who had died while he was drinking. It was no one I had heard of.
And _________________ to the horoscope and __________________ for the funnies
when_____________________ someone __________________ me.
And so I raise my head. There's a woman on the outside _______________inside.
Does she see me?
No she does not really see me 'cause she sees her own reflection.
And ___________________ not to notice that she's hitching up her skirt.
And while she's straightening her stockings, her hair has gotten wet.
Oh, this rain it will continue through the morning.
As ________________ to the bells of the cathedral,
I ____________ of your voice...
And of the midnight picnic once upon a time before the rain began...
I finish up my coffee. It's time to catch the train.
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Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega
I am sitting
In the morning
At the diner
On the corner
I am waiting
At the counter
For the man
To pour the coffee
And he fills it
Only halfway
And before
I even argue
He is looking
Out the window
At somebody
Coming in
"It is always
Nice to see you"
Says the man
Behind the counter
To the woman
Who has come in
She is shaking
Her umbrella
And I look
The other way
As they are kissing
Their hellos
I'm pretending
Not to see them
Instead
I pour the milk
I open
Up the paper
There's a story
Of an actor
Who had died
While he was drinking
It was no one
I had heard of
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And I'm turning
To the horoscope
And looking
For the funnies
When I'm feeling
Someone watching me
And so
I raise my head
There's a woman
On the outside
Looking inside
Does she see me?
No she does not
Really see me
Cause she sees
Her own reflection
And I'm trying
Not to notice
That she's hitching
Up her skirt
And while she's
Straightening her stockings
Her hair
Is getting wet
Oh, this rain
It will continue
Through the morning
As I'm listening
To the bells
Of the cathedral
I am thinking
Of your voice...
And of the midnight picnic
Once upon a time
Before the rain began...
I finish up my coffee
It's time to catch the train
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