Que Sera, Sera
When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she said to me.
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.
When I grew up and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows, day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said.
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.
Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I tell them tenderly.
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.
ESOL Music @ ESOL UK
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Que Sera, Sera
When I …………..………………….. 1 just a little girl
I …………..………………….. 2 my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she …………..………………….. 3 to me.
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.
When I …………..…………………..
I …………..…………………..
6
4
and …………..…………………..
5
in love
my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows, day after day
Here's what my sweetheart …………..…………………..
7
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.
Now I …………..…………………..
They …………..…………………..
9
8
children of my own
their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I …………..…………………..
10
them tenderly.
Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.
ESOL Music @ ESOL UK
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Language focus
The contrast in meaning/concept between past simple (verses 1, 2) and present simple (verse 5).
Thanks to Elisabeth Emmott and Nimu Patel. Contrast the videos of Doris Day’s Que Sera Sera with Summit’s
Que Sera Sera.
Teaching activities:
Could start by doing some global listening activity which includes giving learners a few words from the lyrics
and asking them to make a sentence, or fill in a bingo board and then listen to the song and check the words
they hear. Understanding song lyrics can require a lot of cultural knowledge as well as understanding the form
of the language; pay attention to this.
Use different tasks for the lyrics which include:
- audio gapfill, remove key words and listen
- word choice, provide two options and students have to listen and identify; e.g. 'everywhere I walk/talk'
- put words in order, then listen and check
- put the lines of the stanza in order, then listen and check
- spot words which are "spelled wrong"
- complete abbreviations, cos = because
- spot missing words in a line
- spot extra words in a line
- break up each line in two, jumble the sentences and do a matching exercise
- write questions for each line and ask learners to suggest an answer (in full) then listen and check
- predict rhyming words
The emphasis is always on task-based learning. Give learners a purpose to listen to the song and capitalize on
their previous knowledge, their predictions and guesses. As a follow up, give learners time to read the lyrics in
detail, do some reading comprehension exercises and maybe include roleplay or creative writing so as to
integrate as much language expression as possible.
Adapted from Gabriel D'az Maggioli
ESOL Music @ ESOL UK
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1. How does the song make you feel (3 adjectives)?
__________________________________________
2. Why do you think the artist wrote the song?
__________________________________________
3. Where do you think the artist is from?
__________________________________________
4. When do you think the song was made?
__________________________________________
5. Where would you listen to this song?
__________________________________________
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1. How does the song make you feel (3 adjectives)?
__________________________________________
2. Why do you think the artist wrote the song?
__________________________________________
3. Where do you think the artist is from?
__________________________________________
4. When do you think the song was made?
__________________________________________
5. Where would you listen to this song?
__________________________________________
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. How does the song make you feel (3 adjectives)?
__________________________________________
2. Why do you think the artist wrote the song?
__________________________________________
3. Where do you think the artist is from?
__________________________________________
4. When do you think the song was made?
__________________________________________
5. Where would you listen to this song?
__________________________________________
ESOL Music @ ESOL UK
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