BrazTesol’s One Day Seminar:
“Fostering the 4Cs”
Presenters:
Cleide Frazão
Fernanda Barboza
May 11th , 2012
Brasília – DF - Brazil
We came up with this presentation
after some successful experience in
having song activities in class.
Students had fun and felt good
about themselves for understanding
the songs and being able to perform
the tasks proposed.
With such positive feedback,
we’ve been irresistibly compelled
to present this workshop, which
consists
of
ten
listening
activities.
We
tried
to
make
this
presentation as unique as
possible, since music in the EFL
classroom is a topic that has
been presented many times
before.
We also hope that the activities
suggested here help you to
enliven your classes and work
as one more learning tool
available among so many
others.
“Music is the universal
language of mankind”
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a 19th-century American poet.)
“Music stabilizes mental, physical
and emotional rhythms to attain a
state of deep concentration and
focus in which large amounts of
content information can be
processed and learned.”
(Chris Brewer, Music and Learning)
Benefits of using music:
1)Improves concentration
2)Improves memory
3)Brings a sense of community to a group
4)Motivates learning
5)Relaxes people who are overwhelmed or
stressed
6)Makes learning fun
7)Helps people absorb material
USEFUL TIPS
When using songs in an adult
class, focus on listening and
discussing rather than singing.
USEFUL TIPS
When using “You Tube”, show
students the audio only, so they
don’t get distracted, unless the
video is necessary for the
accomplishment of the task.
MISCONCEPTIONS
The only thing we can do with
songs is Fill in the Blank
activities.
You can have fill in the blank
activities with different purposes
and you can also have students:
1)Circle or underline
2)Answer questions
3)Reflect on a quote or a sentence
4)Write a story
MISCONCEPTIONS
Song
activities
consuming.
are
time
Certain activities, depending
on your goal, can take up to
15 minutes, tops.
MISCONCEPTIONS
It’s oldfashioned. Students have
YouTube nowadays.
Unlike teens, who only feel
interested in the latest songs,
adults love everything is
presented to them. They don’t
care whether the song is old or
new. If it’s tacky or modern. All
they want is learn from it.
Before listening
A. Students can try to predict
what the song may be about
based on eight to ten targeted
vocabulary items or a picture.
B. Students can also discuss a
quote or a sentence related to
the song.
C.Teachers can also have
students do a creative writing
assignment before hearing the
song.
While listening
http://youtu.be/gdmHHoI9beM
1)Rhyming
Students find in a word bank,
which may appear or not
depending on the level of the
students, a word that rhymes
another in the lyrics.
2)Find the mistake
Students find vocabulary or
grammar mistakes. They might
have to find a synonym for a
word or a contrasting word or a
different grammar tense.
3)Quiz
Students answer comprehension
questions related to the song.
4)Writing
Based on the “video clip” of the
song, students write a short
paragraph telling a story with a
beginning, a middle and an end
.
5)Bingo
Students are given a word bank
with various words from the
lyrics and a bingo chart. They
put the words in the chart and
cross them out as they hear
them.
6)Unscramble
Based on what they hear,
students
put
slips
with
sentences from the lyrics in
order.
7) The right words
Among slips with words that are
in the song and others that aren’t,
students pick the ones they
believe they heard and explain
the words in the song. That can
also be done with pictures
instead.
8)Reflection and Discussion
Students express their opinion
and come up with solutions to a
particular problem or dilemma
described in the song.
9)Grammar Focus
Students underline, circle or fill
in the blanks with a certain
grammar point, and they will
discuss how it is being used and
why.
10)Illustration
Each student illustrates one or
two sentences from the song.
Then, the teacher makes an
animated video out of the
illustrations.
After listening
A. Students may list all the
words they learned arranging
them in order of difficulty.
B. Students might also create a
game, for instance, a bingo,
matching slips or a memory
game.
C. Students say what they liked
best about the song and why, or
how it made them feel and even
whether they agree with the
author and why.
Suggested songs
with related grammar points and
discussion topics
Grammar
The girl is mine (Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson) - Possessive pronuouns
More than words (Extreme) – Subject and Object pronouns
Save the last dance for me (Michael Bublé) – Present Continuous for future, Will and Going to
Wonderful tonight (Eric Clapton) – Simple Present
Every breath you take (The Police) – Simple Present
You gotta be (Desiré) – Adjectives
Beat it (Michael Jackson) – had better
I love you (Martina Mcbride) – Adverbs
You’ll see (Madonna) – Will
Starting today (Elvis Presley) – Negative Adverbials
Grammar
The Greatest Love of All (Whitney Houston) – Articles
Super Pop (Madonna) – Second conditionals
Boys don’t cry (The Cure) - Second Conditionals
Super woman (Kathy White) – Simple Present/ Used to
The wonder of you (Elvis Presley) - Reported Speech
No one needs to know right now (Shania Twain) – Reported Speech
It might be you (Stephen Bishop) – Modals of Speculation
Time of your life (Green Day) – Articles
Somebody is watching me (Rockwell) – Present Continuous
9 to 5 (Dolly Parton) – Simple Present
Reflection and Discussion
Super woman (Karyn White) – Relationships
Big girls don’t cry (Black Eyed Peas) – Relationships
Man, I feel like a woman! (Shania Twain) - Sexism
Earth Song (Michael Jackson) – Preservation
Heal the World (Michael Jackson) – World Issues
In the guetto (Elvis Presley) – Homeless
Unpretty (TLC) – Cosmetic Procedures/ Body Image
Where’s the love (Black Eyed Peas) – War/Violence
Stupid Girl (Pink) – Cosmetic Procedures/ Body Image
9 to 5 (Dolly Parton) – Routines/Job
Reflection and Discussion
The Used to Song (Daughtry) – Past Experiences
I’ll be there (Mariah Carey) – Friendship
You’ve got a friend (James Taylor) – Friendship
Stand by me (Ben E. King) – Friendship
Somebody is watching me (Rockwell) – Paranormal Activity/Ghosts
Beautiful Life (Ace of Base) – Optimism
Life is a flower (Ace of Base) – Optimism
Do you remember (Phil Collins) – Relationships
Super woman (Alicia Keys) – Women
You’ll be in my heart (Phil Collins) – Prejudice
Reference
eHow.com:
-How to Use Music in the Adult ESL Classroom;
-How to Use Songs and Music in ESL Lessons (By Sophie
Southern);
-How to Teach English by Songs (By Kara Page)
_____________________________________________________
_
-Music and Learning (By Chris Brewer)
This powerpoint presentation is available at:
www.superduperctj.pbworks.com
In case you need to contact us:
lexdok@yahoo.com
fernandambarboza@globo.com
Thank You