Teach English in Dongxing Zhen - Aba Zangzu Qiangzu Zizhizhou —

Successful language teaching consists of a balanced combination of the four skills, which are listening, reading, writing, speaking, as well as and an engagement with cultural practices of the countries in which the acquired language is spoken. Music in general and songs in particular offer an excellent and accessible way to combine all four skills while also making the activities interesting and fun for the students. The following is the outline of a lesson plan geared towards students with intermediate or advanced knowledge of English. Song: Englishman in New York https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d27gTrPPAyk The song “Englishman in New York” is about a man from the UK who moves to the US and becomes aware of the differences of language and culture. Although Americans also speak English, he notices that they use different words and phrases and he feels alienated from his native country due to linguistic and cultural differences. Engage Phase 1 Ask students the following questions: • Have you ever traveled to or lived in another country? • What did you experience there? • Did you feel at home, or were you homesick? • What things did they miss most? • What were some cultural differences they noticed? Engage Phase 2 Elicit words and phrases that are typical for British English and American English: As you may have noticed, British and American English is different, especially the words they use for the same thing. For example, in the UK people call the policeman “bobby”, whereas in the US he is called a “cop”. Can you think of more examples like that? Sample answers: lift - elevator tube - subway flat - apartment holiday - vacation Then ask what students know about British culture and American culture. What is typically British? (Sample answers: to drink tea, eat scones, Yorkshire pudding, minced pie, watch or play cricket etc.) What is typically American? (Sample answers: to drink coffee, eat doughnuts, apple pie, roast with mashed potatoes, watch or play football or baseball etc.) You could mention that these are stereotypes and do not apply to every British or American person. It’s just a tool to become aware of the cultural similarities and differences. Study Phase 1 Before presenting the lyrics with some words missing, it is a good idea to lay a little groundwork. Students usually react better if they recognize some familiar words or elements before listening to the song in its entirety. Explain and/or describe the following words. Work with a partner. Use a dictionary, if necessary. cane legal alien suffer ignorance to end up as modesty gentleness rare society combat gear enemy Then discuss and compare the answers with the whole class. Study Phase 2 A) In this phase, the teacher gives the students the lyrics (one per pair) with some words missing and asks students to listen to the song and fill in the blanks. It’s important to play the song all the way to the end, even though the chorus is repeated. Worksheet Lyrics: Englishman in New York Sting I don't take coffee, _____ ________ _________, my dear I like my toast done on one side And you _________ _________ it in my accent when I talk I'm an Englishman in New York See me walking down Fifth Avenue A walking cane here at my __________ I take it everywhere I walk I'm an Englishman in New York Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a _________ ____________ I'm an Englishman in New York Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a _________ ____________ I'm an Englishman in New York If "manners maketh man" as someone said He's _______ __________ of the day It takes a man to _____________ ___________________ and smile Be yourself no matter what they say Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a _________ ____________ I'm an Englishman in New York Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a _________ ____________ I'm an Englishman in New York Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety You ______ _______ _________ as the only one Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this ___________________ At night a candle's brighter than the sun Takes more than _________ ___________ to make a man Takes more than a license for a gun Confront______ _____________, avoid them when you can A gentleman will walk but never run If "manners maketh man" as someone said He's the hero of the day It takes a man to ____________ _______________ and smile Be yourself no matter what they say Be yourself no matter what they say Be yourself no matter what they say B) After students filled in the blanks, ask them to compare their answers with the pair next to them. C) Go over all the words written in the blanks and write them on the board. Teacher’s copy: Englishman in New York (Sting) I don't take coffee, I take tea, my dear I like my toast done on one side And you can hear it in my accent when I talk I'm an Englishman in New York See me walking down Fifth Avenue A walking cane here at my side I take it everywhere I walk I'm an Englishman in New York Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York If "manners maketh man" as someone said He's the hero of the day It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile Be yourself no matter what they say Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York Oh, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien I'm an Englishman in New York Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety You could end up as the only one Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society At night a candle's brighter than the sun Takes more than combat gear to make a man Takes more than a license for a gun Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can A gentleman will walk but never run If "manners maketh man" as someone said He's the hero of the day It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile Be yourself no matter what they say Be yourself no matter what they say Be yourself no matter what they say To sum up, this is an effective tool to improve students’ listening skill. They also learn to spell the words correctly and, if necessary, you could say the words out loud and have students repeat them as choral repetition. It is also a good pronunciation exercise. At the same time this activity increases students’ vocabulary knowledge. Study Phase 3 Now it’s time to look at the lyrics again and think about some aspects of the song in terms of vocabulary and grammar. Ask students the following: Vocabulary 1. What images did you get from the song? 2. Did any of the words sound familiar or similar to other English words you already know? Which ones? 3. Based on the rhythm and tone, what emotional state best describes the song? 4. Which phrases stand out in the song? 5. What is your favorite phrase or melody? Grammar Play the song again, and say: 1. Underline all the verbs in the Present Tense and Future Tense you can find. 2. Circle the sentence that uses the command form. 3. Do some elements in the song remind you of grammar you have already learned in class? Which ones? Activate Phase 1 A) As a next step, put students in groups of 3 or four and them worksheet with phrases taken from the lyrics. Ask them to pick at least two of them and discuss their meaning in the group. 1. Manners make a man 2. It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile 3. Gentleness and sobriety are rare in this society 4. Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can 5. A gentleman will walk, but never run 6. Be yourself, no matter what they say B) Come up with an example and then get together with another group. This time you pantomime the phrase and the other group has to guess which one it is. Activate Phase 2 In this phase students use the song as a basis to be creative. A) Have students write a dialogue about a British and American person talking with each other. What would they say? What misunderstandings might occur? What could they learn from each other’s culture? B) After writing, ask students to perform the dialogue in front of the class. Have students vote for the best dialogue. The funniest/most interesting dialogue wins! Remind students that it is not only their writing skills or pronunciation that will help the win the prize, but the overall package. They should vote based on: creativity, accuracy, fluency and enthusiasm. Other creative ideas for follow-up activities: You can have students: A) memorize the lyrics (or just the chorus) and have a sing along B) You can have students talk about what picture they would draw to illustrate different phrases and concepts of the song, and then draw it. (For instance, you can have students work in pairs: one student describes the picture he has in his head, and the other one draws it. – You can even make this a contest and give a prize for the best picture) C) Another creative way is to have students write NEW lyrics to the music. For elementary level it is probably best that students only change the verbs and/or nouns, but for intermediate level there are no limits, really. Final Thoughts about this Lesson With the help of the song “Englishman in New York”, students used both receptive skills (listening and reading) and productive skills (speaking and writing) to express themselves in English. In addition, the cultural aspects of the songs were discussed, helping students to understand that British and Americans use the English language differently according to their different cultural background. In order to manage time wisely, part of these exercises can be assigned as homework. The teacher could start the lesson by asking students about their travel experience, homesickness etc., but then assigns the listening of the song as homework. By giving students the website URL and the lyrics sheet with words missing, the teacher saves valuable time that can be used for writing and discussion. It also allows those students who need to listen to the song more than once the opportunity to do so and learn at their own pace. As we know, some students enjoy speaking in a foreign language, while others enjoy writing more. The worksheet activity of Study Phase 3 could be assigned as individual activity instead of group activity. This gives students who need it more time to form their sentences. They can then share their ideas and show their writing skills. In addition, it is a good idea to collect the worksheets so that students also get a detailed feedback from the teacher. Other useful songs: Imagine (John Lennon) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkgkThdzX-8 What have they done to the rain (Joan Baez) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIV_wh5rNZE I want to break free (Queen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Mc-NYPHaQ Isn’t it ironic (Alanis Morissette) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc Beautiful Day (U2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co6WMzDOh1o Summary Students usually find songs and melodies interesting, even though they may not be their favorite genre. They are generally motivated and more enthusiastic, although they work with grammar and sometimes abstract concepts. Using songs is a more playful approach towards grammar and vocabulary acquisition and gives students a direct insight in the culture, the traditions, the worries of everyday life or the history of a specific English-speaking country. Joyful music helps students relax and have a positive attitude towards language learning. The reasons why music seems to make learning grammar and vocabulary so much easier for students may be because students have all the lyrics minus a few words printed in front of them and they can work with a partner or prepare at home, or because they like the song or the songwriter and want to sing the song themselves. A third reason may be that these activities are not part of the textbook. Oftentimes, students seem to be more open towards the grammar in a song than towards the grammar in a chapter of the textbook. That is why it is a good idea to use songs in foreign language teaching, especially when teaching the four skills listening, reading, speaking and writing.