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There are many different techniques we use when teaching English to those who do not use English as their first language. What better way to teach a new language, than the use of some simple catchy songs, that stick in your head after you have heard it a few times or even just hearing it once. Using songs is a very effective way to retain information taught and it is fun too. Students of all ages like and listen to music, whether it is to just calm down, study, party or even just for the sake of having some noise in the background. Music or songs also stimulate the listening skill as students have to listen to know the lyrics. Over time, it is easier for them to learn some new vocabulary as this skill is developing much quicker. There are many reasons as to why it is important to use music or songs in the ESL classroom. Let’s look at a few. The first reason it is important is, because songs almost always contain authentic or natural language. Songs could make some very difficult language, found in some student texts, easier to understand and promote correct usage. Also, be aware that some songs might go to the extreme, where some foul and crude language will be used and is unacceptable in class. So before using songs in the classroom, it is important that the teacher listens to the song before it is used in the lesson. And with careful screening, teachers could build up an extensive library for language learning. Students can be introduced to a variety of new vocabulary. Songs almost always are directed to the native-speakers of the population and usually contain idioms and expressions which could be useful in the student’s everyday life or just broaden their vocabulary. Songs are very easily memorized and usually not that difficult to obtain. Songs from local sources, as well as the students themselves, could be used and if needed there is always the internet which can connect you with many different kinds of songs. Songs can be selected to best suit the needs and interests of the students in your class. There are many different kinds of songs in the English language and therefore finding or selecting songs with suitable themes and vocabulary would not be difficult at all. Depending on your students level of English, you can decide which songs would best suit their abilities and language skills. The usage of songs that contain complex language would not suit a beginner student and using too simple a song would bore the more advanced students. You can introduce some grammar and cultural aspects through the use of songs. A lot of songs have a recurring theme or story which makes it easier to use the cultural elements of the song, but this is often an overlooked aspect of using songs. The length of a song could easily be controlled no matter how much time you have left in a class finding time to plan a song into your lesson is very easy as songs are very flexible and as a teacher you could control the length of the song by either just playing the most important parts of the song or by selecting a full song more suitable for the time that you have left in the lesson. The usage of songs can help the students experience a lot of different accents. There are many different accents, such as; British English, American English and even Caribbean English, and all these accents are widely available through songs. Accents are also however region based, as you can get different accents in one country just as an example England’s Geordie accent which sounds totally different from the accent used in London. So in conclusion to my findings there are many different ways and reasons as to why we should use songs in an ESL classroom and it is also important for teachers to choose songs that are suitable for the students that they are teaching. Songs can help students retain information a lot easier and faster and they could get some useful grammar knowledge from songs. Songs contain a lot of authentic language and therefore acts as a native English tool for students and teachers. References: www.eslbase.com/teaching/using-songs-to-teach
