Teach English in Lingquan Zhen - Luliang Shi

There is something quite intriguing about a song, for it almost always draws the attention of the listener, and evokes a reaction within the one hearing it. I find this to be true regardless of whether one understand the words being sung or not. As a lover of music, I believe songs and their significance in everyday life is best described in the following quote, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato Songs, lyrical poems set to music, composed on a thousand different days, in a thousand different ways, through the course of history across a broad spectrum of cultures, peoples and places. Each unique, many passed down through the ages, either in some recorded format in the written word (sometimes accompanied by sheet music), or verbatim from generation to generation in the oral tradition. The English Language is no exception. There is an appreciation for music inherent in most individuals I’ve encountered. It is safe to say that most people have experience with songs and music, from hearing their first lullaby in the dreamlike recesses of that jumble of memories one distantly recalls from infancy, to the loud cacophony of sounds and voices when attending your first live concert or performance, or listening to your favourite tracks on your mobile phone. One of the first songs I ever learned was the “abc song” (which originated in 1865) and this is true of most native English speakers I have encountered. I daresay it’s a song I have taught to young learners myself. To my knowledge this song is also taught to English second/foreign language students in kindergarten and primary school along with a selection of other learning songs repeated year after year along with activities, worksheets and homework in progressively increased levels of difficulty. There are however songs which go further back in my memory, from a time where I was only starting to speak and make sense of the world in which I’d found myself. One such song was “Ring a ring of roses” (which I learned before attending school), and another would be “Rock a bye baby” which was usually a favourite at bedtime. The above are all crucial songs and nursery rhymes in my personal English language learning experience, which helped me learn the language and practice fluency through repetition in a fun way. I was learning without realizing I was learning at all. I remember being presented with a rose, and as I extended my hand to take the pretty flower, my mother repeated the word rose continuously while drawing my attention to the flower in her hand. I remember having a eureka moment, as the word was familiar, it was the word from the song we (my siblings and I) sang as we skipped in a circle in the back yard before shouting “A-ti-shoo, a-ti-shoo, we all fall down” and falling on the ground rolling in laughter. Of course, we got up and repeated the exercise again, for what now seems like the umpteenth time in hindsight, and it was greatly amusing to have my aunt playing along and being all silly about it. Ring a ring of roses my grandma sings, as she takes out a necklace of paper roses woven through with light rope and places it over my head, letting it rest about my shoulders, and yes, I get the idea that this is what the ring of roses refers to. As a little girl I was very attracted to this necklace of pretty, multicoloured flowers, and the joy I felt in possessing it burned this particular memory quite vividly into my mind. Similarly, I might add, the abc song and other nursery rhymes were learnt, memorized and later explained with visual aids in a fun yet informative teaching style. The tune was catchy, the lyrics were captivating, and the childhood need for praise meant that I caught on quite quickly that getting the song right (the right tune, the correct pronunciation, and the right actions, etc.) meant certain and immediate approval from the adults. A little while ago, I found myself in a teaching position without any teaching experience, and no one to show me the ropes. Fortunately, I have plenty of experience in teaching younger siblings and family members of varying ages, thus I applied my early childhood learning experience to the task of teaching my students. I have always had a love of languages, and I’ve found myself tutoring fellow students in English and Afrikaans over the years, so it was no surprise that my technique worked, and my employer was greatly satisfied with the results. Recreation of both productive and receptive skills (writing and speaking; reading and listening) while learning by doing and seeing is all incorporated with the use of songs in the classroom. I rather fondly think about that stage in my life as my first exposure to language learning proficiency. My mother, grandmother, and aunt were the teachers, my siblings and I were their young learners, and our house (especially the living room) was nothing if not an unconventional classroom in which songs, rhymes and playtime were the medium of learning (and this was done mostly in English). My “teachers’ believed in the positive effect of classical music on the brain for increased concentration, focus and more effective learning. Songs bring English to life, and they are easily accessible through the internet. There are several sources on the internet, which (to my knowledge) quite adequately detail the correct/ most effective ways to use songs in the classroom, some of them specific to age and language learning level as well. The ones I’ve found most interesting are Cambridge English (www.cambridgeenglish.org), the British council (www.britishcouncil.org), and Youtube (www.youtube.com) for free songs, lyrics and ESL/EFL lessons advice. I’m certain to have a great deal of fun with songs in my classroom, and hopefully give “flight to the imagination” of my English students as well.