Teach English in Liuguanzhuang Zhen - Rizhao Shi

Several years ago, I taught at two English language summer camps in rural South Korea; one for middle school students and one for elementary school students. Each class had challenges and advantages associated with variables related to age group, familiarity and prior exposure to English, and individual interests and motivations amongst the students. Having been instructed to rely solely on the course books provided at each camp, the lessons were pre-prescribed and left little-to-no room for deviation, which often led to boredom and disinterest caused by materials and topics that did not meet the goals, needs, and/or interests of all students being taught. While a handful of students had little-to-no experience in a formal English class setting prior to the camp, one trend across classes was their familiarity with American pop culture – particularly in the form of songs and music videos. The vast majority of the students at the English language camps fell into the beginner category, and as is suggested throughout the course, beginner English language learners fall into the ‘special group’ category. That said, teaching beginners requires a teacher to be clear, concise, and patient, while also being considerate of the interests and needs of the students. Students that are uninterested in the lessons are less likely to participate, retain information, and remain engaged with both the class and the teacher. In exploring student interests and motivations outside of lessons, our middle school students were quick to point out the use of English words, phrases, and sentences in popular Korean pop songs, and our elementary school students were quite interested in American songs that were popular across the globe. Rather than allow the students to keep to themselves to discuss their interests in English-language pop culture outside of class, my colleagues and I found it beneficial to set time aside to study the basic, beginning English words and terms in the students’ favorite songs to garner their interest in the language and in the subject. The students were eager not only to sing and understand their favorite songs, but also to find and create actions to associate them with; and a number of groups in our classes used this as an opportunity to act out skits or dances that corresponded to the music and its lyrics. While it is true that a number of foreign songs use occasional English words or phrases, the use of songs to develop English language are likely to be more effective if they are fully in English. This is similar to the way that the use of students’ native language can be problematic in the classroom because the teacher’s job is to have students practicing in and improving upon their English language skills. The use of songs as opposed to a lecture or reading changes the pace of the classroom while making things interesting and allowing students to practice their receptive skills. Keeping students interested in and engaged with the lesson not only increases the likelihood that they will retain information, participate, and develop the confidence to use what they’ve learned, but it also reduces opportunities for problem behavior. It is possible that not all students are familiar with or interested in the same songs, so a teacher should be mindful to mix things up and encouraging use of English to keep all students engaged. Unfamiliarity or discomfort with the level of language/words used in songs may lead to reluctancy, so when using songs for English improvement, it’s recommended that a teacher use pair/group work, controlled practice, and role-play scenarios (such as a skit as mentioned above). Above all, songs are a form of authentic material because they fall into the infinite list of things that a native speaker is likely to hear, read, or come across. Although authentic materials have the ability to be selected and geared towards the particular interests of students and allow students to develop a sense of confidence in comprehending them, it is important that teachers remember that they are not designed with EFL students in mind. The same applies to songs, as some songs (and even parts of songs) are easier to comprehend and break down than others. For this reason, it might be in a teacher’s best interest to pick out the clearer, more simple parts of popular pop songs that the students might be familiar with, or to use kids songs such as the alphabet or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to develop familiarity and build up skills. As with other topics covered throughout the course, some form of an Engage, Study, Activate (ESA) method can and should be applied in the English teaching process. The engage phase is meant to get students involved in the lesson and thinking and speaking in English. The study phase is used to teach students the language, how it is constructed, and how it is applied. The activate phase is used to encourage language usage (based on what they have learned and already know) among students. Example activities that could take place in an ESA lesson that uses English songs to improve English vocabulary and grammar/sentence structure may include the following activities: Engage – Provide the class with extracts from top popular English songs and have students discuss who the artists are, what the songs are, and what the songs are about, get the students thinking and speaking in English and elicit what other popular songs students might be familiar with. During my time teaching, for example, a couple of songs my students were familiar with were “Marry You” by Bruno Mars and “Baby” by Justin Bieber. Study – Discuss vocabulary from a popular song that may be unfamiliar, write them on the board, have students complete a gap-fill activity filling in the blanks for popular English songs, have students complete a matching worksheet where they match commonly-used English nouns to pictures, etc. Activate – In pairs or groups have students write a short song based on the English words and phrases from songs they know/are interested in.