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Teach English in Gushi Zhen - Weinan Shi

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Nowadays the ESA method is used all over the world to teach English. ESA are the first letters of the phases of an English language lesson. These three elements are; Engage, Study and Activate. The classic method only included study phase. It wasn’t important to teach how to speak the foreign language at past. However it is a big issue now. It is hard to improve speaking skills in a country where English isn’t the first language as the students aren’t surrounded by English and don’t have the opportunity to practice realistic situations. Although it isn’t advised to use authentic materials for beginners, it is good to use them for following levels. As they are real, they help the teachers to maintain interest througout the lessons. Furthermore students feel confident when they understand them. One of the most popular real materials are songs. How can we use the songs in order to teach English? This question will be the main subject of this essay. Music is universal. It connects cultures and people. That’s why it makes songs a strong teaching tool. An other advantage is that anyone can reach them, songs are available everywhere. The first thing to do while using music in a lesson is to select a song. This task is the most essential part. The song should be right according to class’ level, age, culture, interest and the teacher’s aim. Music can mostly be used in activate part however I strongly believe that teachers can use the songs for the whole phases. To explain in detail; for example in the engage phase teacher can start with getting students just listen the song and enjoy it. In this phase teacher shouldn’t be so serious and correct all the faults. Asking questions about the title of the song can make students tend to start talking. After getting the students start to talk and think in English, teacher can start the study phase. While listenning the song again, teacher can hand in the lyrics as a worksheet with gapfilling or matching. After letting them try to do the exercises, teacher can explain the new vocabulary (it can also give the teacher some opportunity to teach idioms) or take their attention to the grammar. At the last part of the study phase teacher can give the right answers of the questions. For the activate phase the class can be divided into groups to discuss about the subject of the song or to make a questionaire about the subject of the song then share the results with the whole class. Teacher can end the lesson with singing the song all together so even the shy students can be activated. Also the teacher can tell them to learn their favourite song and prepare to sing it in front of the class in the following lessons. If teachers advise students the websites such as www.lyricstraining.com , students can go on practising with songs at home. Here is a list of songs and some idea to focus on a specific English lesson in order to highlight how we can use songs while teaching English. The Name of The Singer & Song Suggestion for Study Phase Questions For Activity Phase Bruno Mars If Clause & Phrasal Verbs What is trust? Count on me Vocabulary Is trust important in (toss and turn, find out, relationships? suppose, count on) Whom do you count on? Why? Pink Present Simple Tense What is true love? True Love Vocabulary (slap,hug,wrap) What kind of behaviour breaks your heart? One Republic Progressive Tenses Why he can’t sleep? Counting Stars Passive Voice Which one is more important love or Money? Beyonce If clause Do boys and girls behave If I were a boy Vocabulary differently in a relationship? (stick up, chase, grant, get confronted) Why does the singer wants to be a boy? Mika Present Simple Tense Do you have any fobia? Relax, Take İt easy Vocabulary What you do when you feel afraid? (scared, terrified, relax, blame, take it easy, scream) Nursery Ryhmes like Old McDonald, Wheels On The Bus, Twinkle Twinkle Little star, BINGO, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, 12345 Once I caught a Fish Alive, Hickory Dickory Dock, Humpty Dumty, I’m a little Teapot, If You’re Happy and You Know It, Incy Wincy Spider, 5 Little Ducks, Jack and Jill, Marry had a Little Lamb, 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on The bed, The Hokey Pokey, 10 ın The Bed, Rind Aroun The Rossie, Teddy Bear are really fun for children and they will help teachers develop their English. In my opinion songs are a great way to take students’ attention and boost their retention regardless of their age, nationality, culture and language. Not only boosting interest but also the songs will improve the listenning skills of the students. Moreover they will lead to a good discussion in the class and help to teach new vocabulary and to practice grammar. As soon as the teacher chooses the appropriate song according to the level of the class, lyrics will be beneficial at teaching English.


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