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Teach English in Shiliang Zhen - Yantai Shi

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Introduction “Let’s all sing-a-long! One…two…three…GO!!”. I remember the look of my students just as we were about to sing “Head, Shoulder, Knees, and Toes” at the English camp I was volunteering at in Seoul, South Korea. All the students were so attentive and excited. I could see their mouth opening wide, trying to sing each word clearly and loudly. They didn’t care what the other students thought of them because the classroom was singing together. Even at the end of the activity, I noticed some students kept on singing the song . Songs really bring many benefits to the classroom and the learning process of the English language. Songs Create an Enjoyable Learning Environment in the Classroom There will be days where it gets harder to control the classroom when it comes to behavior among the older young learners. You will have kids talking over you and being loud. However, I remember when I turned on a song, the whole classroom settled down and turned their attentions toward the tune. They were much more relaxed and were ready to start learning. I noticed that with the young learners, they tend to shy away but with a singing activity, you notice the change of expression and attitude in the student. They are much more relaxed and less anxious during this time. It will encourage the students to take part on their own accord and not by force. Songs are not just a great way to set a positive atmosphere in the classroom but a great way for young learners to learn English. Songs Encourage Students to Speak English When teaching English to young learners, it is very difficult for them to constantly practice speaking in English. Especially, with their limited vocabularies they will always turn to their mother language to speak to their peers. But when using a song that has repetitive words or phrases, the students are encouraged to say those few words to a friend or a teacher. They won’t have to worry about making a mistake because using words or phrases from a song is fun. It will definitely keep the students excited and wanting to speak in English a lot more. Songs Inspire Students to “Study” at Home Naturally One of the things I worry about as an English teacher is wondering if the students study at home. This is really hard for students who have parents that don’t know English and will have a less of a chance to use the language at home. However, when a teacher introduces a well-known pop-song or a children song to the young learners, they will go back home, wanting to listen to the song more in their own time. It won’t be another homework or task from school, but it will become something they want to freely do at home. The more English songs they listen to, the more they will find other songs to learn from as well. Songs have this way of having children learn English naturally and enthusiastically no matter where they are. Conclusion There are many more reasons about why songs should be used more often to teach English in the young learners’ classroom. Songs are authentic materials from which students can learn and find in their own time from many web resources. Not only does a song encourage students to practice and learn the language, it also helps the teacher to achieve a positive and an exciting environment in the classroom. It will help the shy and anxious students to participate a lot more, never having to feel judged from their other peers because they are doing a fun singing activity all together. Therefore, songs should be implemented more among the young learners when learning the English language.


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