Teach English in Qingcheng Zhen - Zibo Shi

One of the most important ways that we interact across cultural divides is through artistic expression. Through the use of sculptures, paintings, dance, and song we learn about the history of others and the language. It is the process of learning that makes it important to use songs as a resource in the classroom. Although songs are a great source of historical and lyrical study for native speakers, they can also be used in a variety of ways in the ESL classroom. Songs can be used as a study technique when learning new vocabulary. In beginning ESL classes it is important to start the process of learning using the alphabet, phonetics, or both. In most ESL classrooms in which I’ve taught, my younger students started by learning simple letters and letter clusters. Once letters were learned students were given a list of five to ten words and taught how to pronounce the words. Through a series of activities, students were drilled using pictures to form a picture-word association. During the activities, a few students learned the words, while the other students struggled to make picture-word associations. As a result, this method yielded positive results in less than thirty percent of the class. However, after trying matching exercises and games, it was concluded that students responded more positively to the use of songs as a means of instruction and summative assessment. I believe that songs worked better than traditional studies due to their daily level of exposure. Before attending school, many of the student's introduction to English came in the form of movies, music videos, and audiobooks. By using music it gave them a familiar platform to practice their vocabulary. Additionally, songs can be used among older learners to study grammar, stress, pronunciation and more. More importantly, students can learn intonation when mimicking songs from movies as well as musicals. While teaching in South Korea, I came across the practice of teaching my students intonation, grammar, and stress through songs completely by mistake. While students were working on their practice work I decided to play a song from the Disney movie, Moana. Immediately, all of the students began singing the song word for word. A reward meant to be played quietly quickly became another activity that I could use to strengthen students language abilities. I realized how important it was to use materials that had never been used, that students were familiar with, and made the students more willing to talk with their peers. So, why is it important to use more familiar authentic materials? It’s important because using more familiar resources creates a pathway of success, reacquaints students with unconscious prior knowledge and helps to slowly builds their confidence. Let us consider how young learners engage and learn within the classroom. No student is born knowing how to dance or speak their language. So, like their local tongue, it takes time and practice to master sounds and understand the meaning of words. By using educational songs students learn by association. For example, let’s say that students are learning about the different parts of the body. Head, shoulders, knees, and toes is a prime example of using a mnemonic device to remember. Why does this process work? It works because it uses a process called chunking to create pathways with the brain that form synaptic connections/ links to what students already know. As a result, the information is more likely to remain in their long term memory. In conclusion, songs are one of the most important resources that we can use in the classroom. Not only does it assist in student learning of grammar, intonation, and stress, it also allows them to have additional talk time. With extra time to talk, students are allowed to be engaged in the learning process and connect to the world outside of the classroom.