Using Songs and Videos

Using songs and videos can be highly motivating for students. Such activities are not very challenging but at the same time can be extremely effective in learning English. However, a teacher should bear in mind that is not enough to find a song or a video. Useful exercises should be created in order to turn such a lesson into a motivating, fun and effective one

Activities with songs

1. Listen and choose the words you hear;
2. Listen and write the words you hear;
3. Listen and put the verses and the chorus in the correct order;
4. Listen and match the pictures to the verses and the chorus;
5. Listen and answer the questions about language;
6. Listen and describe where the song takes place;
7. Listen and write about why the singer wrote the song;

What can a teacher do with music in class?

• A teacher can ask students to research singers, bands, music industry or music awards;

• Some music and songs are connected to special moments (historical moments, or festival or sporting moments). A teacher can play some music and ask learners to match them to the special moments;

Ask them to choose a song for a memorable English lesson!

• Ask learners to find music to accompany dialogues or other texts they have read, or that match characters they have created;

• Ask learners to find out about music of other countries. Extend this activity by asking to explore the musical instruments, dance and traditions surrounding that music. They could then do a presentation that includes some short music clips;

• Play familiar jingles and ask your learners to identify the products they advertise. Ask them to come up with their own catchy rhyme to advertise something and choose a suitable short musical extract to accompany it;

• Ask your students to do a research. Give them the topic "sound effects in films". How do they produce the sound of a crackling fire? Learners can write a small play and act it out making sound effects;

• ‘Doodle video’. Tell them that they must listen very carefully to the words of a song because they’re going to illustrate them. Get your learners to take photos or draw pictures to match different parts of the song and put them all together to make a video;

Watch examples of "Doodle video" below

"If I put music on in the background while they’re working, they seem to work better. Music helps my teenagers to understand themselves and interact with others better. Phrases like ‘emotional development’, ‘reflection’ and ‘personal expression’ come to mind. You know, they listen to someone singing about friends or relationships or something and they think, ‘Hey that’s like me’."

  

Ideas how to use videos

• A teacher shows a short news clip with the sound off and asks students' suggestions. Then asks learners to write the commentary and read it in time with the clip. At the end plays the clip with the sound on and learners compare it with their suggested commentaries;

• ’Videotelling’. Instead of just giving learners questions to answer while they watch a video, you help learners to ‘see’ the images in their mind before they watch the video. It’s a bit like storytelling, but with a video – and you need to ask lots of questions too to keep them interested. At the end you show the video and if you’ve been clever, they’ll have a completely different idea;

• Ask your learners to video themselves giving their opinions rather than writing their opinions. They can then collate and share these videos, e.g. in a blog;

Links:

• http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/19104
• For ‘One-minute-news’ 

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/

news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/newsbeat/newsid_7875000/7875393.stm

news.sky.com/world

• For more information about ‘Doodle video’:

ddeubel.edublogs.org/2010/09/14/making-a-doodle-video-with-your-class/

• A seminar about videotelling: 

www.teachingenglish.org.uk/seminars/videotelling