USING SONGS IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Cosmina Almășan , Colegiul Național „ Octavian Goga ” Sibiu
Abstract : Using songs in the ESL classroom has a series of advantages , ranging from improving student motivation , reinforcing grammatical structures , expanding the range of vocabulary , enhancing pronunciation to building fluency and offering a scope for creativity . Songs are a great source of authentic language and can be used both by the teacher to improve the students ’ skills and by the students , to create meaningful learning contexts .
Key words : vocabulary , grammar , culture , production , interaction
Music is an integral part of our lives and while we usually connect it to leisure activities and background noise for multitasking activities , it can be promoted to a more important role : a tool for education in the EFL classroom .
Songs are a great teaching medium , both enjoyable for the students and versatile when it comes to the multitude of ways in which they can be exploited . In a nutshell , as mentioned by Larry Lynch in the article 9 Reasons Why You Should Use Songs to Teach EFL , “ Songs contain authentic language , are easily obtainable , provide vocabulary , grammar and cultural aspects and are fun .”
While care must be taken when selecting songs to use , they are undoubtedly an invaluable source of authentic vocabulary structures that are sometimes hard to find in the officially approved coursebooks . That is not to say that anything goes , and if some content needs to be heavily curated due to incorrect use of the language or inappropriate content , then it is best to avoid awkward situations in the classroom . But leaving such situations aside , students are heavy consumers of music , and they will be more open to concentrating on both grammar and vocabulary when their interest is piqued .
Here are some ways in which songs can be exploited in the classroom to make learning more enjoyable and memorable .
Vocabulary development As lyrics are more often than not the creation of native speakers and directed at nativespeaking audiences , they usually contain contemporary vocabulary , idioms and expressions that go beyond the traditional ‘ classroom – language ’, which makes them a valuable source . Any song will lend itself to a discussion of vocabulary ( topic-based , idioms , collocations , phrasal verbs ).
Basic exercises focusing on exploiting vocabulary are listed below :
• Gap-filing exercises ( students get the lyrics with gaps to fill in before / while / after listening to the song )
• Matching / text - arranging exercises ( students get lines to match in the correct order after they listen to the song )
• Spot the mistakes ( students get lyrics which do not fully correspond to the track and must identify the mistakes while / after listening to the song )
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