This song lesson plan for English language teaching is designed to be adaptable to any proficiency level. The activity takes approximately 30-45 minutes and can be tailored to meet the specific needs and interests of your students.
Using Songs to Enhance English Learning
A song lesson plan is an effective way to learn English for many reasons:
- Authentic Language Exposure
- Songs introduce authentic, natural language that students encounter in real-life situations. This helps learners grasp practical vocabulary and usage beyond textbook examples.
- Cultural Insights
- Songs reflect cultural aspects of the target language, providing learners with a deeper understanding of the language’s context and cultural nuances.
- Versatile Teaching Tool
- Songs can be used to teach various language points, including grammar, vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and pronunciation, making them a versatile resource in language instruction.
- Listening Skills Development
- Using songs is a joyful activity that fosters listening skills. Students can improve their ability to understand spoken English in a fun and engaging way.
- Engaging and Fun
- Songs are inherently enjoyable, creating a lively and motivating learning environment. This can help reduce anxiety and make students more receptive to learning.
For a deeper dive into why teachers should use songs in ELT, check out this previous post:
Materials Needed
To implement this activity, you’ll need the following:
- A suitable song for your class and copies of the lyrics. (Find interesting songs for your students here: Songs and Lyrics for EFL and ESL Students)
- A set of cards for each group of 5 students. Each set contains about 20 words, some from the song and others similar in meaning or sound to the words from the song.
Level and Timing
- Level: This activity is suitable for intermediate to advanced students, but it can be adapted for lower levels by selecting simpler songs and words.
- Timing: The activity takes approximately 30-45 minutes, depending on the song length and the follow-up discussion.
Song Lesson Plan: The Activity
This song lesson plan is a listening activity that includes pre-listening, while-listening, and post-listening activities. It is important to choose a song that appeals to students’ needs and language proficiency level to ensure engagement and effective learning.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of this song lesson plan:
Pre-Listening Activities
First, choose an appropriate song.
To find some interesting songs for your students go to this page: Songs and lyrics for EFL and ESL students
Next, prepare the students for the song.
1. Introduction to the Song:
- Provide some background information about the song and the artist to pique students’ interest.
2. Prediction Tasks:
- Give each group a set of word cards.
- Instruct students to spend a few minutes laying out the cards and discussing what they think the song is about.
3. Brainstorming
- To help students brainstorm, ask guiding questions such as:
- Do you think it’s sad or happy?
- Is it a love song?
- Why? Which words make you think that?
4. Vocabulary Pre-Teaching:
- Introduce key vocabulary and phrases from the song that might be unfamiliar to the students.
While-Listening Activities
- Listening and Checking Predictions
- Ask students to listen and check their predictions.
- Listening and Identifying
- Inform students that only some of the words are in the song. They’ll listen to the song to identify which words are actually present.
- As they listen, students should grab the cards with words they hear in the song.
- Competition
- Students compete within their groups to grab as many correct words as possible.
- Award +1 point for each correct card and -1 point for each incorrect card.
- Verification
- After listening, have students count their cards. Distribute the lyrics and ask them to verify their words.
- The student with the highest number of points in each group is the winner.
- Comprehension Questions
- Play the song once for students to listen and answer questions while they listen, focusing on the main idea, themes, or specific details in the song.
Post-Listening Activities
Here are examples of activities for the post-listening stage:
- Reading Comprehension
- Use the lyrics as a text for reading comprehension exercises.
- Language Work
- Analyze specific language points, such as metaphors, idiomatic expressions, and grammar points, found in the lyrics.
Follow-up Activities
As follow-up activities try the following activities:
- Discussion: Facilitate a class discussion about the song’s themes, messages, and cultural context. Ask students how they relate to the song and what emotions it evokes.
- Creative Tasks: Engage students in creative tasks such as rewriting parts of the lyrics, creating a music video storyboard, or performing the song.
- Follow-Up Tasks: Use the song as a basis for further language activities, such as writing a review, summarizing the story, or creating role-plays based on the song’s narrative.
- Sing-Along: Encourage the class to sing the song together, reinforcing pronunciation
Conclusion
Integrating a song lesson plan into your teaching can create a dynamic and enjoyable learning experience that enhances language skills and cultural understanding.
