7 Ways to Use Songs and Music in the ESL - EFL Classroom

By:Craig Peterson

For teachers of ESL and EFL, it is necessary to go beyond the book and use alternative activities in the classroom. What could be more fun than using songs to teach English? Here are seven ways that you can use music to make your classroom more exciting.
Cloze or Fill-In-The-Blank Worksheets
One of the simplest ways to introduce a song is to remove all appearances of the grammar point from the lyrics. For example, if the grammar point is adjectives, and the lyrics are, "I'm so tired," the fill-in-the-blank worksheet will show, "I'm so ______." Give your students the worksheets and have them try to fill in the blanks while listening to the song.
Scrambled Lyrics
Another popular activity is to cut up all the lyrics. Most people seperate them by line, but you could even do it by phrase, that's your choice. Divide the class into teams and give each team a set of lyrics. Play the song and have them try to put all the lines in the correct order.
Act Out The Verb
If the song you are playing uses a lot of verbs, play the song for them once without any lyrics. Every time the students recognize a verb, they have to act it out. This can be a lot of fun and gets the class relaxed.
Listening for Points
To introduce a song to the class, divide them into two teams. Explain that the song contains a certain grammar point that you have been studying. If someone hears that grammar point, they must raise their hand. If they identify it correctly, their team gets a point. It's a good idea to pause the song at this point so that you don't miss anything.
Theme-based Songs
If the song you are using is not related to a specific grammar point, but instead to a theme, that's okay! Play the song first without the lyrics and have students write down anything they hear that is relevant to the theme: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.
Combinations of Topics
Of course, the above activities can be combined or altered to make different activities. For example, Act Out The Verb and Listening for Points could be combined to make a fun and competitive activity. I find that students often get more involved when it is a competition, even if there isn't a prize!
Sing the Song!
After any activity, remember to take a few minutes and sing the song as a class! The students enthusiasm will be influenced by yours, so be excited about it. Singing the song after these games will give your students a sense of accomplishment. They have just learned some authentic material and are proud of it!
Craig Peterson
http://www.eslsongsource.com