Music is an amazing tool for teaching languages, especially to children. Good songs will bounce around in a learner's head long after their lesson is over. Young learners pick up vocabulary, grammatical structures, and the rhythm of the language simply by doing what they already love to do...sing.
In addition, music can serve a variety of functions in your classroom, at home, or even in the car. Music can set a mood. Music can signal a transition from one activity to another (for both the teacher and the student). Music can be a bonding experience. Here are some of the ways I use music in our classrooms here at Knock Knock English.
Play music as background music right from the start of the lesson.
Just as you take care to make your learning environment visually appealing and stimulating, you should also note the effect that music has on the atmosphere in the classroom. Entering a classroom can be intimidating for people of any age. For children learning a foreign language, it can be particularly daunting. Music can really help to make your classroom warm and inviting.
A typical lesson for me starts with Knock Knock Hello playing in the background. It's a very welcoming song that signals to young children that it's English time. I greet students at the door and as they come into the classroom and sit down, they'll usually start singing or humming along.
With super energetic classes, I use soothing music in the background at the beginning of class, such as any of the lullaby medleys from the Super Simple Songs CDs, some classical music, or some of my favorite Hawaiian music. With quieter, shier groups, I'll often have upbeat, even silly music playing to start class. Use music to set a tone right from the start of class.
Play music to signal transitions to the students.
Children react to music in a way that they don't react to anything else. When a song comes on they recognize and like, they'll notice right away. In our classes, we use songs to welcome students to class, to say hello, to lead into circle-time activities, to signal when it's time to clean up or practice ABCs or read a story, etc. etc. etc. The students know exactly what to do when they hear the music and begin singing along right away. And even when we don't play music as a cue, the students are so familiar with the language from the songs ("Clean up", "Make a circle", "Please sit down", etc.) that they respond quickly to the teacher's directions and often begin singing on their own.
Play music to signal transitions to the teacher.
When I plan my classes, I loosely plan music to accompany the whole class. I use my iPod so I don't need to change CDs during class. Before a 50-minute class, I'll make a digital playlist of about 70 minutes worth of music (50 minutes worth of class-time music plus 4-5 songs to use as back-ups if I need a change of pace).
If you don't have a digital music player, all of the Super Simple Songs CDs are arranged to work great in a class playing from start to finish. Each CD starts with a welcoming song, a hello song, an active song, etc., and then finishes with a goodbye song and a lullaby. You can just put the CD on and let it play. When you get to times when you need to concentrate on an activity, you can just turn the volume down and leave the music playing in the background.
When I'm lesson planning, I include a gentle welcoming song, a hello song, a get-up-and-move song, a circle-time song, an abc song, a song introducing some vocabulary target for the lesson, a clean-up song, a storytime song, and a goodbye song. Between many of the songs I'll include some gentle background music such as the Super Simple Songs lullaby medleys or some classical music. Plus I'll also include several other favorites I can play if one of the activities I had planned doesn't go over well.
When the Hello! song starts, we all start singing. When Hello! finishes and the get-up-and-move song (such as Walking Walking or Seven Steps) starts, we all start singing and dancing with that song. When that is finished and the Make A Circle song starts, we all come together and make a circle. When that song finishes and we are all seated in a circle, some relaxing classical music will come on signaling to me, the teacher, that it's time to start my planned activity, and signaling to the students that it's time for them to settle down and listen to the teacher. When the activity is finished, I'll forward to the next song on my playlist (maybe the Clean Up song or another active song) and that will signal to everyone what the next activity is.
Planning your classes with musical cues not only helps the students recognize what is happening next, but it helps you as a teacher move smoothly between activities.
Play music to manage the energy level of the class.
You never know for sure what kind of energy level young children are going to come to class with. One day, you have a class full of children bouncing off the walls with energy (often on rainy days when they can't go outside to play), the next day the same kids seem like they are moving in slow motion. Music really helps to calm down a rowdy class, or give a class a needed boost of energy.
I use the lullaby medleys on all the Super Simple Songs CDs when we want to create a calming environment in class, as well as several of the slower-paced Learn It versions of the songs on each CD. Sometimes, when a class is full of energy, they need to let it all out before settling down, so I'll play super active songs such as Walking Walking, Seven Steps, Count and Move, Hokey Pokey Shake, We All Fall Down, or The Pinocchio. When those songs are finished, most kids are a little tired and ready to settle down and concentrate.
Play music to introduce new language.
Songs are a great way to teach new language to youngsters. Even when children don't fully understand all the lyrics, they'll be excited to sing. But when you have songs with simple lyrics that kids can dance and do gestures to, the children sing and learn SO quickly.
In my classes, we use songs as part of the learning experience for all of the language themes we are introducing in class. If we are learning colors, we'll sing I See Something Blue and/or I See Something Pink. If we are practicing counting, we'll try Five Little Monkeys or Count and Move. If we are practicing likes and dislikes, we'll sing Do You Like Broccoli Ice Cream? Whatever the theme, we use songs to help teach the vocabulary in a way you just can't do with other activities. When you are singing and dancing, you interact with the language in so many ways. You are practicing listening comprehension, you are vocalizing, you are interpreting the language with movement... and all in a way that is fun and non-threatening to young learners.
When you use songs that can be taught through gestures, very little pre-teaching is necessary. Teachers can seat the students in a circle, teach some very simple gestures, and then play the music while everyone gestures along. Most kids will sing along right away, but even the kids who aren't ready to sing will be able to participate with gestures.
Play music to review language.
Singing songs is a fantastic way to quickly and easily review language you've previously practiced in class. One of the great things about using music to learn is that people just don't forget songs they have learned. I could sing a few lyrics from a song you haven't heard in 20 years and you would likely be able to sing the next line with no problems.
In all of my classes I include a couple of songs to review language we learned in earlier classes. The children love to sing some of their old favorites and it's great to see the amount of language they've amassed. Occasionally, we'll have an all-singing, all-dancing class and sing ALL of our favorites.
Music is such a powerful learning tool. If you don't use much music in your classroom, give it a try...it will make an immediate impact. If you do use music, think of ALL the ways you can be using it to make your classroom a warmer, more effective learning environment. |
