English camp:Dynamic Activities for Song in the EFL Classroom

Study Guide: Beyond the Gapfill: Dynamic Activities for Song in the EFL Classroom

 Article by Nico Lorenzutti

Study Guide by Lara Ravitch

From the article:

Lorenzutti, N. (2014). Beyond the Gapfill: Dynamic Activities for Song in the EFL Classroom. English Teaching Forum, 52(1), 14-21. Retrieved from https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/52_1_4_lorenzutti.pdf

Overview

Teaching English through songs is popular because it is fun for students. It also provides a rich context for language. Another advantage is the cultural connection it creates. However, teachers often do boring activities with music. The most common activity is the gap fill. Students listen to the music and fill in gaps in the text. Then, they listen again to check their answers. However, this is definitely not the only activity that students can do with music. This article describes some other activities to try in the language classroom.

A Basic Framework for Incorporating Songs

There are three stages for listening activities. Of course, these stages should also be used for listening to songs.

1.    Pre-listening. Students build their background knowledge.

2.    While listening. Students listen to the song and complete a task at the same time.

3.    Post-listening. Students analyze vocabulary and intended meaning.

This article focuses on activities for the “While listening” stage.

The Double Gap Fill

To make the gap fill more useful, start filling in gaps in lyrics after the pre-listening stage. Students can use grammatical knowledge, lexical knowledge and their new content knowledge to make guesses about the missing words. This is helpful because students do not have to focus on listening at this stage. They can focus on structure and meaning.

Seven Dynamic Song Activities

Activity 1: Song Pictures

This activity is for novice to intermediate learners. They draw pictures of the words they hear. This activity practices new vocabulary. It also helps students understand English stress patterns. Because content words are stressed, they will hear those words the best. After playing the song several times, the students trade papers and try to identify each other’s drawings.

Activity 2: Re-Order It

This activity is for novice to intermediate learners. Students practice listening for key words and main ideas.

Choose 8-14 words from a song. Put them in a grid. (See example below.) Before students listen to the song, say the words out loud and have the students repeat them. This step prepares their ears for picking out the words in the song. Then play the song. Students number the words in the order in which they hear them. After the first listening, students compare with a partner; then the song is played again so that they may check their answers.

Activity 3: Matching Meanings

This activity is for reviewing or extending vocabulary. It can also help with guessing words and explaining what you mean when you don’t know a word.

Level: Novice high to advanced

Select 8 to 15 words and write definitions in the order the words are heard in the song. (See Figure 4 below.)

Divide the class into pairs or teams. Hand out the sheet with the definitions, or write the chart on the board. Have students guess each word from the definition and write their answers in the Guess column. Elicit guesses from the class and write them on the board. Play the song and have students write down the correct words in the Actual Word column as they hear them. Have students check with their partner or group. Play the song again. Distribute the lyrics and ask students to find any words they did not catch.

Activity 4: Changing the Text

This activity can be used for many things. To practice grammar, the students can change verb tense. To practice pronunciation, they can change letters.

First, go over background information. Then, put students in pairs and give them a handout of the lyrics (see Figure 5). Tell students that one word in each line is incorrect; it has been replaced with a word that rhymes with or sounds similar to the correct word. Have students look at an example: “Excavating for a wine.” Then ask them to look at the key words: excavating and wine. Do these words go together? Excavating means “dig-ging.” The singer is a miner; where do miners work? Finally, ask students to read the remaining lyrics and underline the words they think are incorrect. This step allows them to go over the lyrics once with a partner and, before the listening, create a roadmap for themselves of words they will focus on and change.

Activity 5: Song Strip Connections

This activity can be used to raise awareness of coherence. It is also useful (depending on the song or text used) for noticing complex sentence structures such as conditionals and relative clauses.

Select a song and divide each line into two parts or clauses. Make cards using colored paper: the first half of each line will be on one type of colored paper (white), and the second half will be on another (blue).

Students work in small groups. Pass out the first half of the lyric cards (white) only. Have students spread them out on the table. Play the song. Students listen and arrange the cards in a column so that the lyrics are in order. Play the song again so that students can check their work. Then, distribute the blue cards to each group. Students complete each sentence with the correct ending. Once they have constructed the song this way, play and check. Then ask them to analyze the lyrics in groups. Finally, they report to the class on what they think the song is about.

Activity 6: Song Cards – Take-Sort-Write

This song activity can be used for vocabulary or sentence stress. Choose 12–20 vocabulary words or phrases and write each one on an individual card. Arrange students in groups of four to six and spread the cards face-up on a table or desk. Students say the words out loud one by one. This step prepares their ears for catching the selected words during the first listening. It also allows them to become familiar with the position of the words on the table. Then play the song. Students compete to grab and keep the word cards they hear. The student or team with the most cards by the end of the song wins. For a non-competitive game, provide several sets of cards for each group.

Activity 7: Pair Watching

This activity helps to prepare students for writing.

Find a music video that tells a good visual story. Videos with a lot of inter-esting action work best. Divide students (A and B) into pairs. Seat students in two rows, facing each other; Partner A has his or her back to the screen. Have Partner B watch 15–20 seconds of the video. Press pause, and have Partner B describe what he or she saw to Partner A. Switch and repeat until the video is finished.