Al-Ahmadi Educational ZoneAl-Dhaher Primary School for GirlsEnglish Department

Tips for teaching songsH.O.D :Amal Hassan ELT S: Hadiya El Enizy

Presented by: Doaa Mahmoud

Music is a great tool to

use in the classroom for

young learners who

are developing language

skills

Introduction

Here are few

suggestions

1. Introduce songs

as background

music first

When you hear a new song on the radio for the first time, you don't start singing along with it right away. You hear it a few times, and before you know, even if haven't been actively listening, soon you find yourself singing along. Nobody "teaches" you the song. Keep this in mind when introducing songs to young learners

When learning a new song, kids need to learn the tune, the tempo, the rhythm and sometimes even gestures and dance. We can't just focus on the lyrics. Even if they know the lyrics, they can't really sing the song until they know the tune. Help students learn the tune by playing the song as background music as they enter the classroom or while they are doing a quiet activity. The kids will internalize the tune, and when you formally introduce the song in class, you will be able to focus more on the words

Often, the children will start humming or singing the song on their own after hearing it once or twice, especially if the song is at their level.

For example, if you have plans to introduce a song in class, play the song on repeat in the background in an earlier lesson as the students are doing a sorting activity, making a craft, or coloring.

2.Input comes before output

• The first time or two you play a new song, have the students listen and do the gestures to the song with you. As they watch you and follow the gestures, they'll be learning the song in the process. After one or two times, they'll likely be singing along.

Listening comes before speaking, or in this case, singing. Don't expect your students to sing the songs right away.

• If you like, introduce a song in phases. First, demonstrate the vocabulary and gestures without the music, then listen to the song and do the gestures; finally, listen, gesture and sing.

3.Some songs don't need

much pre-teaching

When using active songs or songs

with lots of repetition, there is no

need to do much "pre-teaching."

Head and Shoulders Song

For example, to introduce an action verb song

like "Walking Walking," start walking around a

circle. Encourage the students to walk with you

as you say, "Walk" repeatedly. Then say, "Hop"

and start hopping. Next do "Run," Now put on the

song and do the actions as you listen. Don't worry

if the students don't know the words right away.

They'll have fun doing the actions, and will learn

the meaning by following you. The next week,

use the song again. This time, encourage them to

sing along. Now they know the words and

actions!

Active songs like this can be used again and

again. Each time you use the song, kids can learn

a little more. You don't need flashcards because

the students learn all of the language by doing

the actions. It's great when students can learn by

doing.

4. But Somesongs

do

Some songs are active but include a lot of new language. In this case, you may want to "pre-teach" some of the vocabulary. For example, if you are going to sing a song about parts of the body, you should introduce the parts before you sing the song. After reviewing the body parts, say, "Make a big circle!" Then play the music and do the gestures! It's easy to follow and there is a lot of repetition, so even if the students don't follow at first, they will definitely catch on by the end (and will be asking you to sing it again the next class!)You can also use picture cards to introduce new vocabulary. When using picture cards, try to teach a gesture along with each word.

5. Use visual aids

Some songs have more of a story to them and can be difficult to teach by gesture alone. For these, you can teach the song with visual aids. For example, classic rhymes/stories like "Five Little Monkeys," "Ten in the Bed," "The Wheels On The Bus," or "Old McDonald" all have many picture book versions .Read the storybook first so that students understand what is happening when you sing the song. As you read the storybook, you can sing some of the words to introduce the melody of the song. After reading the book, try doing a simple craft or coloring page related to the book as you play the song in the background . Then sing the song and have the students follow along with the gestures.As the kids grow older, you don't want to repeat songs as much. Students will have their favorites that they like to sing many times, but you won't be repeating songs every week like we do with the younger learners. So, you'll need to build more exposure to the song into one or two lessons, and then go back to it every once in a while for review.

6.Repetition is

good

Remember that with very young learners (4 years and younger), they enjoy the familiarity of hearing a song over and over. You can use their favorites almost every week. If you are

using a song frequently, understand that there is no need for them to sing right away...let them become comfortable with it and sing

when they are ready (they will!).

As the kids grow older, you don't want to repeat songs as much. Students will still have their favorites that they like to sing, but you won't be repeating songs every week like you do with the younger learners. In this case, you'll need to build more exposure to the song into one or two lessons, and then go back to it every once in a while for review.