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[ebooktrial0001]

Hi Everyone,

When I was in a language arts class as a student, sometimes teachers would play music that would inspire writing.

Can any of you think of ways to use this method productively? I just want to stir up some imagination.

(I have some ideas; I simply want to hear yours).

Thanks

[MsBlackcurrant]

It's a shame no one responded to this, as I enjoyed using songs in my previous experiences of TEFL, and I'd like to use them more expansively when I return to the field.

I used to have a cassette with about 10-20 seconds of very different kinds of music on it, and intermediate level students had to write down as many adjectives as possible that related to each piece they heard. For me, this was a kind of filler activity, but perhaps you could get the students to write poems or dialogues based on the words they'd come up with. They would use the structures they'd been practising.

There must be many songs whose lyrics would spark off creativity. What happened next? What happened before? If the narrator were singing to you how would you respond? Rewrite the lyrics as a story - but change the ending. And so on.

Some songs would create opportunities to practise structures; I remember Madonna's 'Frozen' being used in this way.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[grahamb]

One of my groups of adult learners asked if they could learn some songs in English, so I had them choose one each. I made a CD and prepared handouts with the lyrics, leaving a number of blank spaces for the students to fill. Each student gave a short presentation about the song they'd chosen, explaining why they liked it and saying something about the artist. They then had to answer any questions from the other students (I helped where necessary). I played the song once, with the students listening in silence, then I gave each student a lyrics sheet and played the song again, allowing them sufficient time to complete the task. They compared their answers and I wrote them on the board, correcting any mistakes. We then looked at the lyrics, focussing on pronunciation and any words or phrases which were new to the students. I also drew their attention to the grammatical structures used and pointed out instances of word play which were grammatically incorrect. I then played the song again and encouraged the students to sing along. It worked well and was a pleasant change from "the book".

[johnslat]

I like to use "Born in the USA" (Bruce Springsteen) with my students. Play it for them and then ask for their ideas about what the song's message is.

I inevitably get responses like "USA great place"or "He loves the USA."

Then, I hand out the lyrics:

"Born In The U.S.A."

Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up

Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says "Son if it was up to me"
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said "Son, don't you understand"

I had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone

He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go

Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A. '

The beat always fools them.

Regards,
John

[santi84]

I've used "If I had a million dollars" by Barenaked Ladies for teaching conditionals, and it can be expanded for writing. With more beginner/low-intermediate students, the Logical Song by Supertramp works nicely to review adjectives (expand into synonyms, or whatever).

[MI6agent]