If you're
trying to catch your students' attention, then this method is
ideal.
Children,
of all ages, love to sing. So why not take advantage of this?
Of
course, young children need to have songs that are specifically
for them. Simple melody and lyrics that they can repeat.
Internet can be a great help in finding the appropriate songs on
all kinds of subjects.
As for
the older students, there is practically no limits to the songs
they can sing.
However,
I advise being careful and not letting them choose the
songs at first since many popular songs from the different types
of music, are often too complicated to reproduce. The lyrics too
can be complicated, and too often grammatically incorrect!
Start
them off with some "classics".
The Beatles have a large repertory of "sing-able" songs that
never seem to die.
I particularly like "Imagine", which is still very valid.
Then
being a New Yorker, I love the song "New York, New York".
Since
most of these "Classic" songs the students have heard already,
it would be wise to use the following steps:
Talk about who sang the song, when was it written, if they had
heard it in popular films.
Discuss the lyrics. Look for particular expressions, verbs,
adjectives that are in the song.
Listen to the song on a CD., while following the lyrics that the
teacher has photocopied for each student.
Have a chance to sing the song all together. (the teacher too!)
Singing
in English can be a great help for their pronunciation. The
students can keep a "Song folder" where they collect the lyrics
to those songs that were introduced in class. Don't
underestimate the use of these songs, when you find you're
students are either overactive, or depressed. Singing relieves
tension that unfortunately both students and teachers are
subject to.
A Nice
Thought
"Music washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life!"