This article, based on material from our Delta Courses, focuses on using songs and music in the classroom and looks at:
a) the general reasons for using them
b) activity types that could be used with them to achieve specific linguistic aims.
c) reasons why the use of songs and music might not be appropriate in the EFL classroom
a) General reasons for using songs and music in the classroom
1. Reason: To foster motivation : Many learners are used to listening/want to listen to pop songs in English – this may be particularly true of eg teenagers. They can be asked whose songs they are particularly interested in and even which songs they want to work on (though the T. should check that the lyrics are at a level that makes comprehension feasible, and that the content is suitable, before agreeing).
2. Reason: To stimulate learning : Some research has suggested that baroque music uses certain frequencies that improve the brain’s ability to process learning. This was utilised by Lozanov in the method Suggestopaedia. Even if Suggestopaedia is not used in its full form, the technique of eg finishing a lesson stage by reading a presentation dialogue or short listening or reading text to eg a piece by Mozart may help retention, as well as being a relaxing way to round off a lesson stage.
3. Reason: To create a relaxed, concentrated atmosphere in the c/r : In small classes, learners often feel intimidated when working in pairs or groups, as they feel they can be overheard by the others – or alternatively may overhear and become distracted by what other groups are saying or by what the teacher is saying to them. Background music for an activity means that they can only hear what their immediate partners are saying, and avoids this. Turning the music off can also signal the end of the activity.
4. Reason: To change pace and engage learners – particularly in children’s classes, songs can be used as “stirrers” or “settlers” or to ensure that the whole class is concentrating on the task. An example of this would be “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” where, apart from singing the song, the children are engaged in carrying out the actions – they therefore have to concentrate on the meaning of the language in order to perform the correct action.
5. Reason: In a CLIL or Project Based course, to stimulate research into the background of a piece of music (the composer, their life, the reason why the piece was written, its musical attributes etc). This would be an integrated skills activity which would include reading and/or listening research, written and/or oral presentation (poster presentations, one minute talks by each member of the group on one aspect of the research etc.
6. Reason: To provide a stimulus for fluency practice. Eg after working on the lyrics of a song, learners can be asked to design a video to accompany it. Or guided visualisation activities can be used – the learners listen to a piece of music and are asked to think about the situation it suggests to them. The T. asks prompt questions as the learners listen such as “Where are you? What can you see around you? Are you alone or with other people? Why are you there? What are you doing? How are you feeling? What’s the weather like?” etc etc. The learners then tell their partner(s) what the music made them think of.
7. Reason: To increase depth of cognitive processing. Most people find they remember the lyrics of songs that they like and have heard many times, and the memory is triggered by the accompanying music. This effect can be exploited without creating boredom after the initial lesson if the song is replayed later in the course for recycling purposes using a different task.
8. Reason: To engage learners who particularly enjoy listening to songs/music and who will therefore be motivated by the teaching/learning strategy.
b) Activity types that could be used with them to achieve specific linguistic aims.
9. Linguistic aim: Grammatical / Structural / Lexical Consolidation: Some songs centre around a specific structure
or lexical field and can be used to present, practise or consolidate that area.
Example (i). Structural (upper intermediate or advanced) - to develop learners awareness of the difference in use of the past simple and past continuous forms. Song: John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy”. Activity type: Gapfill. The lyrics are given out on handout with the target forms gapped but the infinitive given in brackets. Ls decide the form of the verbs in pairs then listen to check. In fact the past simple would be grammatically possible in all cases where the past continuous is used. Follow-up discussion focuses on why Lennon chose the past continuous and the difference in the effect the choice creates.
Example (ii). Structural (Intermediate and
above) - to practise question formation with modals. Song: Bob
Dylan – “Blowing in the wind”. Activity type: Ordering jumbled words.
Learners are given the transcript of the song, but each question has the words
in jumbled order with a blank line below where they can write. They re-order
them, possibly working or comparing in pairs, then listen to check.
Example (iii). Linguistic Aim - Lexical (children’s classes) - to practice/consolidate
parts of the body. Song: “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” Activity type: Singing and acting out the song.
Example (iv). Linguistic aim: structural (Intermediate) - to consolidate would + infinitive. Song: the Beatles song “An Octopuses Garden”. Activity Type: Spot the change: The learners are given the transcript and told there are (eg) seven words which, though grammatically correct, are not the same as those in the song. The changes that have been made focus on the target language. Learners listen to identify the words. Eg. All the “would” structures are changed (eg “I’d like to be” becomes “I like to be”; “we would be” becomes “we will be” etc). Learners listen and correct the transcript, then discuss the difference in meaning the changes have made.
10. Linguistic Aim: To Develop
Listening Subskills. Many songs
will include features of connected speech (eg weak forms, elision,
assimilation) learners find difficult to decode and can be used to present them
or to further develop learners’ ability to decode them.
Example: Aim
– to raise Ls’ awareness of and practice decoding word sequences affected by
yod coalescence. Song: The Beatles
“Got to get you into my life” Activity Type: Gapfill. The song contains examples of various
features of connected speech (weak forms, elision, etc) but particularly yod coalescence – both /t j/
sequences becoming /ʧ/ and /d j/ sequences becoming /ʤ/.
It can therefore be used to develop this bottom-up processing subskill
by gapping out the affected words (need you / get you / hold you /want you etc
). As (with one exception) the lyrics are not particularly difficult
structurally, it could be used from pre-intermediate level upwards. Learners
can be asked to predict the missing words, then listen and check or complete
them, after which the T. can focus on the target feature, as well as clarifying
any other parts of the text which learners ask about.
11. Linguistic aim: To expose learners to authentic English which contains common features of the spoken language unlikely to occur in their coursebooks. Example: A large number of songs contain the word “ain’t” – eg The Hollies “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother”. Activity type: Gapfill - the Ls receive the transcript with all the examples of ain't gapped and predict the missing word. They will predict isn't but when they listen will hear ain't which can then be explained. Other songs may be too difficult to use in their entirety but extracts can be used with ain't underlined where it has the meaning am not (eg the Temptations "Ain't too proud to beg"), are not, and has/have not. Ls are asked whether they think the meaning is still "isn't" and if not, what it is.
c) Reasons why the use of songs and music might not be appropriate in the EFL classroom
12. Inappropriate Content: Some songs may contain lyrics or themes that are not suitable for all age groups or may conflict with cultural or religious sensitivities.
13. Relevance to student interests: Some songs, though ideal for the linguistic aim chosen, may be considered (especially by teenage students) as "out of date". This could cause negative affect which could block learning.
14. Special needs - Hearing Impairments: Students who are deaf or hard of hearing may not be able to hear the song/music adequately to complete the tasks, and even if given differentiated tasks may feel "left out" of the lesson.
15. Special needs - Learning disabilities: Students with certain learning disabilities, such as ADHD or auditory processing disorders, may find it challenging to concentrate or process information with music in the background.
16. Language Complexity: Songs are examples of authentic texts, and are therefore likely to contain complex structures, vocabulary or phonological features that may not be suitable for lower-level learners. Teachers would need to spend additional time explaining lyrics, which can be challenging for the teacher and frustrating for the learners.
17. Copyright Issues: Using copyrighted music in the classroom can sometimes raise legal and copyright concerns, especially if it involves sharing or distributing copyrighted materials.
