Andy, Thailand

This is from a song workshop I gave some time ago. Take care with the copyright!
Songs can be exploited in many ways:

1: The Cloze or gap fill. This is the most familiar and popular activity, and for that reason is probably over-used. However, there are many important things to bear in mind when using them, and there are many different ways to use them.

• Have a point, be it vocabulary or prepositions or whatever.
• Don't cloze 3 or more in a row.
• For lower levels: give the first letter, miss out word endings, give dashes for letters, or give a glossary.
• Give vocabulary clues or synonyms for the missing words.
• Get students to work in pairs to predict words before you play the tape.
• Insert extra words which students then cross out as they listen.
• Change the words, as in "Careful Shouts" or "Countless Whiskies."
• Cloze unstressed, then stressed words in the same song, and have students discuss why one is easier than the other.
• Cloze several words in a row and Ss have to guess not only form (adj., adv., n., vb, prep.) but words, rhythm and rhyme.

2: A-B activities.
Students match beginnings and ends of lines, such as ."Another Day in Paradise" (simple) or "Private Investigations" & "If Only..." (more complicated).

3: Mixed-up activities. Generally, have the lines of the song on separate strips of paper

• Students put down strips as they hear them.
• Mixed-up lines/verses.
• Students try to organize in advance (use prompts).

4: Dictation

• Wall dictation
• Self-dictation (whole song blanked)
• Part Dictation

5: Translation.

• Class chooses a song from their own language.
• Groups translate.
• Check with other groups.
• Combine the best. Then work on rhyme and rhythm.

6: Jigsaw-listening.

• Groups listen to different songs with the same (Luka/Behind the Wall) or different themes (Easy Street/Money for Nothing) and peer teach vocabulary, compare.

7: Composing

• Listen to the song
• Students add verses of their own. Good songs for this are, "Imagine" & "Man Gave Names To All The Animals" by Bob Dylan.
• Students finish the line in each verse, then listen to check.
• In groups, students then write their own verse.

8: Writing.
Put random words from the song on the board. Students try and write the "tale of the song."

• Students paraphrase the song
• Cut the song in half. Students predict the other half.

9: Pronunciation.

• He's got the whole world... /h/ sound
• Do I speak double Dutch to a real double duchess... /d/ sound

10: Vocabulary

• Miming verbs
• Dictionary work
• Matching

11: Listening.

• Give Ss word list. Ss number as they here them.
• Sound discrimination, e.g. tempted/tended

12: Song Posters
Arrange lyrics and pictures, or just lyrics, or translate.

Bibliography: Music and Song (1992) Murphey, T. Oxford University Press

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