TOP NOTCH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES

Issue 2

THE PURPOSEFUL USE

OF SONGS
IN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION
Joan Saslow and Allen Ascher
with Andrea Notarpietro

Songs, like poetry, are

one of the most powerful
combinations in helping
the learner commit
limited phrases and
word combinations to
memory, to be put into
active service at a later
time in communication.
...Songs often contain
the elements of
repetition, rhyme, and
rhythm that facilitate
quick memorization and
easy imitation.... It is no
wonder, then, that in
song a foreign accent
pronunciation is much
more easily masked or
eliminated than in
normal conversational
speech.
Thomas J. Garza

2007 Joan Saslow and

Allen Ascher

THE VALUE OF SONGS IN

SECOND OR FOREIGN
LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION
Songs have great value in language
instruction. Pop songs can be used in many
ways to enhance the teaching and learning
process, to motivate students, to provide a
change of pace in the classroom, to reduce
students native-language accents, and to
reinforce vocabulary and grammar. Most
importantly, however, songs can make
English unforgettable. The following
general and specific techniques for using
songs in your classroom are offered as a
menu. Experiment with a variety of them, or
choose the ones you like at first glance. You
will be surprised how effective songs can be
as teaching and learning tools!

HOW TO CHOOSE SONGS

Since classroom time is always very limited,
every minute needs to be used to provide
language to observe and study, to offer
intensive practice, and to ensure that
language is recycled enough so it can be
remembered. The key to success is to choose
songs that students understand so that the
learning process is enhanced. The Top Notch
text series and Top Notch TV include

comprehensible and appealing pop songs

(Top Notch Pop and Karaoke) written to
support a language syllabus. The techniques
offered in this article can and should be used
with Top Notch Pop, but they are equally
useful for any songs appropriate for a
language classroom.

TECHNIQUES THAT
INVOLVE SINGING
Safety in Numbers If your students are
a little shy, take the safety in numbers
approach. Ask the whole class to sing along
together, with or without the lyrics in front of
them. Or, use the lyrics and audio early on,
so that when students are more familiar with
the song, they can sing a cappella and
without lyrics.

Male/Female If a song has both male and

female parts, divide your class accordingly.
Ask all the males to sing the male part and all
the females to sing the female part. Once
students are familiar with the song, invite
one male and one female student to sing the
song alone for the class, with or without the
audio. If the class is all or mostly male or
female, you may simply want to divide the
class in half to sing each part.

Bit by Bit Assign each line of a song to a different

and complete the statements correctly. Be sure to write a list

of questions that require productive answers.

student or to different pairs or groups of students. That

student (or those students) would sing only that line.
Alternatively, assign each verse to a different student or to
a different pair or group of students.

Visualizations and Drawings

Ask students to make sketches about the song while they

Raps Ask students to read a songs lyrics as a rap rather

are listening. Then ask them to use their pictures to recount

the song to another student.

than sing it. That way they will focus on the rhythm and
intonation of each line. Students can rap in groups, take
turns rapping each line, or compete with each other for the
most impressive rap presentation.

Ask students to draw an image of how the song relates to

a personal experience. Then, ask them to use their sketches
to tell a personal story from their own lives similar to the
one in the song.

Karaoke Have a karaoke party at the end

of the term. Ask students to choose and sign
up for specific songs so they can prepare in
advance. Students can perform songs
individually or in groups, with or without
the vocalist.

TECHNIQUES THAT DONT

INVOLVE SINGING

If your students
are a little shy,
try the safety
in numbers
approach. Ask the
whole class to sing
along together,
either with or
without the audio
and lyrics in front
of them.

These techniques range from largely

receptive to highly productive. While some
will be more successful with beginning
students, others may only be appropriate for
more advanced learners. Activities may be
done in pairs, groups, or individually as
appropriate. It is extremely important that
students be given one or more opportunities to listen to the
song before engaging in any of the following activities. In
some cases, permitting students to read the lyrics before or
while listening might be helpful.

Ask students to choose an image from the

song, such as an object, a place, or a
character, and draw it in detail. Ask them to
draw such details as the clothes the character
is wearing, the furniture in the characters
home, or the weather the character is
experiencing outdoors, and have them
compare the drawings with those of other
students. Did they all depict the object,
place, or character in the same way?
Before listening to the song, ask students
to listen to the title and draw a picture of
what they think the song will be about.
Then, after they listen to and become

familiar with the song, ask them to draw

another picture detailing what the song was
actually about. This activity allows students to frame and
share their various readings of the song.
Ask students to listen to the song and then draw a CD
cover for it.

Teacher-Made Activity Worksheets

Create language activities by reproducing song lyrics on

Song Titles Ask students to listen to a song for which

they dont know the title. Then ask each student to create a
title for the song. Or, if they know the title, ask them to
create a new title. Finally, get the whole class to vote on the
best song title.

a handout. Delete target grammar or target vocabulary and

replace that text with a line on which students can write.
Ask students to listen and complete the worksheet with the
missing vocabulary or grammar structures. If the target
language is a verb form, such as the past tense, include the
base form of the verb under or alongside the blank spaces.
Students would then write the verb in its correct form.

Song Puzzles Ask the class to draw pictures of the

story or the situation in a song. Ask them to arrange the
pictures in storyboard fashion and retell the story to their
partners, using their storyboards.

Write a list of true-and-false statements based on the

information in the song. Ask students to listen and mark
each statement true or false. Alternatively, write a list of false
statements and ask students to listen to the song and correct
each statement. This can be done individually or in pairs.

Dramatic Interpretations
Ask students to listen to a song and then listen again, the
second time miming the actions in the story. They can
then vote on which student performed the best mime show.

Write a list of statements based on the song lyrics with

information left out. Then ask students to listen to the song

Have students listen to a number of songs and then play

charades in teams. Teams mime one of the songs while

others try to guess which song is being mimed.

Use a song as a springboard for writing a short story, and

have the students write the story, adding new characters.

Ask students to write a dramatic script for one aspect of

the song and act out the scene, using the script.

Video Authoring Ask students to use a video camera

to create a music video of the song. Students discuss the
process before and after making the video.

Invite students to become one of the characters from the

song and stand in front of the class to tell their stories. They
can either relate the actual story in the song or invent/
improvise the story as they understand it. They might, for
example, imagine when and where the song characters meet
or invent events from a characters past.

Inference and Interpretation

Have students imagine the story behind
the characters in the song. Whats their
background? Whats going to happen next?
Ask students to listen to the song from
different characters perspectives. Does this
change their opinion of the song?

Music and Writing

Ask students to write down any words
that the song evokes for them. Then ask
them to explain to a partner the related
associations.
Invite students to write a letter to one of
the characters or pretend to be one of the
characters and then write a letter to another
character.

Detective Role-Plays Invite students to listen to the

song as if they were detectives gathering information for a

crime investigation. Pairs can write detectives questions
(yes-no, or, and information questions) and then listen to
the song for the answers. They can then
conduct an interrogation, with one
Ask students to
partner playing the detective and the other
playing the person being investigated.
draw an image of

how the song

relates to a personal
experience. Then,
ask them to use
their sketches to tell
a personal story
from their own lives
similar to the one in
the song.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, songs can be a powerful and
motivating adjunct to language instruction.
The techniques offered here are only a start.
We encourage you to use them as a menu
of possibilities, choosing those that fit
your teaching style and the needs, age level,
and personality of your group. Above all,
have fun!

TOP NOTCH RECEIVES 2006

DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD!
Pearson Longman is pleased to announce that Top Notch 2
was the 2006 recipient of the Association of Educational
Publishers prestigious Distinguished Achievement Award
for courses in the Adult Category. The criteria cited in the
award were content, creativity, originality, educational value,
and ease of use.

About the Authors

Joan Saslow

Allen Ascher

Joan Saslow is co-author, with Allen

Ascher, of Top Notch and Summit:
English for Todays World. She was Series
Director of True Colors: An EFL Course for
Real Communication and of True Voices,
an EFL Video Course. She is the author of Ready to Go:
Language, Lifeskills, and Civics; Workplace Plus: Living and
Working in English; Literacy Plus; and of English in Context:
Reading Comprehension for Science and Technology.

Allen Ascher, formerly Director of the

International English Language Institute
at Hunter College in New York, has been
a teacher, teacher-trainer, author, and
publisher. He has taught in language
and teacher-training programs in both China and the
United States. Mr. Ascher specialized in teaching listening
and speaking to students at the Beijing Second Foreign
Language Institute, to hotel workers at a major
international hotel in China, and to Japanese students
from Chubu University studying English at Ohio University
in the United States. Mr. Ascher taught students of all
language backgrounds and abilities at the City University
of New York, and he trained teachers in the TESOL
Certificate Program at the New School. Mr. Ascher has
an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Ohio University.

Ms. Saslow has taught in Chile and the United States in a

variety of programs. She taught English at the Binational
Centers of Valparaso and Via del Mar, Chile, and French
and English at the Catholic University of Valparaso. In the
United States, Ms. Saslow taught English as a Foreign
Language to Japanese university students at Marymount
College and to international students in Westchester
Community Colleges intensive English program. She also
taught workplace English at a General Motors auto
assembly plant. She has an M.A. in French from the
University of Wisconsin. Ms. Saslow is a frequent speaker at
gatherings of EFL and ESL teachers.

Mr. Ascher is co-author, with Joan Saslow, of Top Notch

and Summit, and author of Think About Editing: A
Grammar Editing Guide for ESL Writers. As a publisher,
Mr. Ascher played a key role in the creation of some of
the most widely used materials for adults, including True
Colors, NorthStar, Focus on Grammar, Global Links, and
Ready to Go.

Andrea Notarpietro
Andrea Notarpietro is an International Educational
Consultant for Pearson Longman ELT based in White
Plains, NY. Prior to this position Andrea worked as National
ELT Specialist for Pearson Education Australia. He holds an
RSA Certification in TEFL from Milner College and a B.A. in
Communication Studies from Murdoch University in
Australia.

References

Other titles of interest in the

Thomas J. Garza. Beyond MTV: Music videos as foreign language

text. In The Journal of the Imagination in Foreign Language Learning
and Teaching. Vol. II1994.

TOP NOTCH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES:

Making English Unforgettable

Joan Saslow and Allen Ascher. Top Notch and Summit: English for
Todays World. Pearson Longman. 2006.

Beyond Model Conversations:

Enabling Real Discussions

Joan Saslow and Allen Ascher. Top Notch TV. Pearson Longman.
2006.

Maximizing Video:
Techniques for the Language Classroom

Joan Saslow and Allen Ascher. Top Notch Pop and Karaoke. Pearson
Longman. 2006.

ISBN 0-13-242410-X