On the Application of English Songs in English Teaching

1、论英文歌曲在英语教学中的应用on the application of english songs in english teaching摘要：本文从英文歌曲被用作为一种有效的教学辅助方法着手，对英文歌曲的重要性，英文歌曲辅助教学的方法，以及英文歌曲教学的优越性进行初步的探讨.其结果表明,英文歌曲是可以作为一种教学辅助手段应用到英语教学中的.英文歌曲如果巧妙地运用到英语教学中, 不仅能提高英语教学的质量, 更为重要的是它能激发学生学习英语的无限乐趣.关键词：英语教学；英文歌曲; 乐趣.keywords: efl teaching; english songs; funintroductionw

2、hen i taught in a primary school, what delighted me from the start was that the children would join into the song even they didnt know it. it didnt the matter to them whether they knew it or not. they just wanted to be a part of the music from the very beginning, and they would join in as soon as th

3、e teacher started to sing. students reaction to the english songs inspired me to write this paper. in recent years the value of english songs in motivating students to learn english and enhancing their involvement is widely acknowledged by more and more english foreign teaching practitioners. in the

4、ir language classes, some of them have adopted richly meaningful english songs as warm-up activities, time-fillers or games. when a teacher teaches english songs for teaching english, children are learning while singing. no child feels anxious or left out. the music invites each child in. english so

5、ngs can improve the teaching quality, activate the students interests and enhance their involvement. thus, it could be applied in modern english foreign language teaching skillfully as a supplementary tool. what is the importance of english songs? how to select and teach english songs in efl lesson?

6、 in the following, the author of the paper will make some rudimentary research about these questions.chapter1. importance of english songs1.1feasibility of english songs in efl teachingsome scientists have postulated that the reason language seems easier to digest in a singing form is because human

7、speech was originally musical in orientation. according to these scientists, it is possible that song was a precursor of language, a primal ability to recognize and respond to rhythms and tonal variations that eventually led to the greater complexities of language.other scientists have suggested tha

8、t the chemical changes that take place in the brain when people make music enhance cognitive abilities to assimilate and process incoming information. the recent study of rauscher supports this idea.finding out that music or song affects the brain should not be a surprise to any of us. most people k

9、now that when humans are singing, the endorphin levels within our brains are elevated, making us feel good about ourselves and our social environment. humans are soothed by and attracted to music. however, cognitive scientists tell us that english songs provide not only a pleasant, relaxed way in wh

10、ich to learn, but also an efficient way for the brain to remember what is learned. as english is our target language, to learn it well, we should combine affective language learning and english songs together based on the above aspects.1.2 advantages of english songs in efl teaching singing english

11、songs is entertaining and relaxing. learning english through songs also provides a no threatening atmosphere for students, who usually are tense when speaking english in formal classroom settings. there are some advantages of english song in english foreign language teaching.1.2.1 intelligence and p

12、otentiality psychologists and educationists and musicians have concerned more with the positive effect of the psychology of developing human beings intelligence and potentiality. it is reported that the more music education the students have, the more talent they will get. english songs stimulate th

13、e interest of the students and evoke the sense of joining. thus it improves the comprehension and use of english. english songs make the efl teaching unnecessary persuade and inculcate again and again. once the music begins, all the students immersed in the music, and the input of english begins at

14、the same time with the help of the teachers correct leading and students comprehension of the english songs.1.2.2 class atmosphereas a special english teaching means, english songs are able to activate classroom atmosphere and lead to easily learning effect.english songs not only provide a welcoming

15、, stress-free environment, but exactly the type of a natural situation where language has an immediate, practical use, that language experts consider most conductive for language learning. during an english lesson, while the students are singing along quite happily, the words of the songs can be mad

16、e meaningful through visualization, movement and dramatization, as experts have suggested, and language acquisition will take place.1.2.3 language skills (1)listeningit is a compelling fact that our listening is improved unconsciouslywhen we are enjoying english songs. under the teachers instruction

17、, the students improve their listening day by day. (2)oral englishwhat is more important is that english songs can help us remind of the stressed words, weakened words, linking phonemes, incomplete exposures and assimilation. if we do so in our reading, we will pay more attention to the tone, intona

18、tion and stress.1.2.4 content of the lesson my own background as a primary school english teacher leads me to employ english songs to teach vocabulary or structures of the language. even in these instances there seemed to be an additional element of class management. although the language didnt appe

19、ar to be the primary reason for using english songs, the learners were usually singing in english and were therefore practicing language patterns. songs exhort teachers to use songs and thymes, are mainly for their language and information, but also for enjoyment. 1.2.5 for managing large class at o

20、ne level, the use of song by teachers can be seen as a technical solution to the problem of managing large classes with few material resources. songs were used most frequently when teachers were struggling to maintain control over the class. in these instances singing is an activity in which every c

21、hild participates, even in a large class. the young children, whose concentration span is rather short. some of them tired of the strict lesson. they may talk, play, sleep, and doze. and the song arouses their interest and makes them awake.1.2.6 for fun all good teaching rests partly on the ability

22、to attract the learners attention. songs immediately gets the learners interest and attention. aside from this, the teachers enjoyed the lessons. they had fun too. songs provide a way for children to learn english that is free and emotionally welcoming. aside from the obvious appeal that songs have

23、for children, songs could be enjoyed in the whole social group settings, creating strong emotional bonds between students and teachers. these experiences can paint a beautiful picture of school for young learners.songs have magic appeal for students. seemingly effortlessly, they will learn multiple

24、verses of complicated songs. tirelessly, they will sing their favorite ones over and over again. there are many ways to teach english, but songs provide such a joyful, inspiring way for children to learn.songs are even more powerful tool for language learning. songs should be used much more consiste

25、ntly in english learning. chaper2.english songs in efl teaching 2.1 how to select english songsenglish songs can provide rich and varied resources in efl classroom, however, the songs, based on lessons are not easily go well. thus, to select suitable materials seems very important for teachers. engl

26、ish songs suitable for teaching english must meet the following criteria:the melodies should be simple and beautiful so as to be an excellent pedagogical device for motivating students.the style of music should become students taste, with the social and cultural norms of chinese society taken into c

27、onsideration.the message of the songs should be easy to follow.the lyric of the songs should be easy and clear that the song can be used as exercises or the students can grasp at least certain repeated words or phrases.the content of the songs should match learners level and specific teaching purpos

28、e.primary school students are different from the middle school students and university students as their vocabulary is not so large. but children have talent for songs, and games for them are the only activities that they can treat attentively. body language is important as well. thus teachers shoul

29、d choose some simple but meaningful songs such as“i can say my abc”,“happy new year”,“happy birthday”,“are you betty?”“apple tree”,“ twinkle, twinkle, little star ”, “good morning, sam” ，“ten little indian boys”, “rainbow”,“rain,rain, go away”,“please stand up”etc. these songs are easily to remember

30、 and quick to learn. in all, the songs being chosen have to match the level of the students and be relevant with the textbook. 2.2 how to teach english songs in primary schoolas primary school english teachers, we should combine fun and relaxation together in the class. to lead the children to the r

31、ealm of english, the aim of teaching some simple songs is to attract the students attention, to improve the teaching glamour and to develop their language senses. body language is necessary as childrens body languages are very rich. through the mouth singing and body moving, children obtain rather s

32、imple words happily and pleasantly. while some english songs, to some extent, are the creation being made up of many aspects. students have a dying thirst for the non-text knowledge to their vision. every song has its own background and destination, so teachers should take into account of the studen

33、ts age and explain some materials to which they show tremendous interests. for example: listen to the songs of christmas and talk about the festival. the story of the festival, the origin of the festival, and how the people spend the festival should be concerned; listen to the songs “do, re, mi” and

34、 “edelweiss”. talk about the film“ the sound of music” and the patriotic spirit. we also can use the familiar melody to practise new sentence structures. for example: use the melody of the song“london bridge is falling down” to practice the sentences like “amys taller than lingling”; use the melody

35、of the song “two tigers” to practice the sentences likes “can you run fast ”. the exercises like that will make pupils relax and amuse. teachers may revise the songs according to the teaching aims.conclusionone of the greatest enemies of successful teaching is students boredom. starting from the imp

36、ortance of english songs, advantages of english songs, and the application of english songs in efl teaching, we can see that the employment of english songs in efl teaching is indeed a very good way as a supplementary tool. it can attract students attention and involvement; it develops students inte

37、lligence and potentiality; it activates class atmosphere; it is a technique for managing large classes; it invokes a sense of community. undoubtedly, it must be on the condition that the teacher is good at selecting songs for the students, being proficiently at the ways of teaching along with the st

38、udents cooperation and involvement that the high efficiency can be achieved bibliography:1 cutietta,r.a. language and music programs. general music today, 9 /2(1996).2 eterno,j.a. foreign language pronunciation and musical aptitude. modern language journal 45(1961): 168-170.3 hoskins, c. use of music to increase verbal response and improve expressive language abilities of preschool language delayed children, journal of music therapy 25/2 (1988): 73-844 jack c.richards & theodore s.rodgers. approaches and methods in langu