Another classic song but after a Mr. Duncan lesson explaining the ways to say "Sorry". Get the lyric sheet/song HERE.

A classic song, used often by language teachers. Get the lyric listening sheet and song HERE.

Great video/contextualized language for our students. Get the listening lyric sheet HERE.

Great song for learning/teaching English. Get the lyric rewrite and listening worksheet too.

A great video and song to promote Olympic values. Get the listening and activity sheet in our Olympic resources area.
http://bit.ly/I9jjR4

While learning English, songs can help you a lot. But unknown vocabularies and some idiomatic usages can make it difficult to understand.

We have prepared a songbook to overcome this problem. In this book, you will find 12 different songs with Turkish meanings of possible unknown vocabularies and phrases. You can see a sample page in here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DOWNLOAD

 

I just spent an hour or two tagging all the songs on EFL Classroom that have lyric sheets. Wow! Didn't know we had so many. Find them here. Look below the video for links, many with ppts too. Plus, see our International Second Language Singers collection for many more. Also, many in our lyric sheet resources.

To celebrate this "new" or rather, "renewed" resource, I've made a nice lyric sheet and worksheet to go with one of the most popular songs for teaching - Mr. Morton is the subject of the Sentence. Get more Schoolhouse Rock songs HERE.

Find more videos like this on EFL CLASSROOM 2.0

I'm a big fan of always exciting students with "possibility".  By that I mean, designing a lesson so that they can change and interact with the content in creative, personal ways. They can be touched by possibility - much like we are when online and using Web 2.0 tools.

One easy way to do this is to use music/song.  A "change the lyrics" activity.

Basically there are 3 steps involved.

1.  Teach the song in any way you see fit. It could be the typical listening cloze,Lastonestanding,karaoke or many other ways.

2. Have prepared on the board the chorus or one main part of the song.   In front of the students rub out some main content words.  Ask students to put in their own words for the song. Have fun!

3.  Challenge students to do the same and then share.

Here are two already prepared examples. The first, very simple for the gospel classic, "This little light of mine".   The second more lengthy for "What a wonderful World".

Whatever you do, have fun adapting a song - I know your students will!

Go here for the What a Wonderful World lesson.

This little little of mine song cards

Find more videos like this on EFL CLASSROOM 2.0

Poem Hunter is a site I chanced upon. It offers a really deep array/list of songs based on a "subject" or "theme". Here's the one for "FUTURE". Click the topics on the left for others.

It gives a great list for each topic. A perfect teacher helper - in finding a song to compliment a lesson. I know how difficult this can be! Music is vital when teaching Young Learners, especially teens. So Poem Hunter can't but helped. HERE is also a nice list for teachers with some teaching suggestions. I hope to start a discussion and collecting songs for teaching EFL subjects/themes soon! Stay tuned. See our SONG BOOKMARKED SITES for other music options....

Arirang is the most famous Korean traditional song. It has countless variations across the nation, north and south. It also has countless translations. Here is one I made for use in class.

See the video below for a full explanation as to the meaning of the song. It basically is a song of "longing" and sadness. Not only of love but on many levels.

One great idea for your students would be to get them to make their own "Arirang" lyrics. Use this cool modern version of the song to get them inspired. They just fit the lines to the music! I've included some audio files of the song for your use in any lesson about "Arirang".


아리랑

아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요...
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다.
나를 버리고 가시는 님은
십리도 못가서 발병난다.

아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요...
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다.
청청하늘엔 청 별도 많고
우리네 가슴

Arirang.MID

arirang.kfn

MIXTUBE

We have a lot of music here for language learning and teaching. Too much to even begin to list! (actually I have listed it HERE!)

However, here is one other hidden resource - our Mixtube list of Lyrics. A vast collection of great videos with only lyrics.
I find when teaching, a video with lots of imagery can really distract from language learning - so these along with our karaoke and karaoke videos are excellent for language learning. HERE - you can also find a nice mixtube of Michael Jackson's best! Both videos and lyrics.

What's really neat about mixtube is that you can just use it as a jukebox. Press play and it will only play the music, no video! So you even could use it for a listening exercise or background music. Play around with it and even create your own list at Mixtube!

Michael Jackson will never die! I truly believe that and when we commit to excellence, no matter what else our manner, a part of us will live forever. Michael Jackson touched eternity and we will enjoy his genius forever and anon.

I've traveled and taught English around the world. Wherever I was, I could count on one thing -- being able to talk about the music of Michael Jackson. He truly was an idol, an icon everywhere and everyone, no matter their language knew a smattering of Michael's songs. He brought us together and was truly an international "teacher" of English.

In his honor and to maybe get your students to "taste his music", I've created a few nice Mix Tube playlists. If you missed it on "Websites of the Day" - here they are again.

Michael Jackson's Music with Lyrics

Michael Jackson's BEST Videos

This one is also a pretty awesome selection!

Sean Banville at BreakingNewsEnglish has an excellent set of materials for teaching the story of Michael Jackson and his early death. Check it out!

Further, don't forget our HUGE Mix Tube collection of all the best songs with lyrics on youtube. Get them all and select in one place.

Test your student's knowledge with this .......

The world of Michael Jackson... from A to Z

A is for ANOREXIA: There was fervent speculation in the early 80s that Jackson was suffering from the condition. He was apparently determined to shed weight in his quest to have a svelte dancer’s body.

B is for BLANKET: That’s Jacko’s nickname for his third son Prince Michael II, who he dangled from a hotel window, because the child was always wrapped in a sheet.

C IS FOR CONCERTS: He had booked a whopping 50 concerts at London’s 02 arena, beginning in July this year and finishing in March 2010. In total, he made more than £300million from his days on the road.

D is for dangerous: In 1991, Jackson produced his fourth solo album, Dangerous. It reached number one after just three days.

E IS FOR ELIZABETH TAYLOR: The movie star is possibly Michael’s best friend and stood by him throughout his court case in 2005. F IS FOR FIRE: In 1984, Jacko suffered terrible burns to his head after a freak accident set his hair ablaze. The performer was filming a Pepsi Cola advert when sparks from a firework landed in his hair. G IS FOR GARY: The small town in Indiana where Michael was born and raised with his brothers.

H IS FOR HOLLYWOOD: The Hollywood Palace was the venue of The Jackson 5’s first television performance. The brothers had been on the Motown circuit for quite some time and this was their first big break.

I IS FOR INJURY: Jacko broke his nose in a dancing accident and required rhinoplasty surgery to correct the damage. The nose job was the first surgery Michael had on his face.

J IS FOR JANET: Michael’s sister was relatively unheard of until they released a duet single together. Since then, she has released albums of her own and has starred in movies.

K IS FOR KINDNESS: Jackson has donated to, and set up, many charities but rarely spoke of his generosity.

L IS FOR LABELS: Michael signed record contracts with many different companies over the years, including Motown, Epic and CBS.

M is for MONEY: Jacko had some very serious problems with his finances. He took out a £23million loan on his Neverland ranch and failed to ever pay it back completely. Advertisement - article continues below » Click Here!

N is for NEVERLAND: The huge theme park in his back garden. Jackson regularly invited children to come and enjoy it with him.

O is for OFF THE WORLD Michael’s big album was the first that managed to turn out four US top 10 singles.

P is for PARENT: Jacko has three kids – Michael Jr, Paris Katherine Michael and Prince Michael Jackson II.

Q IS FOR QUALITY: The music video for his number one single Thriller is famed for its attention to detail both in the make-up of the dancers and their choreography.

R is for RHINOPLASTY: Jackson had two cosmetic surgeons to perform all kinds of operations on his face, including having an artificial cleft put in his chin.

S is for SUPPORT: Hundreds of fans turned up on the day of his court case to cheer him on. There was even one woman who released a white dove every time a jury member announced “not guilty”.

T is for TOP 10: Only one of his solo albums has failed to produce a single that made it to No1 in the US charts. Thriller managed to stay in the American top 10 for a record-breaking 80 weeks.

U is for UNBREAKABLE: He’s always had a very strong personality and was very forward thinking. He managed to keep smiling for his fans even when he was being prosecuted.

V is for VITILIGO: This disease affects the pigmentation of the skin and Michael was supposedly diagnosed with it in 1986 and blamed it for his severe discolouration.

W is for WORLD: He started his first global tour in 1987 after the release of his third solo album Bad. The tour consisted of 123 shows.

X is for X-WIVES: Jacko’s been divorced twice – first from Elvis Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie and then from nurse Debbie Rowe.

Y is for YOUTH: Michael started his career at the tender age of five, performing in a school talent show.

Z is for ZOMBIES: The undead featured in the music video for Thriller.

One of the major skill sets of a great language teacher is the ability to "prompt" students so they will generate language. It isn't easy and with time a teacher becomes better at replying, prompting, leaving unfinished, their utterances so that students are put into a position of "having to communicate". It is a skill that even gets more refined as the teacher adapts and scaffolds at just the right level/language.

EFL Classroom 2.0 has so many online language generators that help teachers out in this regard. I've put together many that can with a click of a mouse, start students talking. Also, in ppt and paper/flashcard form. Here's a list - try them with student and I'm sure you'll see they work like a charm. The teacher just keeps circulating as students take turns in groups, answering the prompt.

Tell Us About      |        Finish It Off       |      Writing Prompts      |      First Word War

Name 3 is a very simple vocab. discussion game idea. 

 

1. Give students in small groups, a gamesheet, a grid of 36 prompts.  Students roll the die and must Name 3 for the items chosen. (click on the die on the game sheet to get an electronic version or students can use regular die, die on their phones or hands like rock, paper, scissors where a fist is the number 6)

 

2. Students will answer in full sentences. Help students by putting up some language structures on the board.   For example, for people.   __________      are       _______________

__________  usually     _______________

____________________________________

Students must "Name 3" things about the item within a given time. 

 

Really simple but lots of language learning and production. You can also edit these gamesheets and put in your own items for students to practice with! If you do, please share the sheets here!

 

If you liked this game idea, you might enjoy Only Connect games. 

 

Thanks. 

 

 

A gambit is what we nowadays refer to as a "chunk", a group of words that have some function towards presenting "meaning". They are rather empty of meaning in and of themselves but as cultural and discourse markers - they work superb. Students who get good command of gambits, achieve high fluency. 

 

Conversation Gambits was a book I used a lot "way back when". Some stellar activities in it. Print and prepare!

I have two tips for those who are searching for a listening exercise which should simulate the real life situations (especially for travellers;-).

I have used it going through the whole dialog first and then pausing and letting the student answer the clerk's/agent's/whoever's questions. The point is that a student needs to react to a prompt but his/her response depends on them. We make up different situations - with different answers/vocabulary. I usually prepare several similar dialogs (the same topic but with the slight differences and from various resources) so the student stayed ready but there is still some kind of repetition present.

 

1) On Demand English Podcasts - their podcasts are great and lively, hosted on www.podcastdirectory.com, but their own web page doesn't work for me..don't know why:-(

 

2) BusinessEnglishPod - focused on business English podcasts, but also with more general categories such as: travel, telephoning or socializing; for further features you must pay, what else they offer you can find on their free trial (study notes, nice online exercises and MP3 phrase-casts). But podcasts are well enough and you don't need to pay for them.

 

I also like to draw the inspiration from the English Club, especially their section English for Work which contains usefull dialogs not only for the professionals but also for their counterparts.

 

Hope this will help someone and save the time spent on finding listening resource to a quite common situations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This lesson uses Zoom Words


1. Get a list of vocabulary items or phrases you want the students to practice.


2. Go to Zoom Words and select your colors (white background is best I think). Alternatively, just put up your list on a power point or on the board prior to class!!


3. Input your words or phrases/sentences, one by one. Click the "add to list" button.........

"gif" are small animated pictures that are very powerful for prompting language from students. I've collected many and now have put them together in power points which you could use for some fun instruction! Just get them asking each other - "What's Happening?" Lots of other uses, even get them to connect the photos to make a story - like Story Dominoes....

Some are larger in size (over 50mb) and find those HERE.

*** Please review before in class viewing - just in case there is something you might consider inappropriate for your students.

Here is a template to use and "disappear" dialogue. It is a very used language teaching technique and this might be useful in powerpoint. I'll get a flash version shortly, but this will work for those teachers without an Interactive whiteboard. 

99 -- "BACKDOOR" , a standard communication technique

This technique is great if you have a very talkative class or a class that really needs a focus on language production! It can be done in many ways but basically;

 

# 98 - Cloze activities -- another standard.

Cloze activities are the staple of many teacher's tool kit. The bread that goes with all eating.

What are they? Cloze activities are basically dialogues where there is missing information. They are often called, "Blank Dialogues". Students complete the dialogue with the correct information and make their own "conversation". Sometimes there is one correct answer but............

#84 Cell phone Scramble!

 

 

I think one of the great ways to get our young to learn English is through music. For many reasons. as I outline in this article. It is even better, more inspiring, more engaging when they see their fellow country men/women singing in English! So in this spirit, let's share some of our favorite international artists singing in their second language!  Get the full player and lyric book HERE. 

Here's a brave singer from Korea, to start off this directory!