Using Songs with Older Children

Our youngest learners will sing and dance all day long, all the while picking up vocabulary, grammar, and the rhythm of English naturally and easily.  And when they go home at the end of class, the songs that they sang and played with in class will still be bouncing around in their heads. Songs are uniquely effective learning tools in that way.

However, as students get older, songs and chants often become less and less a part of the classroom. That's a shame. We know that input is critical to second language learning, and few learning tools are as effective as songs at providing lots and lots of meaningful, comprehensible input.

Older children still enjoy songs (we all do!), but if we introduce songs to them the same way we introduce songs to young children, we often find them reluctant to participate.  Once our students reach 4th or 5th grade, they become more self-conscious about singing or dancing, and, understandably, don't want to be treated like toddlers.  Don't let that discourage you from using songs in the classroom with older children.  We simply must change the way we introduce songs.

Here is a five step plan for introducing songs to older learners.  As a sample I'll use Topic 21 of the Longman Children's Picture Dictionary (LCPD).

1. Listen and watch

Introduce or review the vocabulary "spring", "summer", "winter", and "fall". If your students have the LCPD, they can point to the pictures. If they don't have the LCPD, you can introduce the vocabulary with flash cards or pictures drawn on the board.

Teach the students the American Sign Language (ASL) for each of the seasons. (This is my favorite website for learning ASL:  http://www.signingsavvy.com/). Encourage the students to say the word as they do the sign.

Next, tell the students to just listen and watch as you play the Four Seasons Song from Topic 21 and do the signs. (This will take a little practice on the teacher's part before class.) You are not asking the students to sing, so there is no pressure for them. They are just watching and listening.

The Four Seasons Song

I like spring.
I like summer.
I like spring.
I like summer.
I like winter.
I like fall.
I like all the seasons.

Summer, winter, spring, and fall. Summer, winter, spring, and fall.
Summer, winter, spring, and fall.
I like all the seasons.

2. Listen and do

Next, with the students seated, ask them to try to do the signs with you as you listen to the song once more. Don't ask them to stand. Don't ask them to sing.  Just let them try to do the gestures as they listen. Again, there is no pressure here, we're just asking the students to listen and try. Students enjoy this challenge of trying to do the signs in time with the music, and it forces them to listen carefully.

3. Small group work

Put the students into groups and have them practice the signs on their own.  By now, they've heard the song 2 times and the melody and the lyrics are a little familiar to them. Again, they do not need to sing while doing this. Simply ask the students to practice the signs to the song in their small groups. You don't need to play any music, let them work at their own pace. You may notice some of the students starting to sing on their own as they practice.

4. Listen and demonstrate

Choose a couple of groups of students to come to the front of the class and do the signs as everyone listens to the song. The students have had lots of practice by now. They watched their teacher do it. They tried to do the signs with the rest of the class. They practiced in a small group. They're ready now to show it to the whole class! No singing required!

5. Listen and sing

Now it's time to ask everyone to sing and sign together. By now, the students have heard the song at least 3 times and aren't so shy anymore about doing the signs. You'll find that most of the time, the students are happy to sing. In fact, they probably already started singing the song in step 3 or 4. But the real benefit of introducing songs in this way is that, even if there are students who aren't comfortable singing with the class, they will still hear and interact with this song 4-5 times. And this leads us to the bonus step!

Bonus Step 6. Listen in your head

Your students, even the students who are reluctant to sing in class, will now hear this song in their heads for the rest of the day!

Songs, especially Carolyn Graham songs, have the unique power to be heard by your students well after you listen to them in class.

Songs are powerful teaching tools for learners from 1-100 years old. We simply have to adjust how we use songs in the classroom as our students grow older. Remember to introduce the songs slowly and have repeated listening activities before expecting the students sing.