Next, there is a listening stage where students listen to the song and complete a task. At this stage of the activity, the teacher could pre-teach any critical or challenging vocabulary, ask students to discuss warm-up questions in pairs or groups, or ask them to predict the content of the song. This provides an opportunity for students to activate ideas or background knowledge connected to the song's main theme. When using song gap-fill activities in class, it is important to follow the same basic framework used for any listening activity.įirst, there should be a pre-listening activity. For instance, instead of "I read the news today, oh boy." use "I read the news today, oh man." A Basic Framework for Using Song Gap-fills Similarly, you could replace words and ask students to listen for the errors and correct them accordingly. It is also possible to provide clues such as synonyms in brackets either directly before or after the gap.Īs a variation, rather than getting students to fill in the missing word, you could insert extra words into the text and have students cross out the words not included in the lyrics as they listen. You might consider providing a word bank from which students select the missing words they hear. If you are considering taking out short phrases rather than single words, the gap should be no more than three words long.įor lower levels, it may be a good idea to give the first letter of the missing word and indicate the number of letters in each word with underscored dashes. Number all the missing words or phrases in the song gap-fill. Songs with explicit lyrics are best avoided.ĭepending on the length of the song, you should take out 15 to 20 words or phrases that you wish to concentrate on. You will also need to think about the content of the song. If it is a modern song that the students like, all the better. Try to choose a song that will best suit the purpose of the gap-fill. Will the students be interested in your song choice? Don't just choose a song that suits your own particular tastes. Once you have established a clear purpose, it is then important to think about designing your song gap-fill. Advanced students are usually keen to learn slang terminology and idioms as this helps them to sound more fluent. If you are teaching a fairly advanced group of students, you could use songs to teach slang expressions or idioms. By searching online, you can easily find a song that relates to a particular tense, grammar focus or vocabulary set. Many websites cater to teachers looking for songs. It also provides students with a context for using the language.ĭo you wish to use a song to introduce or revise vocabulary or a language point? Using a song helps to create interest in a topic and focuses the students' attention. Also, you can use a song with repetitive lyrics to concentrate on pronunciation and language structures.ĭo you want to use a song to review a recently covered topic or introduce a new one? Generally, shorter slower songs are used to improve listening skills, and longer songs are used to practice reading. In other words, have a clear and specific point in mind for the song gap-fill.ĭo you want to concentrate on listening or reading skills? This will come across as a waste of time to your students. Don't do a song gap-fill for the sake of it or to fill in time. Make sure you have a clear purpose for listening to a song in class. Have a Purposeįirst, think about the purpose for doing a song gap-fill. Before you do a song gap-fill with your students, there are a few things you should consider. Using music in class has many benefits and musical activities can be used regularly to help improve your students' listening skills. They provide students with an authentic source of English language usage. Songs are an enjoyable way for students to learn English.
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