Podcast

"Songs as an Opportunity to Acquire Culture and Fluency in an ESL Classroom."

But also, I have transcribed what you already listened.

Language is a special system of signs, sounds, gestures, or marks that helps human beings to communicate ideas and feelings, and to understand meanings. In sum, Language makes possible that human beings create communities.

As Brown (1994) states, to teach a language implies to learn a new culture, new way of thinking, feeling and acting. Furthermore, to learn a new language is a challenge that will make learners to struggle many behaviors that they had acquired with their first language.

Consequently, it is clear that the teaching process must be a facilitation of learning.So, teachers must manage different variables that affect the learning process, such as teachers-students’ interaction; the language learned; classroom environment; affective; emotional; personal or intellectual reasons that learners pursue for the gigantic task of learning a second language. Thus, songs provide teachers with a great tool to transmit culture, practice fluency, and review vocabulary.

Moreover, this great source –the songs-- get students motivated, and raise their self-confidence in the learning process because they endow with a relaxing environment where their attention will be focused on the lyrics, the rhythm and cultural aspects that the song transmits.

Keegan (2011) shares some tips for ESL teachers to plan activities using songs in the class. Some or her recommendations refer to the language. It must be clear and suitable with the learner’s level. Also, the subject matter must go in accordance with the age of the students; and another important aspect is that the singer voice must be nice and clear.

In addition, Keegan (2011) points that teachers must plan pre-listening activities, for example: review vocabulary or do brainstorms about the topic of the song; during-listening activities where students can identify wrong parts of the song, or do multiple-choice activities. Also, it is important to plan post-listening activities such as “jigsaw readings” or to change a part of the song. Follow-up activities will allow students to create communicative tasks such as plan a video, write a letter or a mobile phone message from one of the characters in the song, writing a diary, a blog entry or a poem about the topic of the song.

As a final point, songs provide a great opportunity to work with grammar, fluency, self confidence and they raise students’ motivation of learning not only language aspects, but also they will experience idioms, believes, habits and aptitudes of the second language. As a result, learners will open their minds into the new culture.

Bibliography

Brown, H. D. (1994). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Keegan, E. (n.d.). Celta-course.com. Using songs in English Teaching. Retrieved Octubre 13, 2011, from www.celta-course.com/songs.htlm