Teaching vocabulary to young learners from a story book Introduction

Teaching english through story-telling, song and games

Song nothing can be as effective as song in children’s language class. When children do not pay attention to boring instructions in a language class as they are unaware of the significance of learning a language they learn a language very naturally if they enjoy what they are doing in the class. Children have a natural taste for song and because of that English language teachers around the world use such enjoyable and supportive means for children to improve listening skill. Songs being a source of motivation, interest and enjoyment, it is much easier for children to imitate and remember language than words which are just ‘spoken’. Again, a song can be used very effectively to teach children the sounds and rhythm of the language and to reinforce structures and vocabulary. Moreover songs contain words and expressions of high frequency and offer repetition. The stress and intonation pattern of the spoken language can be taught through songs.
Song is also a great language package that bundles culture, vocabulary, listening, grammar and a host of other language skills in just a few rhymes. Songs can also provide a relaxed lesson on a hot boring day. Almost everyone loves songs. It is a part of our language and life from before birth onwards. As a baby, we often hear our mother and father sing a song to deliver us sleep in the bedroom. When young children, we play, sing, and dance to a rhymes. As adolescents, we are consumes by the beat of popular songs artist in the world. As adults, we often hear song on television, movies, theater, and even nightly news. When we work, when we play, song is there to reinforce or every mood and emotion.
From explanation above, we are suggested to include songs in language learning as well. Songs had heard by the people in the world since they are born until died. So, listening to the songs has been a habitual and liked by everybody. Beside of that, by songs we can provide a relaxed lesson on a hot boring day.
The important thing about choosing a song to do with a class is to make sure that the lyrics are clear. It can be very frustrating for the students not to understand a word. Furthermore, M. Lynch, provides three principal song selection criteria, they are:
Use songs that are popular with the students whenever possible. Unfortunately, students frequently select songs for classroom use which are objectionable in some way making the song unusable.
Songs must have clear and understandable lyrics. Nothing is worse than a song almost nobody can understand. If you have trouble understanding the lyrics by listening, then another song needs to be selected.
Songs should have an appropriate theme. There’s enough bad news, negativity and violence in the world already. Songs with any type of negative theme should be avoided. There are plenty of positive, upbeat, even humorous songs available.
The activites for Teaching Listening Through Songs :
A. Lesson plan for listen and do songs
Before you start teaching any song, as certain that the classroom CD player is ready for use and that every student can hear equally well. If you are going to use handouts, distribute them to the students but tell them not to read the lyrics until after the first listening. If you are using a textbook, tell the students the page number. If you do not have a textbook or access to a photocopier, you may write the lyrics on the board or on a poster before you start.
B. Stage 1 : Pre-teaching activities
According to Davies and Pearse (2000), this stage is useful to prepare the learners for what they are going to hear, just as we usually prepare for real-life situations. Important points to consider for this stage are as follows:
To get the students interested in the topic of the song and to warm them up, you can show a picture or other reality related to the song and ask the students what they think the song is about. Tolerate some native language use, as these are young learners and beginners.
Next, read the title of the song aloud, and explain it through actions and visuals.
Ask the students if they already know any words in English related to the title of the song. On the board, write any English words that the students mention.
Finally, explain the unknown vocabulary from the song through actions and visuals. There are usually very colorful pictures in young learners’ books, and it is time-saving to make use of them.
C. Stage 2: While-teaching activities
This stage is useful to help the learners understand the text through activities. As pointed out earlier, one advantage of listen and do songs is that students are active as they are listening. However, do not expect your students to learn the song and the accompanying actions in the first listening. They will need to listen to the song a few times. Here are the activities while
First listening. The aim of the first listening, as pointed out by Harmer, is to give students an idea of what the listening material sounds like. Let the students listen to the song without any interruptions so that they will have an opportunity to hear the music and the lyrics. This may also be termed free listening. This activity quite beneficial and motivating for the students, and they express positive feelings about free listening. After the free listening, tell the students to look at the lyrics of the song (from the handout, textbook, board, or poster), since this is probably the best time to let students see and read the lyrics. (If the students read the lyrics before the first listening, they may try to read along and not concentrate.) Next, read the lyrics of the song aloud and ask the students to listen and follow from the handout. Finally, read the lyrics aloud line by line and ask the students to repeat every line aloud. After completed the repetition phase, use the actions for the song. Read every line aloud, demonstrate the associated actions, and ask the students to do the same actions. The following well-known song, “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” teacher can illustrates the activity. At this stage, it is the responsibility of the teacher to ascertain that each student understands the vocabulary and actions in the song and that they can do the actions when they are asked. It is for the teacher to decide whether to do extra repetitions. Students may say they understood everything because they want to proceed to the next stage right away. To check student understanding, randomly name the vocabulary that you have taught and ask the students to do the accompanying actions.
Second listening. Play the song again and guide the students both by singing and doing the actions that you have already taught. This time, ask the students to just listen and do the actions under your guidance. Hearing the teacher sing the song and seeing the teacher do the actions help students overcome feelings of shyness and lack of confidence. Besides, students find it funny and interesting when they see their teacher doing the actions to a song. This situation motivates the students and prepares them for the third listening, where they will be asked to sing the song.
Third listening. This is the stage when students are asked to sing the song along with the CD or the teacher line by line. As a teacher, check for correct intonation of language—not music—and pronunciation, and do some remedial work on any problematic intonation or pronunciation.
Fourth listening. Ask the students to sing the complete song along with the CD and join in the singing yourself. Also, ask the students to do the accompanying actions.
D. Stage 3: Post-teaching activities
This stage is generally accepted as the stage when the teacher moves on from listening practice to focus on other language skills such as reading, speaking, and writing.
By using songs in the classroom, students can practice their listening skills and increase their cultural knowledge. Almost any song can be used in the ESL classroom. The pronunciation and rhythm lessons are the same as for the children’s songs and the lessons may help students become more interested in different types of songs. Practicing lyric reading, studying the vocabulary, and listening to various songs can help students become more familiar with popular songs and make them more confident in their ability to listen and understand the world around them.
Teaching Listening Through Games. Games Just like songs, games also provide wonderful atmosphere in the children’s language class. It is widely documented that English language games improve learning, and with children, they are one of the most effective classroom tools. The first reason why games are so useful is that since games make learning fun, children are willing participants and are not just present in class because they have to be. Students pay more attention because when they enjoy themselves, they do better, feel better about themselves, and do even better – it is a learning cycle working in their favor. Next reason is playing a game has a purpose and an outcome. In order to play, students have to say things. Therefore, they have a reason to communicate and this makes them want to know and learn more. In addition to this, games stimulate and motivate children to a new level. They know that if they do not pay attention, they will not be able to play the game well and they will let their team down so they make more effort to join and learn as much as possible.
The proverb ‘repetition is the mother of skill’ becomes very meaningful during the games in children’s language class as students get to use the language all the time with a lot of repetition. Although repetition is boring in some cases, during games it is fun for children. Also because of the fun involved in the game a massive amount of vocabulary and grammar can be revised in a short time because it is very difficult for learners to remember vocabulary if they never use it. Furthermore, the physical movement involved in some of the games also helps keep children stimulated and alert. Children naturally have a lot of energy and are not good at attending formal lessons for long periods, and so if they participate in a game involving physical movements from time to time, they will never get impatient and bored. Most importantly, the philosophy of encouragement in corporated into these games increases confidence in all students. Usually this does not just mean they get better at only English, but in all subjects in school. This in turn makes the teachers more motivated and optimistic, and they can really make a difference in their lesson.