In my summer holidays I tried to refresh and polish my knowledge in English.I attended a teaching on-line course on the WIZIQ platform. I met with the worldwide teachers with different experiences.This course gave me a great spirit to do something good and interesting for my students. At the moment my blog is being based on what I have learned during this course.
Teaching vocabulary chunks through action songs.
Nowdays there are many different language-teaching and memorization techniques. If you are an enthusiastic teacher and eager to teach your students you may use the FunSongs method , it is just for you. At the primary school songs and music is of great help and children are always waiting for the “The time to play”.
Animal Songs, Nursery Rhymes, Fitness Songs, Christmas Songs, Easy English Songs, Educational Alphabet Phonics, Times Table Songs and many others will entertain children, introduce basic skills in English such as recognition of letters, colors, shapes and number concepts. The book by Charles Goodger (Music and Mime, Rhythm and Rhyme, Charles Goodger, FunSongs Education, Edition2013) provides step-by-step guidance on why to use songs and games with children, and on how to integrate them into photos, games, dances… Tons of Fingerplays allow children to clap, tap, shake, stomp, jump, giggle, wiggle stretching their bodies, educating their verbal abilities and their imaginations. The songs that a teacher uses are usually all about aspects of life of interest to young learners. So we have to choose the right song when we learn different topics. Usually we take a song according to topics in the textbook. We need catchy and effective action songs. Music helps to learn language because they have much in common. Music and rhythm can help to enhance the language-learning process. It is a highly effective tool of teaching new vocabulary.
What do we need when we start to learn an action song? We can use files in each action song package. We need mp3 audio files with two versions of the action song - the guide voice action for teaching the song and the music song version. We also can have video. Try to teach the song and do the worksheets before starting the topic. It is useful to have a FunSong puppet.
Teachers should follow the following steps: listening and understanding; speaking and singing; reading; writing. So first ears then eyes.
Let’s take a song. “This is the Alligator”. Let’s start.
1.Brainstorm
Today we are going to learn an action song in English about animals. They like water. Can you write down animals who live in the water?(in native language)
2. Present the song
Play the guide voice version mp3 of the song. The teacher accompanies the song with the actions.
3. Teach the song
Then the teacher turns off the song and teaches the class the words through repetitions and mime. He resists the temptation to translate the words into the native language.
He teaches the meaning of the song chunks by creating visual associations through the mime and action. It’s important the children get the general idea and what each chunk means (on a log for eg.).
Then the class repeats what you say in sound and movement. So you repeat the 1st chunk then the 2d, the1st and the 2d together and etc. After that we introduce melody and the sung voice.
4.Perform the song
The song should be performed and mimed as much as possible. If the class understands that they will perform at some stage the song to their parents it will give each learner an important sense of achievement.
As soon as the class has learnt the action song and experienced PMA, the real work begins, the teacher organizes the work in order to start to acquire and adapt the language chunks for their communicative needs. Answer the questions, work in pairs, demonstrate mime games with a volunteer, children play mime games in pairs. At last children work with worksheets.
In my summer holidays I tried to refresh and polish my knowledge in English.I attended a teaching on-line course on the WIZIQ platform. I met with the worldwide teachers with different experiences.This course gave me a great spirit to do something good and interesting for my students. At the moment my blog is being based on what I have learned during this course.