Songs for Teaching English Grammar

Songs For Teaching English GrammarESL and EFL teachers thinking about using songs and lyrics to teach English grammar will find this table we've compiled a useful resource. Highlighted songs are those available as complete lesson plans here on tefltunes.com... Eric Clapton / Wonderful Tonight (lyrics) Songs for teaching present simple The Beatles / She Loves You (lyrics) Bette Middler / From A Distance (lyrics) Fool's Garden / Lemon Tree (lyrics) Songs for teaching present continuous Rod Stewart / Sailing (lyrics) Suzanne Vega / Tom's Diner (lyrics) The Beatles / Yellow Submarine (lyrics) Songs for teaching past simple Gloria Gaynor / I Will Survive (lyrics) Celine Dion / Because You Loved Me (lyrics) John Lennon / Jealous Guy (lyrics) Songs for teaching past continuous Oasis / Champagne Supernova (lyrics) Aerosmith / Cryin' Michael Buble / Haven't Met You Yet (lyrics) U2 / Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (lyrics) Songs for teaching present perfect Chris de Burgh / Lady In Red (lyrics) Sinead O'Connor / Nothing Compares To You (lyrics) Queen / We Are The Champions Anastacia / Left Outside Alone (lyrics) Songs for teaching present perfect Led Zeppelin / Since I've Been Loving You (lyrics) continuous Foreigner / Waiting For A Girl Like You (lyrics) James Blunt / Goodbye My Lover (lyrics) Maddness / My Girl (lyrics) Songs for teaching past perfect Simon & Garfunkel / I Had The Strangest Dream (lyrics) Erik Hassle / Hurtful (lyrics) Madonna / This Used To Be My Playground (lyrics) Songs for teaching used to Dandy Warhols / We Used To Be Friends (lyrics) Bruce Springsteen / The River (lyrics) Pet Shop Boys / The Way It Used To Be (lyrics) Jamie Cullum / Next Year Baby (lyrics) Songs for teaching going to future Jack Johnson / We're Going To Be Friends (lyrics) Savage Garden / Truly Madly Deeply (lyrics) James Blunt / You're Beautiful (lyrics) Songs for teaching will future Gloria Gaynor / I Will Survive (lyrics) The Rembrandts / I'll Be There For You (lyrics) Whitney Houston / I'll Always Love You (lyrics) Songs for teaching future continuous The Police / Every Breath You Take (lyrics) Ottis Redding / Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay (lyrics) Faith Hill / You Will Be Mine (lyrics) Songs for teaching future perfect Sheryl Crowe / It's Only Love (lyrics) Frank Sinatra / If You Go Away (lyrics) Simply Red / If You Don't Know Me By Now Songs for teaching 1st conditional (lyrics) Cyndi Lauper / Time After Time (lyrics) Beautiful South / I'll Sail This Ship Alone (lyrics) Red Hot Chili Peppers / If (lyrics) Eric Clapton / Tears In Heaven (lyrics) Enrique Iglesias / Hero (lyrics) The Beatles / If I fell (lyrics) The Beatles / With A Little Help From My Friends (lyrics) Beyonce Knowles / If I Were A Boy (lyrics) Songs for teaching 2nd conditional Gwen Stefani / Rich Girl (lyrics) Barenaked Ladies / If I Had $1,000,000 (lyrics) Hoobastank / If I Were You (lyrics) Joan Osborne / One Of Us (lyrics) Norah Jones / Painter Song ABBA / Money Money Money (lyrics) Johnny Cash / If I Were A Carpenter (lyrics) Lisa Stansfield / Change (lyrics) Songs for teaching 3rd conditional Gloria Gaynor / I Will Survive (lyrics) Songs for teaching "wish" Pearl Jam / Wishlist (lyrics) Westlife / Written In The Stars (lyrics) Offspring / Kirsty Are You Doing Okay? (lyrics) Songs for teaching passive voice Gloria Gaynor / Let's Mend What's Been Broken (lyrics) The Beatles / Norwegian Wood (lyrics) Stereophonics / Mama Told Me Not To Come Songs for teaching reported speech (lyrics) The Killers / Somebody Told Me (lyrics) Please contact us with your own suggestions. Also see our table of songs for discussion topics. http://www.tefltunes.com/grammarsongs.aspx Songs For Discussions ESL and EFL teachers thinking about using songs and lyrics to stimulate class discussions will find this table we've compiled a useful resource. Highlighted songs are those available as complete lesson plans here on tefltunes.com... Business & Songs about jobs & work Dolly Parton / Nine To Five (lyrics) Money Shania Twain / Not Just A Pretty Face (lyrics) The Kinks / Nine To Five (lyrics) 000. Springsteen / Queen Of The Supermarket (lyrics) Songs about food shopping They Might Be Giants / I Am A Grocery Bag (lyrics) .000 (lyrics) Songs about wealth Gwen Stefani / Rich Girl (lyrics) Spin Doctors / Two Princes (lyrics) Men At Work / Land Down Under (lyrics) Songs for Australia Day Midnight Oil / Beds Are Burning (lyrics) Bing Crosby / White Christmas (lyrics) Songs for Christmas Chris Rea / Driving Home For Christmas (lyrics) Michael Jackson / Thriller (lyrics) Culture & Songs for Halloween Sting / Moon Over Bourbon Street (lyrics) Customs Johnny Cash / Galway Bay (lyrics) Songs for St Patrick's Day U2 / Beautiful Day (lyrics) Barry Louis polisar / All I Want Is You (lyrics) Songs for Valentine's Day Linkin Park / Valentine's Day (lyrics) Madness / It Must Be Love (lyrics) Nizlopi / JCB Song (lyrics) Songs about bullying Superchick / Hero Education Busted / What I Go To School For (lyrics) Songs about school Alice Cooper / School's Out (lyrics) Joni Mitchell / Big Yellow Taxi Songs about the Michael Jackson / Earth Song environment The Kinks / Apeman (lyrics) The Kinks / A Gallon Of Gas (lyrics) Environment Bing Crosby / Let It Snow (lyrics) Madonna / Rain (lyrics) Songs about the weather The Beatles / Here Comes The Sun (lyrics) Travis / Why Does It Always Rain On Me? (lyrics) Bob Dylan / Ugliest Girl In The World (lyrics) Christina Aguilera / Beautiful (lyrics) Songs about beauty Right Said Fred / I'm Too Sexy (lyrics) Fashion & Sugababes / Ugly (lyrics) Beauty Paolo Nutini / New Shoes (lyrics) Songs about fashion The Kinks / Dedicated Follower Of Fashion (lyrics) Beach Boys / Vegetables (lyrics) Oliver / Food Glorious Food (lyrics) The Kinks / Have A Cuppa Tea (lyrics) Songs about food & drink The Kinks / Maximum Consumption (lyrics) ZZ Top / TV Dinners (lyrics) Food & Drink Weird Al Yankovic / Eat It B. Travie McCoy / Billionaire (lyrics) Barenaked Ladies / If I Had $1. Songs about good health Nina Simone / I Got Life (lyrics) Health & Bon Jovi / Bad Medicine (lyrics) Fitness Athlete / Wires (lyrics) Songs about illness My Chemical Romance / Cancer (lyrics) Flaming Lips / Spiderbite Song (lyrics) History Songs about past times Brian Adams / Summer of '69 (lyrics) Brian McFadden / Real To Me (lyrics) Britney Spears / Piece Of Me (lyrics) Songs about fame & Jennifer Lopez / Jenny From The Block (lyrics) Media & celebrity Lily Allen / The Fear (lyrics) Entertainment Lady GaGa / Paparazzi (lyrics) Vincent / Don McLean (lyrics) Songs about art Norah Jones / Painter Song Arctic Monkeys / Mardy Bum (lyrics) Songs about arguments Black Eyed Peas / Shut Up (lyrics) Deep Purple / The Spanish Archer (lyrics) Pink / Family Portrait (lyrics) Songs about divorce Usher / Papers (lyrics) Bobby McFerrin / Don't Worry Be Happy (lyrics) Songs about feeling low Oasis / Stop Crying Your Heart Out (lyrics) Life & Beyonce Knowles / Honesty (lyrics) Songs about honesty Relationships Mr Hudson / White Lies (lyrics) Busted / Who's David? (lyrics) Songs about jealousy John Lennon / Jealous Guy (lyrics) Songs about love & Barry Louis Polisar / All I Want Is You (lyrics) marriage Robbie Williams / Something Stupid (lyrics) Good Charlotte / Hold On (lyrics) Songs about suicide Missy Higgins / The River (lyrics) Songs about unrequited James Blunt / You're Beautiful love Radiohead / Creep (lyrics) Mike & The Mechanics / Silent Running (lyrics) Songs about conspiracy Muse / Rule By Secrecy (lyrics) theory REM / Man On The Moon (lyrics) Genesis / Man On The Corner (lyrics) Songs about homelessness Phil Collins / Another Day In Paradise (lyrics) Politics & Stereophonics / Lying In The Sun (lyrics) Social Issues Black Eyed Peas / Where Is The Love? (lyrics) Bob Dylan / Blowing In The Wind (lyrics) Songs about war Green Day / Holiday (lyrics) John Lennon / Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (lyrics) Science & Songs about space Elton John / Rocket Man (lyrics) Technology The Killers / Spaceman (lyrics) . Queen / Radio Ga Ga Radiohead / Fitter Happier (lyrics) Songs about technology The Buggles / Video Killed The Radio Star (lyrics) Madness / Driving In My Car Songs about driving Chris Rea / Driving Home For Christmas (lyrics) John Denver / Leaving On A Jetplane (lyrics) Songs about flying Lenny Kravitz / Fly Away (lyrics) Michael Buble / Come Fly With Me (lyrics) Travel & Transport Alicia Keys / Empire State Of Mind (lyrics) Elton John / Belfast (lyrics) Stereophonics / Nice To Be Out (lyrics) Songs about places Sting / Englishman In New York Tony Christie / Amarillo (lyrics) Will Smith / Miami (lyrics) Please contact us with your own suggestions. http://www.com/themesongs. Also see our table of songs to teach English grammar.tefltunes.aspx Life & Barry Louis Polisar / All I Want Is Intermediate Pronunciation _ n/a Valentine's Day Relationships You 4 Jan 11 Upper Culture & Mixed Skill _ n/a St. Patrick's Day U2 / Beautiful Day 5 Intermediate Customs Mar 10 Culture & Advanced Mixed Skill _ n/a Australia Day Midnight Oil / Beds Are Burning Customs 6 Jan 10 understanding Culture & Advanced Reading Christmas The Pogues / Fairytale Of New York song lyrics Customs 6 Nov 09 Upper Culture & The Jackson 5 / I Saw Mommy Pronunciation running dictation Christmas 5 Intermediate Customs Kissing Santa Claus Nov 09 Culture & The Jackson 5 / Santa Claus Is Intermediate Functional giving advice Christmas Customs Coming To Town 4 Nov 09 Pre Culture & Chris Rea / Driving Home For Listening word bingo Christmas 3 Intermediate Customs Christmas Nov 09 Culture & Shakin' Stevens / Merry Christmas Elementary Vocabulary _ n/a Christmas Customs Everyone 2 Nov 09 . interesting way. Setting words to music is a great way to boost your students’ language retention and teach them lessons in a new. (Download) . That’s why we’ve united our favorite songs for teaching English. Click here to get a copy. you begin with…ABC! Maria from “The Sound of Music” sure knew what she was talking about. Culture & Beginner Vocabulary _ n/a Christmas Bing Crosby / White Christmas Customs 1 arch > Task > Writing (Sorted by Level in Ascending order) Upper Life & Writing writing a letter divorce Pink / Family Portrait 5 Intermediate Relationships Dec 09 FluentU English Educator Blog Want to speak English naturally? By Emily Monaco Comments are closed 9 Hip Modern Songs for Teaching English to All Levels When you read. And we promise—they’re far from what you’d expect! Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. but they can include fill-in-the-blank exercises. in-context usage examples and more on screen. writing exercises to continue the song or even creating adaptations of the song with new words. That being said. . which can seem daunting at first. The only limit here is your imagination. Ideas for structured exercises will depend on the grammar points you’re trying to teach. but it’ll be far more helpful for your students. After all. In our selection. All FluentU videos are accompanied by interactive subtitles which allow you to see definitions. you have a wide variety to choose from! We’re here to help you out with this. There are many different ways to use songs in the classroom. depending on the class you have and the goals you have in mind. scientists agree—music offers loads of benefits to language learners. We’ve chosen 9 different songs adapted to different levels of ESL students. If you’re on the lookout for songs to use. advanced students can take full advantage of their favorite songs as well.Songs are a fantastic way to help students work on different elements of language learning. from sing-a-longs to more structured listening exercises. Take advantage of them in the classroom right now! The first step is to choose a song. try resources like YouTube and FluentU to track down your favorites in a format that’s easy to listen to in the classroom. A more structured exercise will take a bit longer to prepare. we’ve made sure to choose songs that are written in a grammatically correct way and that highlight certain key vocabulary or grammar points in their lyrics. Whatever you decide to do with the song you choose. As students to contribute their favorite songs for new class lessons. . I like it.” Simple enough. you should reread and edit as needed before using them in the classroom. which. Then call on people at random to insert a food item to be asked about.” It’s no surprise. it goes a little something like this: “When I like it. then. you can go through it in class once or twice with the video as an accompaniment. that most of the elements in the song are food vocabulary words. but soon after. The lyrics go through a series of questions beginning with “Do you like…” and then answer each question by saying. yum. yum.If you opt for YouTube or another site. But once you’re armed with these tools. The ideal way to use this song in the classroom is in an interactive way. yuck. you’ll often find lyrics included along with the songs. I do. I don’t. right? As for the refrain. Because the song is fairly easy to learn. ask students to write (and sing!) their own “Do you like…” questions. In order to do this without putting your shy students on the spot. I hate it. The song is ideal for introducing and reinforcing this vocabulary. of course. yum.” or “No. When I hate it. Choose songs with catchy refrains and repetitive structures to make sure beginners are getting the most of them. . Repetition in a song allows a beginner to catch on to what is being said/sung and then chime in by the end. yuck. you’ll be ready to start planning your lessons! 9 Modern Songs for Teaching Hip English Grammar and Vocab Lessons When using songs to teach beginners. Do You Like Bananas? Teaching Point: Yes/No Questions “Do You Like Bananas?” is a great song that’s ideal for teaching yes/no questions to beginners. yuck. “Yes. try having the whole class sing the song. repetition is key. it may be enough to ask the class to chime in at moments when the day of the week is being said. While this classic rock song is certainly fun to listen to. You can approach this song in several ways. Be sure to closely examine the lyrics for new vocabulary with students in this case. helping them to truly understand the words of the song before moving on to making their own sentences. and the Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” is a perfect example.To ensure that the question form has been well integrated by all students. “My Favorite Things” . and follow the song portion of the lesson with a worksheet of yes/no questions or a pair work activity to reinforce what’s being taught. the exercise makes a fun way to end a week of classes that have introduced them to the days of the week and months of the year. “Friday I’m in Love” Teaching Point: Days of the Week Vocabulary It’s fun to find ways to use classic songs in class. it’s also great for learning the days of the week. You can also use it as a jumping off point to allow students to make their own sentences about what they do on each day of the week. Start the lesson by introducing the question form. be sure that the song isn’t the only element of the lesson. In this case. For true beginners. Then.Teaching Point: General Vocabulary “My Favorite Things” is a fun song to help students get talking about things that they enjoy. for example. While the things that Maria describes in the song are fairly poetic. particularly grammar points. have students adapt the song to their own favorite things. The good news for students is that they can use many songs that they’re already familiar with to study these different grammar elements! Here are three choice songs for intermediate level students. and they don’t have to get nearly as descriptive as Maria does! A great way to use this song is to have students draw pictures of one of the things that Maria says she likes. “Somebody That I Used to Know” and “Call Me Maybe” . You can either have them write out the song themselves or give them sheets with blanks to fill in. have students stand in a line and hold up their picture when their lyric is being sung. “whiskers on kittens” or “brown paper packages tied up with string.” Once you’ve discussed the song together and have figured out what the lyrics mean. they’ll be ready to tackle more difficult topics with their songs. students can also use the structure to describe things that they like themselves. have each student contribute a picture. After this exercise. as follows: __________ __________ __________ These are a few of my favorite things! As students move into the intermediate phase of their learning. Once they’ve finished. Lyrics like the following allow them to think about which past tense is appropriate to use and why: No you didn’t have to stoop so low Have your friends collect your records and then change your number I guess that I don’t need that though Now you’re just somebody that I used to know (From “Somebody that I Used to Know”) I wasn’t looking for this But now you’re in my way Your stare was holding Ripped jeans Skin was showing (From “Call Me Maybe”) In order to use these songs in class. the most efficient way would be to make worksheets in advance with the lyrics typed out and the appropriate past construction removed. Replace these removed past constructions with a blank. Hopefully. this activity will get students singing along! “All My Loving” . accompanied by the infinitive verb in parentheses.Teaching Point: Past Constructions Use “Somebody that I Used to Know” or “Call Me Maybe” to review different past constructions with your class. Students should fill in the correct answer. verify answers using the recording as a dictation. replacing future tense conjugated verbs with blanks and the infinitive verb in parentheses. This exercise is ideal to use with false beginners (beginners who have studied English before and forgotten) to remind them of the future tense. “Counting Stars” . Here are a few of our favorite ways to use songs that will interest and engage your advanced students.Teaching Point: Future Simple This classic Beatles tune will have students using the future like pros soon enough! “All My Loving” uses the auxiliary will construction in the future fairly consistently. Make a worksheet as you did for the last exercise. making it ideal for practicing this future form. you can have a lot of fun using songs in the classroom. Now. on to songs for advanced learners! When you’re teaching advanced learners. as well as for intermediate learners who just need a bit of practice. Once you’ve established the correct use of the subjunctive with your students. “If I Were A Boy” Teaching Point: Subjunctive While advanced students will usually have seen quite a few different verb tenses in their day. (“I see this life”). it’s up to you whether you want students to write a more formal essay or a song of their own! “Across the Universe” . future (“we’ll be counting stars”). If it’s the latter. asking students what they think this mood implies in English. they’ll usually have seen pretty much every verb tense there is—but that doesn’t mean they’ve mastered them all! “Counting Stars” is a fantastic way to do a general verb review using the same fill-in-the-blank exercise we discussed above. and that’s where “If I Were a Boy” comes in. allow them to come up with their own “If I were…” scenarios. Then play the song at the end of class to see what One Republic really meant to say. present progressive (“life swinging”) and that’s all just in the first two stanzas! The only trouble with using this song in this exercise is that many of these verb choices are open to interpretation based on how the student understands the song—so turn it into a debate! Ask students to defend their choices. Use this song to introduce a lesson on the subjunctive. The reason that this song is so perfect for this exercise is that “Counting Stars” features the past progressive (“I’ve been losing sleep”).Teaching Point: Verb Tense Review By the time students have reached an advanced level. You can either have them share these statements orally in class or use this in-class preparation for a take-home written production assignment. they may have yet to encounter the subjunctive. present. and they may just open up a new side to the song. we’re sure that making the most of these songs in your ESL classes will not only make the ESL classroom experience more fun. for this reason. you’ll love using FluentU in your classroom. There are tons of great choices there when you’re looking for songs for in-class activities. Listening to the Beatles classic “Across the Universe” is a great place to get this review. .Teaching Point: Gerunds Gerunds are something that students first encounter as beginners or intermediate learners. perhaps with a fill-in-the-blank exercise. and One More Thing… If you liked these fun songs. Click here to get a copy. allow your students to delve further into the poetry of the song. cartoons. It’s got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking world actually watch on the regular. culminating in a songwriting exercise for the entire class! Whether your students are writing their own songs or learning from the lyrics and music of others. but more fruitful too! Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. FluentU takes real- world videos—like music videos. documentaries and more—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons for you and your students. Advanced students will likely have a lot to say about the figurative language used by the songwriters and. but advanced students can always use a good revision of gerund forms. this song can also be an excellent way to delve into topics related to stylistic or figurative writing. Once you’ve done a gerund review. (Download) Oh. kids’ singalongs. much more. On FluentU. Students will be able to add them to their own vocabulary lists. commercial jingles and much. . all the videos are sorted by skill level and are carefully annotated for students.You’ll find music videos. and even see how the words are used in other videos. Words come with example sentences and definitions. musical numbers from cinema and theater. ” they’ll see this: . if a student taps on the word “brought.For example. ” . these great videos are all accompanied by interactive features and active learning tools for students.Plus. like multimedia flashcards and fun games like “fill in the blank. group projects and solo homework assignments. Not to mention.It’s perfect for in-class activities. it’s guaranteed to get your students excited about English! . 1:36 POW ERED BY WISTIA If you liked this post. something tells me that you’ll love FluentU. the best way to teach English with real-world videos. Bring English immersion to your classroom! 5+ Awesome ESL Short Stories to Harness Reading Power in Your Beginners How to Make the Best ESL Lesson Plans with a PPP Template . .Comments are closed. . . 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Learning a foreign language becomes fun and easy when you learn with movie trailers.com/english/educator/blog/songs-for-teaching-english/ .FluentU brings language learning to life with real-world videos. Try FluentU for Free © 2016 FluentFlix Limited.fluentu. news and inspiring talks. All Rights Reserved. music videos.