Do you have any ideas for teaching through music?

[Susan_Buggi]

Thanks Lucy for your help.

I have my first class with my new student today, so we'll see how that goes. I know, the most important thing is to not show fear, that I must act like I know what I'm doing.

Well, I found out (not through any questioning of my own) that my unenthusiastic student prefers learning through music. His favorite genre is Hip Hop/Rap/R&B styles. Is there any kind of lessons that I could teach that might fall along this line?
Basically on his own time, he listens to that music, searches for the lyrics (in English) and then memorizes the words (I explained that this is where a Dictionary would come in handy)

What kinds of questions would fall in the "Needs Assessment / Needs Analysis" category?

Thanks
~Susan

[Lucy]

Hi Susan,

I'll answer your question in two separate posts.

In a needs analysis, you ask questions to find out what students want to study in class. In your case, it will be very easy to deal with the results, because you have only one student. It's far more difficult when you have a group of people who all want different things.

You can do a needs analysis via a written questionnaire or through informal questions in class. I think it's best to use informal questions with your quiet teenager. Ask about his reasons for learning: how he will use English in the future? how does he use English now? Also ask what he wants to spend time on in class: speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation etc.

When planning subsequent lessons, bear in mind what your student wants. Remember to get a balance in your lessons. Your student might want a lot of fun activities but it is up to you as the teacher to also include activities that will help him progress.

Lucy

[Lucy]

Hi Susan,

I'll now answer your question about using songs in the classroom.

I suggest you ask your student to give you a selection of songs he'd like to study. When you have the titles, either you or your student can get hold of the lyrics. Ask your student to give you several titles and then choose one with interesting lyrics and language.

You can then deal with the song as you would with any other listening activity. If the song has a definite story, you can write 2 or 3 summaries of the story (a couple of sentences will be enough), one summary should be correct and the other(s) wrong. Ask your student to listen to the song and to say which summary is correct. When your student has done this exercise a few times, you can ask him to provide the summary.

You can also do language work. You can give him the lyrics with some words blanked out, he has to fill in the gaps. You can also give him the lyrics with some incorrect words; try to choose incorrect words that have a similar sound to the correct word.

You can also have a general conversation: how does he feel when listening to the song? What do the lyrics make him think of? Does he know any similar stories?

You can also look through this forum where I have answered other questions on using songs in the classroom.

Lucy