Sandra Heyer
Song lyrics are sometimes difficult for English language learners to comprehend; in fact, some song lyrics are difficult for even native speakers of English to comprehend! (Consider, for example, this line from a Credence Clearwater Revival song: There’s a bad moon on the rise, famously misheard as There’s a bathroom on the right.) That doesn’t mean, though, that a song can’t be a valuable learning tool in the classroom. One way to create a successful song-based lesson is to focus on an aspect of the song that is accessible to English language learners and build an activity around that feature. To do that, you start by examining a song’s lyrics to find a feature you can exploit. (For activities that target one aspect of a song, please see the archived articles in this newsletter or my website, Songs and Activities for English Language Learners.)
For the activity described here, there is no need to give a song that level of scrutiny (although, as always, you will want to make sure the language and content are appropriate for your classroom). All you need is a recording of the song and copies of its lyrics. The simplicity of this lesson, however, doesn’t mean that your role as teacher is any less important. You help students identify which new words are critical to getting the gist of the song’s meaning (and which are not), as well as which new words are worth memorizing. This activity works best if students know at least two-thirds of the words in the song.
Create a Minimal-Prep Song-Based Lesson in 4 Easy Steps:
- Students listen to a recording of the song without the lyrics. As they listen, they jot down about five words in the song that they are sure they know. (They do not write down words like the or and.) When the recording is finished, students volunteer their lists of words, and you write them on the board. More often than not, collectively students will come up with the song’s key words. Ask students to guess what the song is about.
- Students read the song’s lyrics. You clarify the meaning of new words that are critical to understanding the song, impressing on students that they do not need to understand every new word. Identify which new words are worth memorizing.
- Students listen to the song a second time while reading the lyrics.
- Students listen to the song a third time, without the lyrics, or they watch the song’s official music video online. (Preview the video first to be sure it’s appropriate for your classroom.)
Sometimes during the course of the lesson, one of the song’s features might pop out at you. You might, for example, notice that it has a chorus that is easy to sing or speak, tells a story that students could summarize, or has a topic that students could personalize with Draw-Write-Share. Then you could, if time allows, expand the lesson on the spur of the moment.
Example: A Minimal-Prep Lesson on the Song “Fight Song”
This song by Rachel Platten debuted last February and has steadily climbed the pop-music charts. Because of its popularity, clear lyrics, and upbeat theme, it is a good choice to bring into the classroom.
- Students listen to a recording of “Fight Song” without the lyrics. As they listen, they jot down about five words in the song that they are sure they know. When the recording is finished, students volunteer their lists of words, and you write them on the board. My low-intermediate class contributed these words: small, ocean, heart, explosion, brain, voice, fight, life, believe, and bones. Students said they thought the song was about a woman who was afraid to speak but who is now stronger and not afraid.
- Students read the song’s lyrics. Explain that the phrase wrecking balls inside my brain is not a common idiomatic expression. Instead, you could focus on the expression right now, contrasting it with now and explaining that it means immediately–not waiting one minute.
- Students listen to the song a second time while reading the lyrics.
- Students listen to the song a third time, without the lyrics, or they watch the official music video for “Fight Song.”
If your students respond well to “Fight Song,” you could extend the lesson with one of the activities below.
Minimal-Prep Expansion Activities for “Fight Song”
1. Reading the story behind the song
The one-page high-beginning story behind this song, titled “Everybody’s Fight Song,” is on my website, Songs and Activities for English Language Learners. The story can be downloaded as a Word document or as a pdf. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use. Alternately, students can read the story online on the same web page. (The official music video makes more sense if students first read the story behind the song—the video depicts events in the story.)
2. Speaking the chorus
Students read the chorus aloud, maintaining the rhythm of the song and emphasizing the syllables that are stressed when the song is sung.
This is my fight song–
Take back my life song,
Prove I’m all right song.
My power’s turned on.
Starting right now, I’ll be strong.
I’ll play my fight song.
And I don’t really care if nobody else believes
‘Cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me.
3. Personalizing the theme of the song: What Are You Fighting For?
Students sketch someone or something they are fighting for. Under their drawing, they write a few sentences about their picture. Then they share their drawing and their writing with a partner or in a small group. (For more on this activity, please see the archived article in the January 2015 issue of this newsletter or Activity #3 at Songs and Activities for English Language Learners.)
My students all drew pictures of their families. Here are some of the sentences they wrote under their drawings.
- I am fighting to keep my family together.
- I am fighting to learn English. I have to help my daughter. She needs help with her homework.
- I am fighting to get a better job. If I reach my goal, I can provide a better life for my kids.
Before classes began this fall, I downloaded “Fight Song” onto my phone and then tossed copies of the lyrics and the story behind the song into my briefcase, intending to use the materials sometime during the semester with the right group of students. (I teach in an open-enrollment program for adults, and I never know who will show up.) The right group–four women in their thirties—came on the first day of class. Acting on a hunch, I jettisoned part of my planned lesson and instead took out the materials for “Fight Song.” The lesson was a huge hit, partly for an unexpected reason: The women knew the song because of their daughters. One woman said her eight-year-old daughter ran to the radio and turned up the volume every time the song came on; another said her ten-year-old sang along whenever the song played. None of the women had known exactly what the song was about, and they seemed pleased when they read the lyrics and the story behind the song. At the end of the lesson, one woman summed up the group’s reaction to “Fight Song.” This song,” she said, “has a good meaning.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “It has a good message.”
The women all nodded.
