Teaching English to young learners with songs and games

Publicat în 01. 03. 2021 de Alexandra Naghi
Categorie: inovaţii didactice

Teaching English to young learners can be very challenging and it is very important to use modern strategies, such as music and games, in order to engage students in the learning process and help them acquire new information, by having fun. Here are some examples:
‘Ten little Indians’: “One little, two little, three little Indians…” is a song for very young learners, to enhance numbers from 1-10, that can be combined with mime, showing fingers for each number. Students like it very much and they remember it very easily. (According to the School Syllabus no.3418/ 19.03.2013 for Preparatory, 1st and 2nd grades – Numbers from 1 to 10 + Singing songs adequate to age).
‘Are you sleeping, brother John?’: “Are you sleeping?/ Are you sleeping?/ Brother John, brother John/ Morning bells are ringing/ Morning bells are ringing/ Ding, dang, dong/ Ding, dang, dong!” is a song that young learners like, because they use their hands to show the sleeping mode and to mime the ringing of the bell in the morning. It is a great way for them to repeat and learn the family member – brother and the question – Are you sleeping? ( According to School Syllabus no.3418/ 19.03.2013 for Preparatory, 1st and 2nd grades – Family members + Singing songs adequate to age.)
‘ I love mommy’ : “I love mommy/ I love mommy/ Yes, I do/Yes, I do/ And my mommy loves me/And my mommy loves me/ Yes, she does/ Yes, she does” is a song on the music of “Are you sleeping brother John” used for Mother’s Day. ( According to School Syllabus no.3418/ 19.03.2013 for Preparatory, 1st and 2nd grades – Family members. + Singing songs adequate to age.)
‘ Happy Mother’s Day’: “Happy Mother’s Day to you/ Happy Mother’s Day to you/ Happy Mother’s Day, dear mommy/Happy Mother’s Day to you!” is another song on the music of “Happy Birthday” used to enhance the word “ mommy” and the significance of this important day. (According to School Syllabus no.3418/ 19.03.2013 for Preparatory, 1st and 2nd grades – Family members, Celebrations + Singing songs adequate to age.)
‘ Param, said a little green frog one day’: “Param, said a little green frog one day x 3/ Param x 3/ But we all know frogs do yappy, dappy, doo, yappy dappy, doo x2/ They don’t do param…” is a movement game, in which students strike their upper legs twice, while saying “param” and wave arms in opposite directions, while saying “yappy, dappy, doo”. It is great to enhance the animal “frog” and the colour “green”, while having a lot of fun. It is suitable for all primary school students. (According to School Syllabus no.3418/ 19.03.2013 for Preparatory, 1st and 2nd grades – Animals, Colours + Singing songs adequate to age.)
‘Old McDonald had a farm’ is a well-known song, used to enhance pets and farm animals, as well as the sounds they make. (According to School Syllabus no.3418/ 19.03.2013 for Preparatory, 1st and 2nd grades – Animals + Onomatope + Singing songs adequate to age.)
‘There are two crocodiles’: “There are two crocodiles and a big fat monkey/ Two little snakes are crawling/ A big bird is flying/ The cat, the mouse, the elephant don’t harm anyone/ But only you can’t see the two unicorns.” – is a movement game, translated from Italian ( Ci son due cocodrilli…) used to it to enhance new vocabulary(animals and movement verbs) with students from grades 1-2, but it’s also suitable for grades 3-4. ( According to School Syllabus no.3418/ 19.03.2013 for Preparatory, 1st and 2nd grades – Animals + Onomatope + Singing songs adequate to age.)
‘If you’re happy and you know it’ is another well-known movement game I use to enhance body parts: hands, feet, fingers, etc), but also verbs (clap, stamp, give a hug, etc). It is also suitable for all primary school students. (According to School Syllabus no.3418/ 19.03.2013 for Preparatory, 1st and 2nd grades – Body parts, Simple actions + Singing songs adequate to age.)
‘The alphabet song’ is a repetitive, easy and fun way, used for teaching and reinforcing the letters of the English alphabet, with young learners. Some activities based on the listening of this song may include: filling in missing capital letters in a row, matching words with correspondent letters, etc. (According to School Syllabus no.3418/ 19.03.2013 for Preparatory, 1st and 2nd grades – Children’s Songs and Rhymes).
‘Colours’: “Hello purple, hello blue/ Red for me and green for you!/ Hello orange, yellow, too/ Red for me and green for you/ Goodbye purple, goodbye blue/ Red for me and green for you!/ Goodbye orange, yellow, too/ Red for me and green for you” is a song used to revise colours. Students are asked to listen to the song, sing along and point the colours of the rainbow. (According to Annex 2 of the School Syllabus no. 5003/02.12.2014 – Colours).
‘It’s my job’: “I’m a policeman in my town/ All day long/ I walk around!/ It’s my job/ It’s what I do./ It’s my job/ I like it, too!/ I’m a fireman in the town./ All day long/ I run around…etc.” is a song used to revise jobs. Students have to listen to the song, sing along and fill in some sentences, according to the song and to some pictures, for example: a) I’m a policeman. b) I’m a fireman. c) I’m a milkman. d) I’m a postman. Another related activity is mime. A student stands in from of the class and imitates the position or action of a person doing a job, from the previous activity, while the others have to guess his/ her job: “Are you a policeman?” “Yes, I am.” (According to Annex 2 of the School Syllabus no. 5003/02.12.2014 – Jobs).
‘Listen to my tummy!’: “Are there any burgers?/ Are there any peas?/ Is there any chicken?/ Is there any cheese? Listen to my tummy/ Glipper, glapper, glupper!/ Listen to my tummy/ I’m ready for my supper!, etc.” is a song used to reinforce food words. Students have to listen to the song, sing along and then play a game: one student starts by saying “In my fridge there are some apples”, another student adds something to the list: “In my fridge there are some apples and some cheese”, and so on. (According to Annex 2 of the School Syllabus no. 5003/02.12.2014 – Food).
‘Animal homes’: “ The cheetah in the grassland/ Faster than a man/ The cheetah in the grassland/ The fastest in the land!/ The python in the rainforest…/ The camel in the desert…/ The whale in the ocean…etc.” is a song used to teach animal habitats. The students have to listen to the song, sing along and complete the homes of the animals in the images, for example: a) cheetah - grassland; b) python – rainforest; c) camel – desert; d) whale – ocean. ( According to Annex 2 of the School Syllabus no. 5003/02.12.2014 – Animals and habitats).
All in all music and games are very useful techniques, in teaching and learning English, at a young age, that make teachers’ job easier and more efficient and help students learn English in a relaxing and interesting way.