Using English songs in English study-.docx

using english songs in english study music is one of the basic expressions of the human spirit, songs are considered to be an effective tool of language teaching. english songs can be very good materials in english listening teaching. there are many advantages for using songs in language teaching. songs can relax and motivate students, get them to be attentive and let them have fun in their studying. so they can change the classroom atmosphere and create learning situations. songs also present the newest vocabulary and expressions in context. through listening and singing english songs, students may become familiar with the pronunciation of native speakers. in recent years, increased attention has been paid to the importance of learners affective factors in determining the quality of learning. positive emotions can help language learning and make it easier, while negative feelings will inhibit progress of learners. gasser and waldman (1998) propose that if learning can be made enjoyable, the students will learn more. among the affective factors, anxiety and motivation are two important ones upon which songs may have a direct and great influence. it is generally agreed that too much anxiety blocks language learning. there are several sources of anxiety, but at least one of them is associated with classroom atmosphere. most chinese students feel a little nervous in listening classes. teachers need to find an effective way to relax students in their classes. hill (1975) suggests that enjoyment can be a positive factor in overcoming anxiety. so we can infer that in order to relax students, the teachers may need to make the teaching and learning activities interesting and enjoyable. it is widely accepted that motivation is very important in influencing the learners success or failure in learning the language. motivation, says jeremy harmer (19840, is some kind of internal drive that encourage somebody to pursue a count of action. if we perceive a goal and that goal is sufficiently attractive, we will be strongly motivated to do whatever is necessary to reach that goal. ellis (1988) considers that motivation is a determine factor in second language acquisition.use english songs as teaching material is usually regarded as one way to do so. most of the students are in favor of songs because they help to create a less tense atmosphere in class. music has the potential to change the atmosphere in a classroom. music may also engage the right hemisphere of their brains more, and make learning a more holistic experience.english songs ranging from folk songs to pop can be used for listening teaching and they can be used in various ways 1) using songs as materials of listening comprehensionsongs are sung for love, friendship, brotherhood of men, human beings inner life and succeed of justice. most of them have a theme. so they can be applied as intensive listening materials with some questions. the task should be done in a several- step sequence: at first, teacher may introduce the back- ground of the song have been chosen if it is important or necessary. it can help the students understand the song easier. then, teacher may present the pre-listening tasks. teacher can ask the students to try to get what it is telling. after the listening of the song, students are asked to answer the pre- listening questions. furthermore, teacher may ask some students to tell anything they heard exactly even if it was only a word, a phrase or a sentence. finally, listen to the song again and present post- listening tasks. if it is necessary, the script of the songs lyrics can be showed to students and some useful language points can be explained by the teacher. in this way, students can understand a song well. students will find that they are in a much better position to appreciate. besides, english songs are also good materials for extensive listening.2) using songs for blank- filling exercise there is another method that allows the students to discover some parts of the lyrics by themselves. this is done by handing out a copy of the song with some missing words. the students are asked to listen carefully in order to make out the exact words being sung. when they cant figure out what it is thats being sung, they usually insist upon listening to the passage again and again until they understand every single word. when all the words have been figured out, teacher should remind the students to pay attention to some pronunciation of the singers. in this way, students will be familiar with the pronunciation of the native speakers gradually.3) using songs as a starting point for discussionin english listening teaching, the main problem of english teachers is how to stimulate students to have a discussion for through understanding of the listening materials. songs serve as an incentive for discussion in class. russian methodologists consider works of art- poetry, prose, and paintings to be effective tool that stimulate the content of foreign language speech. songs belong to a genre including both lyrics and music can be added to this list. they are marked by the richness of content, poetical metaphors and symbols, which emotional reflect the world we live in. exerting the emotional influence on the listener, songs can inspire the students to express their attitude towards what theyve heard. discussions enable the students to have a through understanding on the topic.the main difficulty in applying english songs as teaching aids lies in choosing the most suitable ones among the maze of those available. the suit-ability of a song depends on how well it fulfills the purposes of teaching new materials. the lyrics should be clearly pronounced and easily discernible, the vocabulary should be rich and varied, and the song must carry some sort of massage, or at the very least, tell an interesting story. when using english songs in teaching listening, teachers need feedback from students. feedback will identify either strong or weak points and give some clues for revision. feedback also can be obtained through questionnaires, interviews, conversations, or journals. in addition, teachers need feed-back from their colleagues. it is helpful for teachers to ask other teachers to observe. they can get valuable informatio