Iv'e used the Barenaked Ladies " If I had a million dollars" many times.
Lots of cultural nuances and Canadian humour in there and a great start
to the 'what if.....?" questions of all conditionals. 
emma

Emma Bourassa
CESL Coordinator
ESL Department
Thompson Rivers University
900 McGill Road. P.O. Box 3010
Kamloops, B.C. V2C 5N3
(250) 371-5895
fax 371-5514
ebourassa at tru.ca

>>> marjorie03 at earthlink.net 08/09/07 4:03 PM >>>

I teach a low level (basic literacy) ESOL and I have used the song 500
miles.  (see below)
 
 

Good for reviewing the spelling of number words

I make index cards with key vocabulary words that Ss are familiar with,
I
give them to groups of students to hold up when they hear the words
being
sung. 

We talk about being away from home, and how far people are from their
home.


Students listen first then sing along.

 

I am one, I am two, I am three, I am four,

I am five hundred miles away from home

Away from home, away from home, away from home, away from home

I am five hundred miles away from home.

 

Not a shirt on my back not a penny to my name 

I cannot go back home this way

This way, this way, this way, this way, 

I cannot go back home this way.

 

If you miss the train I'm on you will know that I am gone 

you can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles,

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles


Marjorie Richards
ESL Coordinator
Southwest Youth and Family Services
4555 Delridge Way SW / Seattle, WA  98106
www.swyfs.org <http://www.swyfs.org/>  
206.937.7680
 <mailto:mrichards at swyfs.org> mrichards at swyfs.org
  _____  

From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kearney Lykins
Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 10:35 AM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 1650] Re: using songs


Re: Using songs in ESOL.

I have successfully used the Susan Vega song, "Tom's Diner" to teach
prepositions of place.  Most students are already familiar with the
tune. 

The first four stanzas are especially relevant:

I am sitting
In the morning
At the diner
On the corner

I am waiting
At the counter
For the man
To pour the coffee

And he fills it
Only halfway
And before
I even argue

He is looking
Out the window
At somebody
Coming in

etc......
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]-->The techniques I have used include: 

1. Using the lyrics as a prepositions cloze exercise handout.
2. I replay and rewind the stanzas as often as the students request. 
3. For homework, they must complete the rest of the cloze ex.  I burn a
CD
copy of the song for each student to take home, presenting to them at
the
end of class, and they are VERY pleased.
4. During the following class, we listen more and review the homework.
Other
grammar points will inevitably come up. So, once the prepositions are
relatively mastered, I give them an alternate cloze ex handout using the
same song, but this time for all the verbs. 

I have also had great success using the Drifter's song, "Under the
Boardwalk" with similar methods. 


/Kearney Lykins

 



----- Original Message ----
From: Paul Rogers <pumarosa21 at yahoo.com>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, August 8, 2007 12:23:04 PM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 1644] using songs


Below is an essay I wrote  the use of songs in an ESL class of
intermediate
or advanced students. For beginning students I use rhymes such as ...
Mother
Goose! ...and the old popular songs such as The Hokey Pokey and I've
Been
Working on The Railroad.
Paul Rogers
 
The Use Of Songs To Teach Grammar and Pronunciation in ESL Classes, by
Paul
Rogers, January, 2000
     For those constantly seeking materials to use in the classroom,
here is
an article on the use of songs to teach pronunciation and grammar to
Spanish
speaking (and other) students. 
Paul Rogers
 
Summary - 
     Popular songs, such as those of  The Beatles, can be very effective
in
teaching English pronunciation and grammar in ESL classes. Many students
from Latin American countries, especially Mexico, have already attended
classes in which they have learned basic vocabulary and grammar, and
they
are capable of translating English to Spanish. But, unfortunately, 
these
students also cannot or are reluctant to speak English due in great part
to
difficulties in pronunciation of certain sounds. These difficulties in
pronunciation seem to "cause" the students to feel  hesitant to attempt
to
speak English. Conversely, when the students learn English pronunciation
to
a certain extent, this hesitancy to speak  English decreases.
 
Methods used in the classroom  
A. The following letters or sounds have been found to be particularly
difficult for