The value of songs and chants for young learners
Elizabeth Forster British Council Primary School in Madrid
Abstract Chants and songs have long been recognised as fun and child-friendly tools in both First and Second Language Acquisition. This article proposes that this pedagogic recourse has a strong linguistic justification based on recent neurological studies on how the brain processes and produces speech. However, the main focus of the article is looking at the why and how of using songs and chants in the young learner classroom. Key words: Pedagogical tools, Prosody, Pronunciation, Didactics of EFL, Music and rhythm Resumen Canciones y trozos de lenguaje rítmico (es decir chants) han ganado un lugar merecido en la enseanza de una lengua, primera o segunda. Este artículo propone que este recurso pedagógico tiene probada justificación lingüística basada en estudios neurológicos que investigan como el cerebro procesa y produce el habla. El énfasis principal de este artículo será examinar como mejor aprovechar este recurso pedagógica con alumnos en los primeros aos de primaria. Palabras clave: herramientas pedagógicas, prosodia, pronunciación, didáctica de EFL, música y ritmo
1. The Value of Songs and Chants for Young Learners Two basic questions will be asked in this article and an attempt made to respond to them. First of all WHY should songs and chants be an important element in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class and secondly some ideas as to HOW to make the best use of this teaching resource. Why teach songs and chants Here are some of the reasons that I believe justify an increased and systematic use of songs and chants. Children will noticeably increase their vocabulary bank of lexical items and multi-word structures. These multi-word structures can include a range of sociolinguistic situations appropriate to the age and needs of the pupils such as greetings, leave-takings, requests and any language items necessary for basic classroom functions and routines. There will be an improvement in English speech rhythms, intonation and pronunciation. Memorisation of longer word strings will be facilitated. Music and rhythm work can be dovetailed into grammar and language activities and allow for fun and creative uses of classroom time outside of the specific time allotted for "English". This gives the

下一页