The Playlist That I Teach

Music is an essential part of our lives. Everyone enjoys a good tune, and I believe there’s no such thing as a good song to keep you up in a perfect balance, body and soul. Although I also know people who don’t get a real kick out of music (yeah, that sounds odd, right?), I firmly believe that everybody can benefit from and take good advantage of every little thing that makes music in general and songs in particular a powerful means of being, feeling and learning.

I have done my research on the topic and found some really interesting thoughts and ideas which I have come to incorporate into my habitual teaching practice. There’s hundreds of websites with lists of song titles and lesson plans that you can easily make good (and free) use of. And that got me thinking… Why haven’t I done that yet myself? And so here I come…

Here’s a new post on the music I like to use in my classes some now and then, either as an in-class activity, or as a part of a bigger activity or as some extra practice students can do at home. I’ve come across new tunes and rescued old ones from the box of oblivion. There’s not much of a connection among them, just pieces of music I like, lyrics I’m curious about or songs that I believe are worth playing with and for students.

Before you jump right onto the list of songs below, here’s some precepts I try to follow in order to choose songs for the classroom:

1. Choose songs that both your students and you (especially) can stand. If you’re going to play the same song over again in one same day, make sure it’s a song you enjoy.

2. Choose songs that meet your students’ necessities and expectations. I’d never bring in a song about birds and the present continuous when I’m teaching the second conditional and discussing hypothetical situations. Doesn’t make much sense if you know what I mean…

3. And because of that, I normally go for songs that are relatable to my students’ lives. I know some students are not particularly keen on spending their classroom time doing songs and stuff like that, so I try to bring songs that I believe most of my students will enjoy.

4. Make sure the songs you work with are content and language appropriate. It will make a difference whether you’re teaching kids or a group of engineers in their mid-fifties.

5. Save all songs for the record. I have a doc on my computer where I keep track of all the songs I’ve used so far. And stay tuned with the newest hits. Teenagers love to listen to their greatest hits in class!


Thanks for reading that! Now read on if you want to find out what’s the playlist I like to teach. 
 

-Present Tenses

I’m Alive – Céline Dion. User level: A2/B1


-Past Tenses (+ Used to/Would)

Last to Know – P!nk. User level: A2+/B2 (Inappropriate language)
The One That Got Away – Katy Perry. User level: A2/B2
Viva la Vida – Coldplay. User level: A2/B2
You Never Can Tell – Chuck Berry. User level: A1-B1+ (contains household vocabulary)
Walk Away – P!nk. User level: A2/B2


-Future Tenses

Party for Two – Shania Twain. User level: A2+/B2
Come – Jain. User level: A2/B2 (uses of “will”)
Stars – Roxette. User level: A2+/B1+


-Present Perfect Simple

Glitter in the Air – P!nk. User level: A2/B2
Have You Ever Been in Love – Céline Dion. User level: A2/B2


-Auxiliary and Modal Verbs

Little Talks – Of Monsters and Men. User level: A2/B2


-Articles

Sk8r Boi – Avril Lavigne. User level: A2/B2 (contains several phrasal verbs)


-Reported and Direct Speech

Rehab – Amy Winehouse. User level: B1/B2


-Miscellanea (modal verbs, verb patterns, passive voice)

These Boots Are Made for Walking – Nancy Sinatra. User level: A2/B2


-Informal and Vague Language

A Little Party Never Killed Nobody – Fergie. User level: B1/C1


-Learning English Sayings and Giving Advice

Take What You Take – Lily Allen. User level: A2/C1 (Inappropriate language)


-Thematic

Parts of the body: Ain’t Got No – Nina Simone. User level: A1/A2
Christmas: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee. User level: A2/B2
                   All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey. User level: A2/B2


-Songs for Discussion

Discussing relationships: Hot N Cold – Katy Perry. User level: A2/B1+ (opposites)
                                            True Love – P!nk. User level: A2+/B2 (modals of deduction)

Discussing appearance and beauty: Beautiful – Christina Aguilera. User level: A2+/B2
                                                               Look at Me – Geri Halliwell. User level: B1+/C1

Discussing sexism: Can’t Hold Us Down – Christina Aguilera. User level: B1/C1
                                  Respect – Aretha Franklin. User level: B1/C1
                                  Respect – P!nk. User level: B1/C1

Discussing happiness: Happy – Pharrell Williams. User level: A2/B2


Discussing money: Ka-Ching! – Shania Twain. User level: B1/B2
 

-Songs for Relaxation

One Last Wish – James Horner. User level: all



Thanks for reading! I’ll sure make this list grow in the future. Feel free to comment or share your favorite hits with me here!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Funny Valentine: A Lesson Plan

Days have come and gone, yet Valentine’s hangover remains. And though things seem to have changed (bettered, some would dare say), the essence of a festive and romantic celebration echoes customs and folkways from the past.  Valentine Day, or February 14, not only serves the means of myriad blighted couples’ so-called eternal flames to revive, to reignite for at least a couple of hours (mostly minutes!); also, it proves substantially beneficial to promote big companies to spread the message and send their finances soaring. Chocolates, postcards, sparkling wine and love songs on radio stations are among the top picks of the day. However, there is an increasing number of dissenters (seen on FB, for example) who are at odds with V Day and feel an urgent need to stop the nonsense.  I have stood on both sides ever since I started dating. Back in the days, Valentine Day used to be a perfect excuse to eat out at a fancy upmarket restaurant or just to grab some takeaway...
Read more

Getting Christmasy

It’s that time of year again. That time of year when you and your students need a break. But you are the one who probably needs it more. After the first semester is over and because of too many unanticipated hours of marking, sleep deprivation and lack of sunny days, the last thing in the world you truly want to do is design another last set of activities for the pre-Christmas session most (if not all) teachers have to bear. I’ve always dreaded the idea of having to come up with something super cool for the Christmas season at school. So, what I’ve done most of times is google something up and see how it goes with the groups. Usually you come across myriads of webs and grab-as-much-as-you-can-take sort of lesson plans ready to be used. Yet, none has ever seemed to tickle my fancy really, so I’ve always had to make do with bits of everything I found. This time, however, I’ve decided to do the complete opposite: I’ve made my own lesson plan just to try something different, so...
Read more

My Tech Little World

Last night I was sitting on the couch, doing nothing special but watch TV series and sip red wine when I went on FB and saw a photo one of my contacts had shared. The photo was nothing to ring home about, but the sentence on it was, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this on a Sunday before ten in the morning. The sentence reads: “Teachers need other teachers. This is not a job that can be done alone. Collaboration and friendship are vital in keeping teachers sane and happy”. I don’t know what kind of friendship teachers should be after according to whoever came up with this sentence. Maybe it’s camaraderie more than being BFFs, or comrades and BBFs all at once. Who cares! What I really find to be the most important (the most vital ) point here is the fact that sharing is key to this job of teaching. Of course staying friends with your colleagues is important: who doesn’t like to get on well with those you’re going to spend 8+ hours every single day of the working week? My point here...
Read more