Music is an amazing tool for teaching languages, especially to children. Good songs will bounce around in a learner's head long after their lesson is over. Young learners pick up vocabulary, grammatical structures, and the rhythm of the language simply by doing what they already love to do...sing. In addition, music can serve a variety of functions in your classroom, at home, or even in the car. Music can set a mood. Music can signal a transition from one activity to another (for both the teacher and the student). Music can be a bonding experience. Here are some of the ways I use music in our classrooms here at Knock Knock English. Play music as background music right from the start of the lesson. Just as you take care to make your learning environment visually appealing and stimulating, you should also note the effect that music has on the atmosphere in the classroom. Entering a classroom can be intimidating for people of any age. For children learning a foreign language, it can be particularly daunting. Music can really help to make your classroom warm and inviting. A typical lesson for me starts with Knock Knock Hello playing in the background. It's a very welcoming song that signals to young children that it's English time. I greet students at the door and as they come into the classroom and sit down, they'll usually start singing or humming along. With super energetic classes, I use soothing music in the background at the beginning of class, such as any of the lullaby medleys from the Super Simple Songs CDs, some classical music, or some of my favorite Hawaiian music. With quieter, shier groups, I'll often have upbeat, even silly music playing to start class. Use music to set a tone right from the start of class. Play music to signal transitions to the students. Children react to music in a way that they don't react to anything else. When a song comes on they recognize and like, they'll notice right away. In our classes, we use songs to welcome students to class, to say hello, to lead into circle-time activities, to signal when it's time to clean up or practice ABCs or read a story, etc. etc. etc. The students know exactly what to do when they hear the music and begin singing along right away. And even when we don't play music as a cue, the students are so familiar with the language from the songs ("Clean up", "Make a circle", "Please sit down", etc.) that they respond quickly to the teacher's directions and often begin singing on their own. Play music to signal transitions to the teacher. When I plan my classes, I loosely plan music to accompany the whole class. I use my iPod so I don't need to change CDs during class. Before a 50-minute class, I'll make a digital playlist of about 70 minutes worth of music (50 minutes worth of class-time music plus 4-5 songs to use as back-ups if I need a change of pace). If you don't have a digital music player, all of the Super Simple Songs CDs are arranged to work great in a class playing from start to finish. Each CD starts with a welcoming song, a hello song, an active song, etc., and then finishes with a goodbye song and a lullaby. You can just put the CD on and let it play. When you get to times when you need to concentrate on an activity, you can just turn the volume down and leave the music playing in the background. When I'm lesson planning, I include a gentle welcoming song, a hello song, a get-up-and-move song, a circle-time song, an abc song, a song introducing some vocabulary target for the lesson, a clean-up song, a storytime song, and a goodbye song. Between many of the songs I'll include some gentle background music such as the Super Simple Songs lullaby medleys or some classical music. Plus I'll also include several other favorites I can play if one of the activities I had planned doesn't go over well. When the Hello! song starts, we all start singing. When Hello! finishes and the get-up-and-move song (such as Walking Walking or Seven Steps) starts, we all start singing and dancing with that song. When that is finished and the Make A Circle song starts, we all come together and make a circle. When that song finishes and we are all seated in a circle, some relaxing classical music will come on signaling to me, the teacher, that it's time to start my planned activity, and signaling to the students that it's time for them to settle down and listen to the teacher. When the activity is finished, I'll forward to the next song on my playlist (maybe the Clean Up song or another active song) and that will signal to everyone what the next activity is. Planning your classes with musical cues not only helps the students recognize what is happening next, but it helps you as a teacher move smoothly between activities. Play music to manage the energy level of the class. You never know for sure what kind of energy level young children are going to come to class with. One day, you have a class full of children bouncing off the walls with energy (often on rainy days when they can't go outside to play), the next day the same kids seem like they are moving in slow motion. Music really helps to calm down a rowdy class, or give a class a needed boost of energy. I use the lullaby medleys on all the Super Simple Songs CDs when we want to create a calming environment in class, as well as several of the slower-paced Learn It versions of the songs on each CD. Sometimes, when a class is full of energy, they need to let it all out before settling down, so I'll play super active songs such as Walking Walking, Seven Steps, Count and Move, Hokey Pokey Shake, We All Fall Down, or The Pinocchio. When those songs are finished, most kids are a little tired and ready to settle down and concentrate. Play music to introduce new language. Songs are a great way to teach new language to youngsters. Even when children don't fully understand all the lyrics, they'll be excited to sing. But when you have songs with simple lyrics that kids can dance and do gestures to, the children sing and learn SO quickly. In my classes, we use songs as part of the learning experience for all of the language themes we are introducing in class. If we are learning colors, we'll sing I See Something Blue and/or I See Something Pink. If we are practicing counting, we'll try Five Little Monkeys or Count and Move. If we are practicing likes and dislikes, we'll sing Do You Like Broccoli Ice Cream? Whatever the theme, we use songs to help teach the vocabulary in a way you just can't do with other activities. When you are singing and dancing, you interact with the language in so many ways. You are practicing listening comprehension, you are vocalizing, you are interpreting the language with movement... and all in a way that is fun and non-threatening to young learners. When you use songs that can be taught through gestures, very little pre-teaching is necessary. Teachers can seat the students in a circle, teach some very simple gestures, and then play the music while everyone gestures along. Most kids will sing along right away, but even the kids who aren't ready to sing will be able to participate with gestures. Play music to review language. Singing songs is a fantastic way to quickly and easily review language you've previously practiced in class. One of the great things about using music to learn is that people just don't forget songs they have learned. I could sing a few lyrics from a song you haven't heard in 20 years and you would likely be able to sing the next line with no problems. In all of my classes I include a couple of songs to review language we learned in earlier classes. The children love to sing some of their old favorites and it's great to see the amount of language they've amassed. Occasionally, we'll have an all-singing, all-dancing class and sing ALL of our favorites. Music is such a powerful learning tool. If you don't use much music in your classroom, give it a try...it will make an immediate impact. If you do use music, think of ALL the ways you can be using it to make your classroom a warmer, more effective learning environment. | |
| 2. Teaching 2- and 3-year olds (By Devon) |
We've received quite a few emails from teachers and parents looking for advice on teaching 2- and 3-year olds, so I'd like to share some ideas on planning a class for these very young learners.
Before getting into a standard lesson plan, it's very important to understand that children from 2-3 years old have very limited vocabularies in their first languages, and from the age of 2 are generally just beginning to string together utterances of more than one word. As such, your main focus with such young learners is not language production, but language comprehension. You'll want to engage the children in interesting, comprehensible activities while providing them with lots and lots of English input. Don't pressure the children to speak...they will when they are ready.
Knock Knock!
We have the students knock on the classroom door before coming in to join the lesson. This is a small signal to the children that they are transitioning to a new setting with new activities. Signaling transitions really helps young children stay calm while preparing them for something fun and new.
If they are speaking, we'll ask a simple question like, "What's your name?" To make sure they understand the question, I'll point to myself first and say "My name is Devon. Devon." Next I'll point to the student and ask, "What's your name?" Use gestures whenever possible to help make the language understandable.
If the student is not speaking much yet, is relatively new to the school, or is just not in a great mood (may have just woken up from a nap), a friendly "hello" and "come in" works just fine. I recommend having music playing in the background to create a warm atmosphere in the classroom. Knock Knock Hello works well here.
Getting Settled
We like to have an activity set up in the classroom so that when the students enter, there is something that immediately interests them and takes their minds off of any worries they may have. Ideally, this is a tactile activity not requiring speaking, but can be adapted so the children need to listen to the teacher.
For example:
Fishing: Cut out a bunch of fish from different colored paper. If possible, laminate them so they'll last. Put paper clips where the mouths are. Make "fishing poles" a nice round piece of wood (avoid anything too pointy), some string or yarn, and a magnet. When the children come into class, first sit down with them and notice the fish together. Point out all the different colors. ("Look! A blue fish! There's a yellow fish!" Etc.).
Show the children how to fish, saying, "I'm going to catch a yellow fish!" Give each child a fishing pole (make sure to monitor them carefully). Say, "Let's catch a yellow/green/blue fish!" If you are reviewing colors, that should be enough. If you are introducing colors point out the colors for them. Continue until all the fish are caught. Count the fish. Collect the fish. Ask for each color one by one, "Can I have all the yellow fish, please?" "Can I have all the blue fish please?" Don't worry if children don't understand you at first. When they bring their fish to you, note the colors, ("Oooh, a blue fish!") and thank the student.
Sorting activities: Go to your local discount store and buy a bunch of different colored "pom-poms", those small little puffy balls used for crafts. Buy some multi-colored containers or small baskets, one for each color of pom-pom. Have the pom-poms spread all over the classroom. Let the children come in and play with them and then ask them to help you clean them up. Sort them into colors. Count them. Put the purple pom-poms in the purple basket, yellow in yellow, etc. 2-3 year-olds really love sorting and cleaning up, so as long as you mix up the sortables (buttons, straws, beanbags, etc.), you can do this kind of activity all the time. It's great for getting children into class with the simple language of colors and counting.
Matching or puzzle activities: Cut pictures into two pieces and scatter them around the room. Have the students help you put them together. As you do so, introduce the vocabulary. For example, cut pictures of different fruits in half. Place halves all around the classroom. Keep the other halves to yourself. When the children enter, show them you are trying to find the matching piece to one of the halves by just going around the classroom trying to make a match. Once the kids catch on, give them each a half to find a match for.
Passports
Each of the students at our school has a "passport", and at the beginning of class, the teacher asks for "Passports please!" As the children bring you their passports, encourage them to say "Here you are!" Count the passports together. With young students, we are always counting (How many?) and naming colors (What color?). The children are reassured by language they can easily understand. Call each child one by one and let them choose a sticker for their passport. "What color do you want?"
If you'd like to print your own passports, here is a link to the cover and inside for a Super Simple Passport. Print the cover PDF first, then turn it over and print the inside on the back. Or, you can just print the cover and leave the inside of the passport white.
Hello Song
Begin every class with a Hello Song. Any of the Hello songs from Super Simple Songs 1, 2, and 3 work great, but our favorite for the youngest students is Hello Hello! from Super Simple Songs 3. It's very simple and fun, and stresses building confidence.
Active Song
Now is a good time to let the students get up and burn some of their nervous energy, so we like to sing an active song that allows the children to have fun and move around the classroom , like Walking Walking, Seven Steps, Count and Move, and We All Fall Down. You don't need to choose a new song for each lesson. Very young chlidren are reassured by familiar routines, and will be just as excited to sing and dance to Walking Walking the tenth time they hear it as they were the first or second time. You don't need to "teach" these songs...just put them on and go!
Circle Time
Make a circle with all of the students holding hands. Make a BIG circle. Make a small circle. Walk round and round, fast and slow! Bend down low, reach up high. Say "Hello!". Follow by singing Make A Circle. Two-year olds like to play around other children, but are still becoming comfortable playing with other children. Circle time is great for helping children learn to play together and cooperate with each other.
Thematic Language Introduction/Review
At the end of Make A Circle, the students are seated and ready to listen/focus. Now is a good time to introduce or review a language theme. For example, the theme might be emotions (happy, sad, angry, etc.).
We often use picture cards to introduce or review new vocabulary. When possible, real objects are the best way to go in class. When introducing toys, for example, it's much more exciting and interesting for young children to see and feel the actual toys. However, it's not always practical for teachers to bring realia to class. Picture cards can work well as a subsitute, but always look for interesting ways to introduce the cards. Have them hidden around the classroom. Pull them slowly one by one from a colorfully decorated envelope or a mystery box. Think of ways to build curiosity before introducing the items. Never just thumb through the picture cards and start drilling.
Thematic Language Activity
After introducing the language theme for the class, try an activity that allows the children to use, or at least indicate comprehenion of, the new language. Simple crafts and activity sheets are great for keeping the students focused and interested while allowing the teacher to use the target language in a meaningful way. For example, when practicing emotions, we might begin by drawing different faces ("Can you draw a happy/sad face?") Very young children won't be able to draw faces very well, but they enjoy trying and it's a great opportunity for them to begin to learn crayon/pencil skills.
Thematic Song
Sing a song related to the language theme of the class. For emotions, we would sing If You're Happy. It's a good idea to let the song play in the background during the Language Activity so that the students become familiar with it and will be comfortable singing and/or dancing with the song. Remember that language production is not your main goal with very young learners. It's okay if they don't all sing. All the students will enjoy listening and responding through dance and gestures, and you'll soon find them singing without any prompting.
Storytime
Next, story time. We sing our Please Sit Down and Storytime Music which indicates it's time to sit down and be quiet. Ideally, the book is related to the thematic language of that class, but it need not be. Very young learners show a lot of interest in books with flaps or things they can touch, like "Where's Spot?", "Where's Maisy?", or "Good Night, Sweet Butterflies."
Passports
We like to finish class by giving each student a stamp in their passport. Call each student by name, let them choose their stamps ("Which one do you want?" "This one?" "This one?") The returning of the passport is a nice way to signal the end of class. Children can be very sad to see classtime come to an end, but when you give the students stickers or stamps in their passports it eases any disappointment they may feel.
Goodbye song
Any of the Goodbye songs from Super Simple Songs 1, 2, or 3 will work great, but our favorite for they youngest learners is Bye Bye Goodbye from Super Simple Songs 3.
Some things stay the same almost every week...Passports, Hello song, Circle Time, Story Time, Passports, Goodbye song. A certain degree of routine is comforting, and it allows you have some natural interaction with the children. Some of the most useful language we learn in class comes during passport time when I get to interact with each kid one to one. Some things change a little but are still familiar...different songs, different sorting activities, different language themes, etc.
Every once in a while you'll want to totally mix things up. Get online and find some age appropriate crafts that may take a little longer than activities you typically do in class. Forget about the flashcards and all the other activities and have a fun craft day!
Be flexible! If an activity is not working, be prepared to move on to another activity. If an activity is working, don't hurry along to the next activity. You don't have to do everything on your lesson plan!
When teaching 2- and 3-year olds, remember that you are not only their first English teacher, you may be their first teacher of any kind! You have such a great opportunity to help your students form positive attitudes about not only language, but learning in general.
Have fun and Keep It Super Simple!
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Knock Knock English 2007
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