Music And Songs In Teaching English

Music And Songs In Teaching English There is a belief that first musical instruments appeared as early as speech, which means that the language of words and that of music were formed in parallel, completing and enriching each other. That is why language of words shows so much similarity to music. Both speech and music are characterized by rhythm and melody. Close associations of language and music have rooted in peoples mind very deeply. People often use metaphorically the name of one to refer to the other: they call pleasant words music to their ears, face the music when accepting criticism or punishment for something they have done, use the phrase the language of music to describe a way of expressing meaning through sounds. Sound and word are combined to give birth to pieces of vocal music, where music brings to light the internal sense of the text, reveals what is hidden between the lines. So it is natural to teach language with the help of music and songs. Moreover, a great number of scholars consider music and son gs to be the most productive and effective ways of teaching a foreign language. The role of music and songs in teaching English is very important. Using songs and music is one of the tools a teacher can use to teach English to the class, regardless of the age of the learner. Songs and music are a tie that binds all cultures and languages and, therefore, the best way to make learning English fun. Jeremy Harmer in his book How to Teach English emphasizes the importance of music as a learning tool by stating that music is a strong incentive for student engagement because it speaks directly to our emotions while still allowing us to use our brains to analyse it and its effects if we so wish (Harmer 319); and it plays a multifunctional role in the process of learning a foreign language, it has the power of creating a propitious atmosphere, it can amuse and entertain, and it can make satisfactory connection between the world of leisure and the world of learning in the classroom (Harmer 319). Tim Murphey, indicates two chief assets in the usage of music and songs in re lation to language learning: music is highly memorable; it is highly motivating, especially for children, adolescents, and young adult learners (Murphey 4). Nevertheless, the role of songs and music in teaching English is often underestimated, and activities involving them are often neglected by teachers. The usage of music and songs in the classroom: has often been met with ridicule and a cautionary statement that although students were enjoying class, they were not learning (Salcedo, The Effects of Songs in the Foreign Language Classroom on Text Recall and Iinvoluntary Mental Rehersal). Teachers usually think that students will not take music and songs seriously at English classes; they will have too much fun and will not pay any attention to the pedagogical aim of the song. It is not rare to hear teachers ask questions like What do music and songs have to do with language learning?, What do you do with a song besides listen to it and possibly sing with it?, What else can be done with the song besides gap-filling? This testifies to the fact that teachers are often unaware of the opportunities songs and music can present. There are diff erent opinions, but it is for sure that it is a good way to make foreign language learning much more effective to learners of different age and different levels. Teachers who want to keep their students interested and motivated should use songs and music activities, since, according to Larry M. Lynch, it has lots of advantages: Songs almost always contain authentic, natural language; A variety of new vocabulary can be introduced to students through songs; Songs are usually very easily obtainable; Songs can be selected to suit the needs and interests of the students; Grammar and cultural aspects can be introduced through songs; Time length is easily controlled; Students can experience a wide range of accents; Song lyrics can be used in relating to situations of the world around us; Students think songs are natural and fun. (Lynch, 9 Reasons Why You Should Use Songs to Teach English as a Foreign Language.) Songs and music are invaluable in teaching English at elementary level. No other materials give the teacher such a broad range of possibilities for teaching various aspects of English. An illustration of language in action, the song can be subjected to linguistic analysis or turned into an exercise. Through the use of songs English pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar can be effectively taught. According to Cameron there are three stages of a song as a task for elementary level students: preparation stage (it is very important to activate the vocabulary and to form basic sentence structures in this stage); core stage (the best way to involve students and raise their interest in this stage is to sing the song several times in the core, changing pace or volume and making students perform actions and sing along chorally); follow-up stage (attempts to be a successful completion of the core stage ) (Millington, Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners). Songs can be used to develop students listening skills. They improve listening skills because they provide students with practice listening to different forms of intonation and rhythm (Millington, Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners). Songs can be really helpful in practicing listening skills warm-up work can provide a basis for students to make predictions before listening; listening activities can encourage listening for gist or listening for detail (Hancock 7). Their advantage lies in the fact that they usually go at slower speed than speeches or dialogues; words, phrases, sentences are being sung which usually means that they are uttered more slowly and often more distinctly than in case of speaking. There is a wide range of song-based listening activities for students at elementary level: picture discussion (the teacher presents some key words and/or the title from the lyrics and asks students to predict what the song is about); snippets of information (the teacher plays the first few seconds of the song and asks students to predict from the mood of the music what the song is about); picture selection (the teacher shows students two or more alternative pictures, magazine photos perhaps, and asks them to say which one best matches the contents or mood of the lyric and why); sequencing (the teacher gives students a copy of the lyric with the lines in the wrong order or cut into strips, and students listen and put them in the right order). While listening to songs students hear the language used so that they can both imitate the pronunciation and also subconsciously acquire some of its sounds and patterns. During the process of listening to songs, students subconsciously acquire some of English sounds and patterns. When it comes to singing, they imitate the pronunciation, learning to use rhythm and stress correctly. The task of learning the correct use of stress and rhythm becomes simpler because students are lead by the rhythm of a song. There are a few activities which students at elementary level can do with a song to practice pronunciation. The most effective one is repeating certain parts of the lyric (drilling). Songs are equally suitable for teaching vocabulary at elementary level. Teachers may use them for two purposes: either to present new vocabulary items or to practise the familiar ones. Often songs represent a theme or topic that can provide the context for vocabulary learning (Millington, Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners). Neil Millington in the article Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners gives examples of two songs: Teaching Practice Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes serves to review body parts, or I Can Sing a Rainbow which is helpful for reviewing color names (Millington, Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners). The repetition of monosyllabic words in childrens songs can help improving vocabulary acquisition (Millington, Using Songs Effectively to Teach English to Young Learners). There are songs which can be used as the basis for dramatization. Tim Murphey states that at elementary level the dramatization of the s ong can be useful to express, through gestures, the meaning of some actions (Murphey 121). The age-old technique of asking students to perform actions with words has become popular because of well-documented research that shows it to be very effective. The idea is that if students can move and do what is said matching words to the actions, language is learnt more deeply. Songs can be a good source of topics for discussion and different classroom activities at elementary level. The plot of the song is a good basis for story telling while characters in the song can serve as a basis for role play. By interpreting and converting song lyrics into prose and discussing the style of the song students have a chance to develop their productive skills speaking and writing. The main speaking activities for elementary level are: role-play (the teacher asks students to imagine that they are characters of the given song); continue the story (students may be asked to imagine how the characters ended up in the situation they are in.); Particular attention should be paid to the choice of songs. Mark Hancock (Hancock 3) thinks that just because a student might not choose to listen to a certain song outside the classroom, does not mean that the student would not enjoy it as part of a learning activity. Teachers are not advised to present the song as something students are supposed to like. Thus, any song could be used for teaching purposes. According to Tim Murphey, any song can be useful and motivating, however teachers should use the students choice of music and song as much as possible (Murphey 14). Another important issue is whether teachers should always use authentic songs or not. According to Jeremy Harmer, listening material as well as the kind of tasks which go with it are determined by the level of students (Harmer 319). Music and songs in English classroom are important and useful tools. This is a great formula for keeping students always interested in the language they learn. With their help students can not only learn English but also relax and enjoy their class. There are benefits to using songs in the classroom; however, more often than not, songs are used relatively ineffective, often as activities between learning. No matter how enjoyable or memorable singing songs can be, it will not teach learners to use the language and will not give them the ability to communicate in another language. Reframing songs into tasks according to preparation, core, and follow-up stages enhance songs potential as teaching and learning tools. Songs and music can be used for practicing different aspects of English, and all learning skills can be improved.

Gene Forrester Essay -- Literary Analysis, A Separate Peace

â€Å"A Separate Peace† begins with the main character, Gene Forrester, returning to the Devon School for boys in search of two places from his youth that he has an emotional connection to. The first place is the marble steps of the First Academy Building, and the second is the tree by the river which he finds â€Å"smaller, shrunken by age† (Knowles, 14). He comes here so that he can resolve what happened there seventeen years ago and move on with his life; to find peace within himself. Once Gene has visited the tree, we find him standing before the tree once again, but now in his youth. Gene is portrayed as a reserved person, a good student, and a good athlete. We also meet his friend Phineas (also known as Finny), an amazing athlete, not so good of a student, and an out-going, positive, people-person. The two of them stand before this enormous tree that to someone like Phineas is an adventure, and to the other boys present is foreboding, just like the future that awaits them. â€Å"The tree was tremendous, an irate, steely black steeple beside the river. I was damned if I’d climb it. The hell with it. No one but Phineas could think of such a crazy idea. He of course saw nothing the slightest bit intimidating about it.† (Knowles, 14) The older, seventeen year old boys jump out of this tree in training for World War II that looms over the characters during this story. Wanting to jump out of the tree shows the eagerness of younger boys wanting to play t heir part in the war, like a challenge to prove their manhood. Phineas jumps out of the tree and encourages Gene to do so as well; they are the only ones who jump out of the tree that day and it sparks a bond between them. World War II is an important part of this story because it forces Gene a... ...ree. So much has changed since his childhood, but only now does he have the strength to face what had happened. Perhaps the tree was no longer so massive and menacing because like all obstacles we face in our youth, when returning to it, it always seems a bit silly to have been so competitive, or to have made such a huge deal, or become so emotional over something so small and insignificant in the scheme of things. The tree itself wasn’t what was truly vital; it was what it symbolized. It was the struggle between Phineas and Gene, the blaze of war, and all the trials from adolescence packed into one moment of his history that actually held the adult Gene’s attention. Returning to this spot and the marble steps, like the headstone of a grave (the headstone for Gene and Phineas it could seem), finally allowed Gene to let go and create finally for himself, peace.

My Idea of Leadership

My idea of leadership without dominating is being able to inspire others, motivate, set a vision, communicate, and of course respect others. A leader must have an honest understanding of who they are, what they know, and what they are capable of. To be a successful leader, you have to be able to convince your followers, not just yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. In my opinion, this can build confidence in your followers to have faith in you, in order to be able to lead. I strongly believe that good leaders are made rather, and not born.If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders are developed through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. My personal experience as a volunteer with the Kids against Hunger Program has allowed me to demonstrate being a leader without dominating the event. As a volunteer, I often would work with people with different capabilities and personalit ies. I learned if you respected the ideas of others they would respect you and often times my thoughts and suggestions would set the tone of the initiative and others would follow.As a student you take on many responsibilities to include attending school, the completion of assignments on time, and studying. Responsibility means that I will show up to school on time and ready to learn; I will pay attention in class and I will be responsible for making sure I am participating in class and not relying on others to get me through. I realize that being responsible does not always mean that I will always accomplish my goals, but being responsible and oriented helps me to better accomplish the tasks ahead of me.I take total responsibility for my life and would rather succeed than fail. A successful leader is one that is responsible; knows their strengths and weakness and is able to set realistic and attainable goals. Attendance is a frame of mind and a leadership characteristic in that you r desire to learn sets you a part from others. This is the frame of mind I strive for on a daily basis. Participating in classroom discussions, volunteering at my part time job to taking on added responsibilities, to being a team player in DECA and helping with fund raising for children that have muscular dystrophy.My experience has taught me that community involvement can lead to leadership roles. Often times when you step forward and out of your comfort zone you are being your self-worth for the type of individual you will be in the future. A recent group project in History class is a good example where each individual had specific responsibilities; however without an individual leader our group was unable to organize our ideas. I took this opportunity to step forward and volunteered to become the group leader, obtaining the cooperation of the other team members, which ultimately lead to our successful completion.

Doping in Sports and the Current Issues for Management

Once and for all, I did not use steroids or any other illegal substance. (Mark McGwire) Doping in Sport and the current issues and challenges for sport management, how did it all start and what now? Sports in the world have been generating billions and billions of dollars for years. This money comes from sponsorships, media rights, and legal gambling. All of a sudden, out of know where several sports have been destroyed by doping. Doping has questioned the integrity of most sports on a global scale. A combination of sports businesses and the federal government has joined forces to place laws and punishments to stop the use of both performance enhancing and recreational drugs. For years it has been argued that small progress has been made due to ineffective plans and strategies for dealing with doping in sports because of commitment from the organization within. Many have opinions on the poor management and lack of reliable information to implement an appropriate doping policy. 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