3

LESSON
GAMES, RHYMES, AND SONGS
IN THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
PRIMARY EDUCATION
SONGS
USE OF SONGS IN THE L2 CLASS

DYNAMIC LANGUAGE TEACHING INSTRUMENT TO INTRODUCE

▪ New vocabulary
▪ Culture of the language
▪ Pronunciation & intonation
BENEFITS for TEACHERS and
STUDENTS: reduction of anxiety
▪Practice language themes and topics
(vocabulary, expressions, etc.)
▪Multiple intelligences (more participation,
TPR) - Fun system to learn a language
▪Infinite diversity of songs (vocabulary,
emotions, situation, etc.)
▪Dynamic process & motivation– great tool to
combine activities (rhythm, stimulation,
pause, etc.)
▪Encourages active participation
▪Pronunciation (repetition), Easy process to
remember songs
▪History: culture of the L2
SONGS - SELECTION CRITERIA

SOME WEBSITE RESOURCES

▪http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/songs
▪http://kids-songs.tv/
▪http://www.agendaweb.org/songs/songs-for-children.html
▪http://www.anglomaniacy.pl/songs.htm
▪http://www.dreamenglish.com/

TYPES OF SONGS
▪Nursery Rhymes: associated with culture and traditions
▪Songs in general (invented)

SELECTION PROCESS
▪ Age, gender, etc
▪ Objective, interests, motivations
▪ Correctness: grammar
▪ Varieties of language use
 SONGS - SELECTION CRITERIA

WHEN CHOOSING SONGS…find

▪Repetitions → easy memorization
▪Simple melodies
▪Simple rhythm
▪Visual component (videos)
▪Depending on age stage, pop songs with lyrics to match
interests & motivation (www.lyricstraining.com).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W8CKKF_jjA
▪Raping or chanting also good options
http://community.eflclassroom.com/video/teaching-jazz-chants
▪Warning: adult language
 THREE STAGES - SONGS
STAGES
1.Preparation - Goal
▪ Introduce vocabulary, design games, handcrafts, etc.

2.Core activity - Performing

▪ Active singing, variation of speed, volume changes, TFR,
different groupings, etc.

3.Follow-up activity
▪ Practical use of the structures, vocabulary , expressions
learnt in the song. Outcomes.
STORIES:
READING AND
WRITING
WORKING WITH STORIES IN P.E

STORIES
▪Reading
▪Writing

IMPORTANT
▪To teach “reading”, we must take into
account different types of learners
and their needs.
• Context of learning
✓ Children and adults who are learning to read in a foreign
language also need to learn about the culture.

▪ There is a lot of transfer when learning to read in L1 to L2.

ORAL WORK AND STORY PRODUCTION
BASIC CONCEPTS
▪Reading depends on efficient word recognition and comprehension
▪Intercultural knowledge is built through the use of authentic texts

ASPECTS TO TEACH WITH

STORIES

1. Phonological and phonemic

awareness
2. Fluency
3. Vocabulary
4. Integrated reading and writing
PHONOLOGICAL AND PHONEMIC AWARENESS

ABILITY TO MATCH SOUND + WORD

▪The onset is the initial consonant sound (b- in bag, sw- in swim),
and the rime is the vowel and the rest of the syllable that follows
(-ag in bag, -im in swim).

▪For alphabetic languages, phonemic awareness is especially

important because the letters of the alphabet map onto individual
sound units (phonemes).
FLUENCY

Fluency in reading means…

▪Being able to read a text accurately, quickly and with expression.

▪Knowing where to place emphasis or pause.
▪Constructing meaning from the recognized words.
VOCABULARY

▪ In order to understand a text:

1. know the meanings of individual words.
2. assemble and making sense of the words in
context.

▪ Vocabulary should be taught directly and indirectly.

• Direct instruction includes giving word
definitions and pre-teaching of vocabulary
before reading a text.
• Indirect methods refer to incidental
vocabulary learning, e.g. mentioning,
extensive reading and exposure to
language-rich contexts.
INTEGRATED READING AND
WRITING

READING TECHNIQUES

▪Skimming: get a general overview of the content of the text

▪Scanning: find specific information quickly in a text. In scanning

you have a question in your mind and you read a passage only to
find the answer, ignoring unrelated information.
 TEXT

Only two areas of the USA are mild or warm in winter — a) the coasts,
especially Florida and southern California, and b) the southern part of
the Mississippi basin. Everywhere else it gets cold, often very cold. By
the end of November, many American states are often covered in snow;
and although recent winters have been less cold, sport in winter usually
means winter sports, or indoor sports.

By January, many people in North America will have temperatures of

-30°C; not every day, of course, but such low temperatures are not rare.
In Chicago and Minneapolis, the temperature can fall below -40ºF. When
it is very cold, specially when there is a cold wind, few people want to go
outside, unless they have to; but on sunny winter days, winter sports are
popular.

Skimming → (1 minute) Summary of the text

Scanning → (5 minute) What’s the temperature in Minneapolis?

SUGGESTED READING MATERIALS

5 - 6 YEARS
▪ More visual texts (images)
▪ Non-fiction books about dinosaurs, insects, rocks, foreign countries, etc.
▪ Real-life children and places.
▪ First experiences, family relationships, funny and wild stories, etc.

6 - 9 YEARS
▪ Children are curious about other people and places, and about the past.
▪ Favorite topics: stories about other lands, outer space, famous people,
family relationships, feelings, hobbies, mysteries, ghosts, sharks, and
adventures. They have large vocabulary, good thinkers and problem
solvers. They understand that others think and feel different.
▪ They enjoy reading more books, they compete with in “reading races”.
▪ These children are sensitive to criticism and their feelings are easily hurt.
SUGGESTED READING MATERIALS

10-12 YEARS
▪ The interests of boys and girls begin to differ now:
• Boys are likely to prefer books about boys (adventure, sports, science,
and history stories).
• Girls tend to like stories about other girls (mysteries, fantasies, and
adventure stories about girls).
▪ Children this age have individual interests.
STORY TEACHING METHODOLOGY

NARRATION ~ Passive attitude

▪ Reading a story
▪ “Let’s pretend” (Good for exploring different consequences)
▪ Sharing an experience
▪ Discussion and Question/Answer (older children)

PARTICIPATION ~ Active attitude

▪ Participation story (Children retain 60% of what they do, 30% of
what they see and only 10% of what they hear)
▪ Stories with repetitive elements
▪ Choral, chants and echo stories (sound effects or repeat words
when required)
▪ Pantomime (act the story out) / Role playing.
STORY TEACHING METHODOLOGY
VISUAL AIDS – Sometimes a picture is worth a 1,000 words!
▪ Objects (present vocabulary and make story more clear)
▪ Pictures
▪ Comic-style graphs (if there’s a sequence)

SOME MORE POSSIBILITIES

▪ Mystery pictures (draw a story little by little –meaningless until the
end)
▪ Acrostics
▪ ICTs –preparation: be sure they work!
▪ Maps, paper-folding, etc.
GAMES
IMPORTANCE OF GAMES IN FL
LEARNING

• Games for educational purposes:

● Goal of the game → specific learning outcome
(Garris et al., 2002)

• Children can recognize that “language works”

• Educational games provide students an

opportunity to reinforce the previous knowledge
in a more relaxed environment.
DEFINITION OF GAMES

"A game is an activity with (1) rules, (2) a goal

and (3) an element of fun.”
Toth (1995)

Two types of games:

•Competitive games: players or teams

race to be the first to reach the goal

•Co-operative games: players or teams

work together towards a common goal
 The emphasis in the games is on successful
communication rather than on correctness of
language

• Learners’ attention is on the message, not on the

language.

• When they completely focus on a game as an activity,

students acquire language in the same way that they
acquire their mother tongue, that is, without being aware
of it.
Cross (2000)

“Games help bring the classroom

to the real world”
Celce-Murcia (1979)
GAMES: BENEFITS FOR
TEACHERS/STUDENTS
McCallum (1980):

•Affective profits:
• They promote a creative and spontaneous use of language
• They motivate
• They are fun

•Cognitive profits:
• Reinforce grammar in a communicative way

•Dynamic profits:
• Promote the “healthy” competition or co-operation

•Adaptability profits:
• Easy to adapt to age, level and interests
GAMES: EXAMPLES

CHOICE GAMES

● Matching
● Sorting / Ordering
REINFORCEMENT GAMES
● Collecting
● Competitions
● Information Gap Games
● Card games
● Guessing
● Search Games
● Exchanging / Collecting Games
● Role-play Games