Helping students learn listening skill effectively by using english songs

Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION - Reasons for the study - Aims of the study - Object of the study - Study method 3 STUDY CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical rationale of the study 2.2 Status of the study problem 2.3 Measures for implementation 2.3.1 Some tips before teaching listening 2.3.2 Measures for implementation - Some ways of using music to practice English listening - Introducing some English songs for listening practice 2.4 Study effects 4 6 8 10 14 CONCLUSION, PROPOSALS - Conclusion - Propossals 15 15 REFERENCES APPENDIX 16 17 Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs INTRODUCTION - Reasons for the study The innovation of teaching foreign languages in general and teaching English in particular has been emphasized since 1980s, together with the trends in educational innovation of the country; in which people not only pay attention to the writing skill practising, but the other skills are also interested in: listening, reading and speaking, especially listening and speaking However, in fact, in the last few years the listening and speaking skills of the students and even of the teachers of English were also limited Therefore, in the renewal of the current reform programs, to meet the practising requirements of the skills, we have to overcome many difficulties, which requires the efforts of teachers and students in a long time In order to solve some difficulties in teaching English listening and helping students listen better, I have chosen the theme: “Helping students learn listening skill effectively by using English songs" ( Giúp học sinh học kỹ nghe hiệu cách sử dụng hát Tiếng Anh) Because, as we all know, if the students learn in a funny and creative environment, they will be excited whenever going to class And the use of music in the classroom is a way for us to create the atmosphere of great learning, brings joy and passion for learning to the students, because "Music is the common language of the mankind "- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Using music to teach English has ever been referer to, but how to make English absorbed in both teachers and learners in a long time by using it doesn’t make me satisfied I hope this experiential initiative will live up to your expectations Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs - Aims of the study To create interest in learning English for students Through the English songs students can easily acquire knowledge better and more important, lead the students into this subject - Object of the study In this study, I focus on the appropriate English songs to the conditions and the singing ability of students, how to design the songs to practice and ways to practise to be good at listening skills, thereby good at English and communicating in English - Study method - Observation Method - Research and Practice Method - Synthesis method Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs STUDY CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical Rationale of the study At school, English as a subject has its own characteristics, causes curiosity to study of many students but it also causes many difficulties that discourage learners Therefore, teachers must their best to help students become interested in learning English Stemming from the point "learner-centered'', teaching and learning approach to has changed fundamentally The teachers are not only the ones that hold and impart knowledge but also a guide, an assistant, an adviser and an inspector The learners are no longer the passive to acquire knowledge They are the centre of the teaching process, have the creativity in the learning process to achieve high results in learning and applying knowledge in real life For foreign language teaching in general and teaching English in particular, the innovation of teaching methods is very important It is hard for students to master the language, be good at all the skills, specially for students at Thach Thanh which is one of 24 mountainous districts of Thanh Hoa province Listening is one of the basic content, a subtle combination of teaching skills and a difficult skill to achieve From the above point, the use of appropriate songs really helps the students interested in the subject, better at listening skill In my opinion, every teacher needs to find an optimal method, in accordance with the actual situation and the individual pupils As a teacher of English, I hope to bring my knowledge to impart easily to the students, and find out teaching methods for myself So I boldly launched research projects: “Helping students learn listening skill effectively by using English songs" I hope the use of appropriate songs for listening skill will help the students extremely interested in the subject, better at listening skill 2.2 Status of the study problem In teaching English, for teachers, combining the four skills: Listening Speaking - Reading - Writing is indispensable in order to comply with the reform programs by the Ministry of Education and Training Teachers need to teach tricks for students to be distinctive, easily recognizable and well in actual use, as well as the associated test concerned so that they can listen properly However, over the years, we have become familiar with such ideas as: "We not have listening competition for students at all levels."; "We need to help students understand and use the phrases, grammar proficiency points as much as possible, so that they can achieve high scores in these tests " In fact, according to the reforms enacted by the Ministry of Education, students learn Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing Skills equally, but they almost only use Writting skill in their final exam That may be the reason that we not pay attention to teaching Listening skills perfectly for students This leads to the fact that pupils have good grammar and are weak at listening and speaking ability Like students in other countries in Asia, they have been trained through a system focusing on English grammar, very little on the listening and speaking ability to Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs communicate Therefore, many students understand the rules of grammar well but cannot express their opinions and have difficulties in listening and pronunciation Listening English seems to be the most difficult task of the Vietnamese in general and students in particular They frequently have some errors in English as: =) Trouble with sounds: Students fail to recognize the same sounds and the relationship between them It seems that there are some difficulties in stress or negative tone between teaching of Vietnamese teachers and the native people =) Have to understand every word Students tend to hear every word from the tapescript and think they are all equally important Actually, it is not true If students not have the ability to select important words from the speech of others, they fail to understand others, which will lead to utter frustration =) Cannot understand fast, natural native speech This is because students have few opportunities to hear native speakers say Students only hear the words of the teachers who speak English slowly =) Find it difficult to keep up Because students are familiar with the sayings of the teachers, when the hear the words quickly in tapes, or direct native dialogue , they can’t understand =) Need to hear things more than once Few Vietnamese students can understand English words when hearing for the first time They have to listen to it so many times to be able to understand =) Get tired and dicappointed Not understanding all the listening passages immediately, students have to hear many times, this makes them tired and frustrated Because of these difficulties, a teaching method which is effective and makes the students excited is needed And in my opinion, the only music can meet the need Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs 2.3 Measures for implementation 2.3.1 Some tips before teaching listening In fact, with the reforms enacted by the Ministry of Education, students learn Listening and Speaking Skills in paralell to Reading and Writing Skills, but in their final exams Listening skill isn’t refered to That may be the reason why we not pay attention to teach the listening skill for students perfectly However, this skill is very important on the way to reach the target language of ours And we will not develop speaking skill if we not develop listening skill To have a successful conversation, students need to understand what partners are talking to them Listening also helps students permeable vocabulary, sentence structures So, when teaching listening, teachers should teach students to listen in different ways Capturing small following skills will help students' listening skill improve rapidly: - Distinguish the differences between the sounds of the phonetic system For example, we can distinguish the difference between / g / and / k / in the word "pig" and "pick" etc - Master grammatical structures For example, in the sentence "Would you please pick up the phone?" people listening must recognize that the word "pick" is a verb and the word "phone" is a noun In addition, from the order of the question and the tone, the listener must recognize this is a question - Guess the meaning of the words or recognize the unnecessary words The guess must be based on the context or the grammar of the sentence For example, in the sentence, "The police hit the man with a billy club," the listener can guess the meaning of "billy" or ignore it - Identify signals of conversations and connecters to conversations with one another help combine Words appearing in conversation including nouns, pronouns, articles, linking words, ect - Have the ability to infer information not explicitly referred to in the article For example: Woman: I want to complain about a man abusing me Policeman: Did the man hit you? Woman: He was screaming at me and threatening me Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs Through the answers of the woman, we can infer that the man didn’t beat her If he did, she responded "Yes" or an other sentence containing direct means - Skimming in listening This is the skill that helps students understand the content of the listening - Summarize - Listen carefully This skill is used to search for information - Know how to assess when listening Students must decide what they are listening is true or false Students should know how to assess the listening - Identify style, different emotions and the variety of language Office: Formal / informal Emotions: angry / excited / Variety of language: British English / American English / - Guess what the speaker will say next Students have to guess when people will say important issues to focus more carefully Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs 2.3.2 Measures for implementation There are many different forms of activities in the use of music for learning English, such as: self -learning, receiving private tuition or practising in groups ( at home or in class) Specifically: *) Some ways of using music to practice English listening a Passive Listening: (Teachers should guide students to practice this way mainly at home) - 'Bathe' language Listen not to understand: Listen! Do not understand The teacher suggested students some English songs Each song can be to minutes long When they're at home alone, open it up just enough to hear, and keep it as background sound all day They not need to pay any attention to it They just their tasks, brush their teeth, wash their face, all homework, surf the internet with all the English sound If students have a CD player, USB player or iPod, bring along to listen in the downtime - for example, moving long hours in the car, waiting for someone or waiting for their turn at the clinic 'Language bathing' is just a matter of having the good habit of hearing, and after some time (a long time, not a few days) students will catch the sounds of English, and find the sounds very easy to listen, but they are completely different from Vietnamese sounds Do not be discouraged because of not distinguishing the sounds after many days: remember that we have to “bathe” Vietnamese language at least for nine constant months before we can say the first words and understand some short words of our parents; and then we again continue to bathe Vietnamese language for or years! - Listen with moving pictures If there is time, students should watch some music programs in English The attached photos will make them more or less 'understand' the song without 'translating' what the singer is singing And this is the second way to bathe language b Active Listening: ( Students can practise at home or in the class) - Listening carefully to some songs they heard during the period 'language bathing' Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs Get back to the lyrics of the songs they've ever heard, read and remember those words in their mind Then put the lyrics away and listen again to understand In this time, they will hear and understand the sounds naturally If they don’t understand a word or phrase, repeat them as several times as they have heard, then flip back the lyrics to compare - Some songs on the CD: Listen many times before reading the lyrics Then, read the lyrics, mainly check the words they have heard or guessed , or words that they can pronounce and write again but not understand the meaning By this, they will discover that many words they are very familiar and speak in a certain way actually need to talk and pronounce differently Then, put the lyrics back and listen again for once or twice more (For example: the words “tomb”, “bury”, I surely thought that they were pronounced 'tôm-b(ơ)” and “bơri” Later, when listening the words 'tum, beri' I did not understand anything I only know which words they are after rereading the lyrics - Sing along while listening Choose a song that they like, find its lyrics then both listen to it and see the lyrics Then memorize and sing along with the singer, and try to pronounce as well as keep the speed and the length right When they are sad, they can also sing to themselves (If they don’t have a good voice and maybe, sing a bit wrongly, it does not matter, because the purpose is practising the pronunciation, speed, length and English accent) And speaking correctly (through songs) is another way to help them better at listening in the future, because the language in the songs is often harder to listen than it in the real life - Answer the questions Teachers can give some questions, ask students to read the questions and then listen to the song in English to answer that question - Do gap-filling exercises Teachers give the students the handout of the lyrics of the song which has been removed some important words Ask students to listen to the song and fill the missing words / phrases The last two methods are used for classroom practising is very effective Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs *) Introduce some English songs for listening Selecting songs to design listening exercises is very crucial Now I will give some songs together with designed exercises, mainly exercises on answering the questions based on the song and filling the missing words / phrases in the song Through these exercises, the teacher can ask students to recall the grammatical structures, phrases, verb phrases, or (if available) the pronunciation Exercise Listen to a song / song snippet and answer the questions based on the song That's Why You Go Away Baby won't you tell me why There is sadness in your eyes I don't wanna say goodbye to you Love is one big illusion I should try to forget But there is something left in my head You're the one who set up Now you're the one to make it stop I'm the one who's feeling lost right now Now you want me to forget Every little thing you said But there is something left in my head Questions: Will the girl tell the boy why she is bored? Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh 10 Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs Do the boy want to say goodbye? Why does the girl go away? Etc… Teachers can let students identify some abbreviations in English, such as : wanna say = want to say, won’t = will not… 25 Minutes After sometimes I've finally made up my mind She is the girl and I really want to make her mine I'm searchin' everywhere to find her again to tell her I love her And I'm sorry about the things I've done I find her standin' in front of the church, The only place in town where I didn't search She look so happy in her wedding dress But she's cryin' while she's sayin' this : Chorus *: Boy, I miss your kisses all the time but this is twenty five minutes too late Through you travelled so far Boy, I'm sorry you are twenty five minutes too late Against the wind I'm goin' home again Wishin' me back to the time when we were more than friends But still I see her in front of church ( Back to * ) Questions: What has the boy finally made up his mind? What did the girl say? Can they get married to each other? Exercise 2: Listen to the song, fill in the blank with words / phrases Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh 11 Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs Forever I stand……… in the darknest The winter of my life came so fast Memories (start) to childhood Today I ……… recall All how ………… I was than There was no sorrow there was no pain Walking through the greenfield Sunshines in my ………… I'm still there………… I'm the dust in the wind I'm the star in the northern sky I …………stay anywhere I'm the wind in the street Would you wait for me …………… I'm still …………everywhere I'm the dust in the wind I'm the star in the northern ……… I never stay anywhere I'm the wind in the street Would you wait …… me forever Would you wait for me forever Will you wait for me forever Lemon Tree * Sitting here in the ………… room Just another rain in the afternoon I'm wasting my time And I got …………to I'm hanging around now And wasting for you But nothing ever happen And I ……… * I'm driving around in my car I'm driving too ………… And I'm too far I like to change my ……… of view I feel so lonely and I'm wasting for you But nothing ever happen And I wonder I Swear I ………… by the moon and the stars in the sky And I swear like the shadow that's by your side I see the questions in your ………… Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh 12 Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs I know what's weighing on your mind You ……… be sure I know my part 'Cause I'll stand beside you throught the years You'll only……………those happy tears And though I make mistakes I'll never break your heart * And I swear by the ………… and the stars in the sky I'll be there I swear like the shadow that's by your side ( I'll be there ) For better or worse, till death us apart I'll love you with every beat of my …………… And I swear I give you ………………I can I'll build your dream with these two hands We'll ………… some memories on the walls And when just the two of us are there You won't have to ask if I'll still ………… 'Cause as the time turns the page my ………… won't age at all ( Repeat * twice) You'll Never Know 3.3 Take a ……… around this lonely place Where a mask is on every……… and painted lips gently kiss the ………… of their cigarsettes This…………… is dreesed in such finess To cover all the emptiness we're standing her in between the pages of a ………… Chorus: You'll ……… know what I feel inside me I'll never know what you think about Until we share what we keep in ………… Until we ………… what we're living without Our ……….move across the wall No ………… , no talk at all Inside the crowd we dance alone With faces made of stone Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh 13 Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs 2.4 Study effects After a year to implement innovative methods of using English songs in teaching English, especiall English listening skill, I feel happy because of the better results I have found that students are interested in the subject , and especially when they practise speaking and listening Most students learn selfdiscipline, self-awareness and discuss the positive implementation of activities that teachers require After a period of teaching, students understand the lessons better and better The rate of weak and lazy students has decreased remarkably Above all of students have made progress in English listening skill, resulting in being better at the rest skills They are no longer timid and afraid of making mistakes as the first time at school They are much more confident in communicating in English At the beginning of the first semester I had a listening test for the students of 10C1 The result was very low Total students tested: 35 Class Total students 10C1 35 pretty good rather good average total % 0 bad very bad total % total % total % total % 14,2 18 51,6 10 28,5 5,7 The result after implementing new method Total students tested: 35 Class Total students 10C5 35 pretty good rather good average total % 03 8,6 bad very bad total % total % total % total % 17 48,6 14 40 2,8 0 It can be seen from the above tables that the application of the method of teaching listening skills as I have mentioned above in actual teaching has been effective And it is more important that students become interested in listening skills, which can help students develop their ability to communicate in English I believe I have made the right choice when using the new method to impart knowledge to students Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh 14 Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs CONCLUSION - Conclusion Although English is a very important subject, very few students learn it well It is important that teacher should change the method of teaching and learning into communicative approach Listening skill is assigned one of four skills that students need to be trained in that method of communication Listening helps students expand their knowledge about the world around them, provide some experience in the field of culture, science and technology and helps students understand and remember the language knowledge and practice language skills Using English songs help the students’ listening skill better Using English songs also create for students the habit and love for listening I think this is an interesting way to be good at listening English And I hope if we know how to apply activities and teaching tips and how to appeal to the students, more and more students reach the target language I'm looking forward to receiving comments from friends and colleagues I sincerely thank you - Propossals As we all know, to organize a foreign language class is not simple Because each method only offers high efficiency when teachers know to choose and use the activities in a reasonable way Therefore it requires each teacher to choose the practical and appropriate English songs when using music to teach English listening skills so that students can have more fun For students, wanting to have good results in this form of learning, they must have serious learning attitude, ability of understanding and ability to contact with real life Only can students make their listening better In addition to classroom training they need to be aware of studying at home Be persistent to achieve this target language Let your ears be "language bathed" much Let identify yourselves which stage you are: the passive listening stage or active listening stage so that you can apply the right method CONFIRMATION OF THE HEAD MASTER Thanh Hoa, May 20th, 2016 I swear this is my experiential initiative, not the copy of the others Author, Trinh Thi Mai Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh 15 Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs REFERENCES Tran Duy Nien- listening training method (posted on EnglishTime Forum - EnglishTime.us) Marilyn Levis (1996) -Teaching English Vietnam ( A teacher training handbook) - Institute of Language teaching and learning – University of Auckland A Course in Tefl Theory and Practice - Vietnam National University.” Web: Google.com.vn and English songs.com.vn Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh 16 Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs APPENDIX LIST OF INTERESTING ENGLISH SONGS: When You Say Nothing At All - Alison Krauss Rolling In The Deep - Adele Pround of you - Fiona Fung Love paradise - Kelly Chen Apologize - Timbaland The Show - Lenka Take Me To Your Heart - Michael Learns To Rock My heart will go on - Celine Dion Big Big World - Emilia 10 Love To Be Loved By You - Marc Terenzi 11 Love Story - Taylor Swift 12 Heal The World - Michael Jackson 13 My Love - Westlife 14 I Lay My Love On You - Westlife 15 Soledad - Westlife 16 This Is Me - Demi Lovato 17 Happy New Year - ABBA 18 A little love - Fiona Fung 19 You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift 20 Yesterday Once More - The Carpenters 21 Rhythm Of The Rain - Cascada 22 Can't Let Go - Tokyo Square 23 Nothing's Gonna Change My Love - Glenn Medeiros 24 Lucky - Britney Spears 25 I Miss You - Miley Cyrus 26 Hotel California - Eagles 27 Seasons In The Sun - Westlife 28 Prelude To A Kiss - Alicia Keys 29 Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley 30 Only You - The Platters 31 If I Let You Go - Westlife 32 Yesterday - The Beatles 33 Love You More Than I Can Say - Leo Sayer 34 Miss You - Westlife 35 Butterfly Fly Away - Miley Cyrus ft Billy Ray Cyrus 36 Until You - Shayne Ward 37 The Climb - Miley Cyrus 38 Everyday I Love You - Boyzone 39 Gotta Go My Own Way - High School Musical band Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh 17 Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs 40 Crazier - Taylor Swi 41 Fool's Garden - Lemon Tree 42 Eternal Flame - Atomic Kitten 43 Paparazzi - Lady GaGa 44 You Are Not Alone - Michael Jackson 45 Top Of The World - The Carpenters 46 Bad Day - Daniel Powter 47 Boulevard - Dan Byrd 48 No Promises - Shayne Ward 49 Unbreak My Heart - Toni Braxton 50 From Sarah With Love - Sarah Connor 51 That's Why (You Go Away) - Michael Learns To Rock 52 Sometimes - Britney Spears 53 Things - Miley Cyrus 54 Someone Like You - Adele Teacher: Trinh Thi Mai- Thach Thanh I High School- Thach Thanh 18 ... Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs - Aims of the study To create interest in learning English for students Through the English songs students can... High School- Thach Thanh Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs *) Introduce some English songs for listening Selecting songs to design listening exercises is... Thanh 13 Helping Students Learn Listening Skill Effectively By Using English Songs 2.4 Study effects After a year to implement innovative methods of using English songs in teaching English, especiall