Using songs and chants to teach English

Why rhythm works

English is a stress-timed language: strong syllables come at roughly regular intervals and weaker ones squeeze in between. That is very different from Japanese, where each syllable takes a similar amount of time. Chanting to a beat trains students to hear and produce that pattern naturally. A chant like "WHAT do you WANT? I WANT a BA-NA-na" teaches stress better than any explanation.

Rhythm also helps memory. Language attached to a tune or beat is recalled more easily, which is why many adults can still sing songs from their school days.

Choosing a song

• Repetitive lyrics with a chorus that comes back often.
• Language you are teaching in this unit, or clearly useful vocabulary.
• A slow, clear tempo, at least to begin with.
• Actions that match the words, especially for younger learners.
• Not too long. Two short verses and a chorus are plenty.

Teaching a song in steps

1. Listen first. Play it once while students just listen, or do the actions only.
2. Teach the key words with pictures or gestures.
3. Chant the lyrics without music, line by line, slowly. Students repeat.
4. Add actions for each line.
5. Sing the chorus with the music; you sing the verses.
6. Sing the whole song together. Repeat it over several lessons rather than drilling it all at once.

Making your own chants

Any target sentence can become a chant. Clap or tap a steady four-beat rhythm and fit the words to it:

• "What sport do you like? (clap) I like soccer. (clap)"
• "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, too!"
• "Can you swim? Yes, I can. Can you fly? No, I can't!"

Swap in new words each round: different sports, foods, animals. Let students suggest the substitutions, and the chant becomes a vocabulary game.

Variations that keep it fresh

• Speed up: start slowly, then get faster each round until it falls apart in laughter.
• Whisper and shout: sing one line quietly, the next loudly.
• Half and half: one side of the room sings the question, the other the answer.
• Missing word: stop the music and let students fill the gap.
• Silent line: do the action but mouth the words for one line.

Shy classes and older students

Junior-high students may feel too old for action songs. Use chants instead, keep them fast and slightly competitive, and choose popular songs with clear lyrics for listening activities. Gap-fill listening with a song students actually like can be the highlight of the week.

At home

Parents can use the same ideas: sing during routines (washing hands, tidying up), chant spelling words while walking, or put on an English song in the car and learn one new line a day. Children often sing the song at school the next day, which is wonderful reinforcement.

Tip: Use the same song for one routine all year, such as a "goodbye song" at the end of each lesson. Students start singing on their own, and the routine signals the end of class without any instruction.