Teaching Listening Skills to Young Learners through “Listen and Do” Songs
If it’s true that listening skills are the most important outcomes
of early language teaching (Demirel 2004), that explains the constant demand
for methods that successfully improve listening skills of learners. Songs can be one of the
most enjoyable ways to practice and develop listening skills. Any syllabus
designed for teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) to young
learners (YLs) typically contains songs, chants, and rhymes (Bourke 2006). Klein
(2005) argues that teaching YLs is different from teaching adults. YLs tend to
change their mood every other minute, and they find it extremely difficult to
sit still. On the other hand, children show greater motivation than adults to
do things that appeal to them. The purpose of the article is twofold: The
writer will first provide a theoretical discussion about listening skills and
YLs, and about songs and YLs in general; second, I will provide a sample lesson
for what can be called “Listen and Do” songs for YLs at the beginning level.
These are the songs to which students physically respond by performing an
action (e.g., a song contains the words “wake up,” and whenever students hear
“wake up” they perform an action, such as raising their hands).
Teachers around the world can apply this
lesson to songs of their own choice to make students active participants in the
listening activity from start to finish. Following the lesson plan is a short
list of online song resources for teaching young ESL/EFL learners.
Listening skills and young learners
The definition of a purpose (a defined
goal, as in the “wake up” example) enables the listener to listen selectively
for significant information. Providing the students with some idea of what they
are going to hear and what they are asked to do with it helps them to succeed
in the task; it also raises motivation and interest. The fact that learners are
active during the listening, rather than waiting until the end to do something,
keeps the learners busy and helps prevent boredom.
a. Songs and
young learners
b. Songs are
key to primary practice
c. Songs create
a safe and natural classroom ethos
d. Songs
provide opportunities for repetition and
practice
e. Songs
provide opportunities for real language
use
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