ARTIKEL II

TEACHING USING SONG
BLANKS
There are many ways blanks can be used. I give students lyrics with some blanks (specially the parts that have to do wtih the subject we're covering in class). They listen to song once, at the second time they fill in the blanks - as much as possible. Finally, they listen to it another time to check if they got the balnks filled in correctly. This activity takes up to 20 mins.
Blanks can be very helpful when teaching subjects like Simple Past. Pick up a song that has may verbs in the past tense, blank them out and give in parenthesis the verbs in their base form. Have the students complete the song rewriting the past tense of each verb. This will help them memorize the past form of regular and irregular verbs. (can be used with any verb tense)
Teaching ESL in a non-English speaking country is a challenge. Even advanced students sometimes tend to go their mother-tongue in the classroom. So I found a way to keep them in touch with English even outside the classroom: I asked them to bring in a song they liked, a song of the moment. I put some blanks in the lyrics and they didn't get everything after the first time they listened to it. So I had them take the copies home and try to listen to that song anywhere possible (in the car, CDs, anywhere) and bring it in to me the in the following week with the blanks filled in. I also told them to try not to look for the lyrics anywhere else but try to listen to the song itself. It worked out pretty well
STRIPS OF PAPER
Depending on the lenght of the song, you can cut the lyrics in strips of paper and have a contest. I always divide my classes in two groups. So the group that gets the lyrics with less mistakes after the second time (even after the first time, depending on the level of the class), gets a treat, or whatever you feel like rewarding them with.
RELAXATION
I usually bring in some celtic, classic or just instrumental music on test days and put it on very low. I noticed that when this procedure was done, students relax more and feel more comfortable during the test.
GUIDED FANTASY
I usually do this procedure on a frist-day class, to "break the ice". Nothing personnal, but for this procedure I use ENYA (who sings a little bit of folk and celtic music). I prepare a text, very imaginative, something that can take many different points of view, and read it out loud while the song's being played. Students have their eyes closed and I ask them to imagine exactly what I'm reading and let their imagination flows along with the song. This is very relaxin