Songs to learn English from teachkidsenglish.com
by Naomi Simmons
Go to www.teachkidsenglish.com
Songs are one of the most effective and enjoyable ways to learn and practice English.
- They effortlessly help the brain to remember new words and grammar sentences.
- They help your child speak fluently with correct pronunciation and intonation.
- They are motivating and fun.
- All the family can join in and learn together.
Many years ago, I had French lessons at school. It wasn’t very well taught, but the only French I can remember 40 years later is the three songs we learned. I can still sing them and remember all the words! Sadly, we were never taught the meaning of the words of the songs, and as the language in the songs did not match what we were learning in class, a major learning opportunity was lost.
So, for songs to be effective to teach English, they need to:
- Practice the words being learned.
- Practice the grammar sentences being learned.
- Be simple, catchy and easy to remember.
For example, if your child is learning how to talk about possession using the grammar structure ‘I have…/I don’t have…’ and also learning the English words for toys, an ideal learning song will have words such as,
I have a ball.
I have a ball.
I don’t have a train.
After your child has sung the song a few times, they will effortlessly know how to form sentences with I have… and I don’t have… They will be able to say these sentences without thinking. They will be able to use these sentences with other words too, not just toy words, for example, I have a brother. I don’t have a sister. I have a blue shirt. Using this method, there is no need for complicated grammar explanations as the correct grammar will come out naturally.
Ideally, all English courses should teach new words and grammar with songs. Sadly, songs are rarely used in adult or secondary school English courses. For this reason, many adult learners prefer to use children’s materials so that they can learn more quickly.
Songs in teachkidsenglish.com
As part of the Teach Kids English course, all new language is practiced with songs. The songs have animations for your child to watch while they sing, which clearly show the meaning of what they are singing, with words and grammar they have already seen. When they have learned the songs, they sing them using the karaoke versions. Family and friends are encouraged to join in too.
What about traditional nursery rhymes?
Some schools teach children traditional English nursery rhymes. Famous examples include Baa Baa black sheep and London Bridge is falling down. These songs are hundreds of years old and are very popular with native speaking children. Many have lovely tunes. However, as learning songs they are not that effective. This is because they usually contain very old fashioned English with words and grammar that are not now in use and the meanings are not easy to understand – many are about plagues and political events in history.
In our next newsletter, we will give you some simple methods about how to use songs to help your child learn English better, with a step-by-step guide. Look out for it in your inbox.
Go to www.teachkidsenglish.com
