江苏省徐州市黄山外国语学校初中英语教学论文 英文歌曲在中学教学中的应用.doc

1、英文歌曲在中学教学中的应用 AcknowledgementsI would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the people who have ever helped me in this paper. My deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to Ms. Ma, my supervisor, for her constant encouragement and guidance. She has walked me through all the s

2、tages of the writing of this thesis. Without her consistent and illuminating instruction, this thesis could not have reached its present form. Second, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Lee, who led me into the world of translation, it is my honor to benefit from his personality a

3、nd diligence, which I will treasure my whole life. I am also extremely grateful to all my friends and classmates who have kindly provided me assistance and companionship in the course of preparing this paper. In addition, many thanks go to my family for their unfailing love and unwavering support. F

4、inally, I am really grateful to all those who devote much time to reading this thesis and give me much advice, which will benefit me in my later stuAbstractThe task for English curriculum is to stimulate interesting in English learning. In order to achieve the goal, many experts do much effort, this

5、 article discusses the English songs to be used as an effective and theoretical teaching aids, first to introduce the many positive roles, and how to apply in language learning, such as listening, speaking, reading, writing skills，then to show English songs help cultivate the students enthusiasm, le

6、arning effect and fun. In the end, introduce how to select and choose a song in English teaching as a supplementary teaching, and what should be attention. The results showed that English songs, if skillfully applied to English teaching, can be used as a teaching aid in English teaching. It can not

7、only can improve the quality of English teaching and have the purpose of educating students, but also can stimulate students to learn English with fun. Key words: English teaching; English songs; language learning; fun; principles摘 要英语课堂任务是激发学生学习英语兴趣，为了实现这一目标，许多专家做了很多努力，本文从英语歌曲被用作一种有效的教学辅助的理论依据入手，介绍

8、其被运用的诸多积极作用,以及如何正确运用在语言学习（听说读写）技能上，然后介绍其对培养学生的积极性、学习效果、文化意识、培养乐趣等的帮助，最后介绍英文歌曲作为辅助教学如何选择，以及选择英文歌曲教学的注意事项进行初步探讨。其结果表明，英文歌曲是可以作为一种教学辅助手段应用到英语教学中的。英文歌曲如果巧妙地运用到英语教学中，不仅可以提高英语教学质量，还具有育人的目的，更为重要的是它能激发学生学习英语的无限乐趣。关键词: 英语教学； 英文歌曲； 语言学习； 乐趣； 原则 Contents Abstract.i摘要.ii. Introduction.1. The Feasibility of Appl

9、ying English Songs .2 2.1 On the Meet of Students Psychological Characteristics.2 2.2 On the Meet of the Students Cognitive Rules.2 2.3 On the Meet of the Teaching Theory .2 2.4 On the Meet of the Linking between Language and Music.2. The Function of English Songs.43.1 Stimulating Enthusiasm for Eng

10、lish Learning.43.2 Strengthening Cultural Awareness for English Learning.43.3 Digging the Moral Factors to Educate Students.53.4 Cultivating Fun for English Learning.5. The English Songs in Teaching the Basic Skills.74.1 The Application of English Songs in Listening.74.2 The Application of English S

11、ongs in Speaking.84.3 The Application of English Songs in Reading.84.4 The Application of English Songs in Writing.8. The Principle of Selecting English Songs .95.1 For the Students in Different Grades.95.2 For the Students in Different Learning Stages.10. The Attention Paid on Selecting English Son

12、gs.12. Conclusion.13Bibliography.14On the Application of English Songs in Primary School Teaching. IntroductionIn New English Curriculum Standard, the task for English curriculum is described like this: to learn so as to build the confidence in English learning. The present study tries to achieve th

13、is goal, which may be of help to improve the quality of English teaching. How can we help students learn in such a challenging situation? Schools are crucial to students learning. However, too many of them focus students most attention on grammatical structures, and practice in isolation. Teaching i

14、n such a way cannot lead students to develop interest in learning English. These phenomena in language class attract more attention from educators home and abroad recently. It is quite important for a teacher to select suitable approaches to teach the primary learners. Bring in creative ideas and im

15、plementing them in EFL classroom can motivate students and make teaching more fun. It has been found that one appropriate strategy to encourage language acquisition is using English songs. Many scholars agreed that songs in the language classroom have been considered a better way to arouse the inter

16、est of the children, it can create a learning environment and strengthen listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Whats more, it can expand cultural knowledge. So do the English teachers. More and more teachers begin to carry out this method. They have realized its advantages:

17、 the ability to capture students attention and lower students stress. In recent years, the research of English songs in English teaching of primary school has got achievements, but there is still room for improvements, for example, the article take the advantage of English songs to promote English t

18、eaching, written by Chen Yiqing, only explores how English songs applied in phonetic skills, listening skills , lexical skills, translation skills. This paper analyses the feasibility of English songs applied in primary school in terms of students psychological characteristics and cognitive rules, d

19、iscuses the importance and significance of English songs in English teaching of primary school, explores the function of applying English songs in primary school, shows how to apply them in different skills and different grades, points out the attention should be paid on the songs selection for Engl

20、ish teachers. The Feasibility of Applying English Songs2.1 On the Meet of Students Psychological CharacteristicsThe psychological characteristics of students are the transition from the thinking in images to abstract thinking, they are relies on each other. (4 Hu Rong, 1998:116-117). The students li

21、ke to memorize English words with visual way but not direct way. Otherwise can students learn with high spirit? While using songs in English teaching methods, you should combine the language with the situation, and create vivid and lively atmosphere in the classroom learning, then the students will

22、receive pleasure mood. At the same time, more learning psychology driving force will be motivated, and the brain is full of vigor and vitality, if achieve these, cant students learn English well?2.2 On the Meet of the Students Cognitive RulesThe progress of student get knowledge is from perceptual k

23、nowledge to the rational knowledge, (4 Hu Rong, 1998:P211), and putting the English songs into the teaching is in line with the cognition law which is from perception cognition to comprehension cognition. The songs put the knowledge into the interesting lyrics, so it combines the abstract /concrete

24、knowledge and fun together .Then build a bridge from perceptual knowledge to rational knowledge with the melodies for students, so the students will maintain a high morale and a strong interest; Finally, they will deepen understanding and strengthen the content in the process of listening or singing

25、 English songs. 2.3 On the Meet of the Teaching TheoryLozano suggests that when we are comfortable to immerse yourself in music or songs, our body will be conducted simultaneously with a large number of physical and mental activities. (5 Xie Jingrong, 2008:70-72). At this time, the mental state is f

26、orming, and the creativity is acting, then the knowledge learned now can be memorized particularly deep and lasting. The tests results showed that teaching accompanied by music is more effective than no music to teaching, which the rate is 2.17-2.50 times high, so we can see music has an important e

27、ffect for language learning.2.4 On the Meet of the Linking between Language and MusicThe most fascinating of human language is nothing but music. Language production originates from the music and rhythms in the labor process, they have a natural linked intrinsically. Languagehas rhythm, so dose the

28、music. (6 Song Jinyan, 2000:178). The rhythm of English plays a similarbeat with music. Music beats in alternating light and heavy beats, each beat has an equal length of time, and the cycle appears regularly. In order to change and get rich in melody, the rhythm of asong is often changeable. If the

29、 text fits with the music perfectly, no matter how they change the original language, it will still be basically consistent with the rhythm. In addition, the skills of singing and speaking are closely linked; they have the same physiological basis. Namely, people are also singing with lung, larynx,

30、vocal cords, pharynx, oral cavity, mouth, tongue and other speaking organs; On the other hand, music and language has the same intrinsic characteristics, such as pitch (tone), volume, stress, intonation, rhythm, pause, re-read. Therefore, the role of music in promoting English teaching can not be ig

31、nored.The Function of English SongsEnglish songs can not only improve our level of English, but even help students form an enthusiasm and interests towards English learning, in addition ,there are some cultural elements and morale factors conveyed by the songs, they can present a vivid foreign pictu

32、re to students ,they can educate them with the lyrics it show to students, too.3. 1 Stimulating Enthusiasm for English LearningIn the International Music Therapy Conference, a well-known American music therapy expert, Ji Lander Sisters pointed out that the songs melody, rhythm and tone can trigger e

33、motional response through the brain, and can affect the physiological state further, if they knew how to control the reaction process, then can relax effectively. (7 Li Min, 1994:P168). The charm of music is endless. When students feel the music, the body cells can relax at the same time, then anxie

34、ty was reduced, the interest was increased. Changing from a passive listening to active listening, English listening is no longer tasteless. So the ability of listening comprehension can be enhanced naturally.3. 2 Strengthening Cultural Awareness for English LearningLanguage is inseparable from cult

35、ure. Culture is relying on language and the relationship between them is very close. If we really want to learn a language, we must be familiar with the language and cultural background knowledge. Songs often reflect the aspirations of a nation and peoples emotions, it can show different times and d

36、ifferent geographical cultural styles. Students increase their knowledge of British or American countries and cultural background by English songs, because it involves knowledge of language and culture, they can reduce the obstacles which were brought by the lack of knowledge background, and then th

37、e English thinking can be cultivated. Language is the carrier of culture. The western culture is a necessary condition for language learning. (8 Hu Zhuanglin, 1998:267). It is difficult to imagine the people who even did not know what the MIT is and where the British capital is can learn English wel

38、l. Because they did not know the west cultural taboos, when dealing with foreigners, the embarrassment occurred to both sides. Learning western culture has become one of the elements to test the students English language proficiency. As the different times people will create different songs, while r

39、eflected in the contents which were linked with their backgrounds closely, so when you teach culture by songs is, after all, a good way. For example, in the 1960s, the American young people were called “Lost Generation”, and the confused state of mind can be seen from a lot of songs. 3. 3 Digging th

40、e Moral Factors to Educate StudentsThe present status of English education is paying attention to moral education in our country. Since 1990, education proposed the goal “strengthening the foundation, cultivating the capacity, developing their personality, improving a comprehensive high quality”, wh

41、ich starts from the examination-oriented education to quality-oriented education, in order to guide students to establish a correct outlook on life and develop their lofty spiritual realm and perfect moral character, while the lyrics of English songs are classic and with thought-provoking words, its

42、 helpful for education to primary school students, students will know how to deal with the thing surrounded them.（9Yu Zhengjing,1999:P301）. August House Audio of the United States published The Animals Could Talk is based on Aesops Fables. It sings stories with the form of songs, not only unique, bu

43、t also easy to accept. In the two pots, the copper pot has a dialogue with a jar; it reveals the truth how to be a man and how to defend a man. The students will not forget with the rhymes of lyrics. Two pots floated down the river one day, One was made of brass and the other was clay, As the pots w

44、ent by rocky rapids in the water, The brass pot said “stays close to me, My shiny sides are strong while your clay sides are fragile, Ill protect you from those rocks we see.” “Stay back!” said the clay pot, till we reach calm water. Youre as dangerous as those rocks we see, Your best of intentions

45、are kind, my friend, But keep a safe distance from me. You can protect me both from breaking on those rocks, Your sides are strong, thats true, But how can you guarantee that you can protect me from bumping in to you.The thought sets in the text condensates in the sound of acoustic, the text skills

46、in music. The role of this song is educational with entertainment.3. 4 Cultivating Fun for English LearningAll good teaching rests partly on the ability to attract the learners attention. (3 Raffini, J.P, 1996). English songs immediately draw the learners interest and attention. Aside from this, the

47、 teachers enjoyed the lessons, they had fun, too. English songs provide a way that is free and emotionally welcoming for children to learn English. Except for the obvious appeal which songs having for children, English songs could be enjoyed in the whole social group settings, and create strong emot

48、ional bonds between students and teachers. These experiences can paint a beautiful picture of school for young learners. English songs have magic appeal for students. Seemingly effortlessly, they will learn multiple verses of complicated songs. Tirelessly, they will sing their favorite ones over and

49、 over again. There are many ways to teach English, but English songs provide such a joyful, inspiring way for children to learn. The English Songs in Teaching Basic SkillsThere are four basic skills of language in terms of our English learners: they are listening, speaking, reading and writing. Whil

50、e learning English songs can help you improve the basic skills, it can be explained as following.4.1 The Application of English Songs in ListeningListening is one of the prerequisite and basis for linguistic communication. Therefore, strengthening the listening training has become the most important

51、 part of learning English. It has shown that the psychological barrier is arisen because of too much tension, fear, anxiety when students do training of listening comprehension, as hearing a complex and dynamic process, it is momentary and no room for duplication. (2 HarmerJ, 2000). English Songs ha

52、s the character of easy-listening melodies and beautiful rhythm, it can ease the tension of students and stimulate them the interest of listening. People were excited and understand it easily, so interests and confidence were aroused, when its hard to understand, the confidence was lost, resulting i

53、n anxiety and panic. Then the grasp of the entire hearing will lose. Thus teacher should create a relaxed and enjoyable environment for students. Dictation of lyrics. Some shorter, gentler rhythms of the songs or paragraph can be used for entire dictation. Songs are played three times, and do it in

54、groups to see which groups do the best. The more they do the more sense of language they will be developed. For Example Edelweisss Big Big World can be used as dictation track. Listening of lyrics. When playing music, the lyrics can be showed for student, but you can dredge some keywords emerging in

55、 the paragraph, and then ask the students to listen three times to complete the missing words, phrases. For example: Never Had a Dream Come True: Everybody got something they had to leave ( ). One from yesterday that just seems to ( ) with time. Theres no use or ( ) wondering. The order of lyrics. P

56、roviding lyrics to students while playing music, but the lyrics are not in the right order, which can be a sentence or words, ask students to sort. Understanding the general idea, judging true or false. Ask them to understand the music general idea after several times repeating effect, and make sure

57、 they are able to make a True or False. For example, according to the Season in the Sun, teachers can give the T/F questions: (How many people were mentioned in the song? And who? How do you understand the words “the black sheep”?).4.2 The Application of English Songs in SpeakingEnglish and Chinese

58、languages are not only different in structure and expression, but also in voice and tone. They belong to different families of languages. Even the Chinese people have a correct expression, however, the foreigners do not feel authentic and nature, and the voice or tone are not in the right place, so

59、its an important task to train students in a good voice and tone in primary and secondary stage. Fluent and clear spoken English is based on good voice, while simple voice training makes students boring. Therefore, teachers should let the students to join the meaningful interaction activities as muc

60、h as possible; besides, teachers should cultivate the students interests of English-speaking. Songs, which are also covered by art forms of poetry and music, they are given a wealth of content, artistic and symbolic significance, so songs can stimulate the positive accumulation of language learning.

61、 There are a large number of authentic spoken words in English songs; they are clear, popular and easy to understand. For example, Wanna=want to; Gonna=going to; Aint=am not or are not; Cause=because; Gotta=got to. These words can help us grasp English well, so that expression of English is fluent,

62、rich, and more sense of the times. 4.3 The Application of English Songs in ReadingEnglish lyrics can be used as reading materials. According to the contents of the songs, you can ask the students to give a conclusion to the general idea, or to design multiple-choice questions for them. As the songs

63、are short, it can not only arise students interest in reading, but also train the students reading skills. In listening to the song Father and Son, using “know, old , tomorrow”; “down, now”; “away, sanely”; “fault, talk” these four pairs of words to consolidate and correct the same pairs pronunciati

64、on. For example, the song Kill yourwn despair, “yourwn” is liaison, allowing students to appreciate and follow it, then to cultivate English language sense.4.4 The Application of English Songs in WritingA song with beautiful tunes also contains a rich content. People who often listen to songs will f

65、ind that it contains almost all of life. Teachers can ask students to prepare an excerpt of this. For the good words, you should collect in time, and then give a classification of the description. Every time you hear a song, you can do these; your writing will be excellent. . The Principle of Select

66、ing English Songs5. 1 For the Students in Different GradesDepending on students level of knowledge, the teacher should select the appropriate English songs. The students in different grades with different levels of knowledge, the songs you choose should not too easy nor hard for them. (10 English We

67、ekly, 26th)English songs are colorful teaching materials, students willing to imitate original singers songs and practice pronunciation. In some schools, students in seventh grade are almost just start learning English. After learning alphabet songs, let students to master the proper pronunciation o

68、f words and rules of the letter combinations pronunciation, and then help them with the correct way to remember English words. Therefore, you can select a number of strong rhythmic songs, teaching students to sing. Such as: Rain, Rain, Go Away. When sing the lyrics “Rain, rain, go away. Come again a

69、nother day. Little children, little children want to play. Rain, rain, go away.” Can sing “rain, away, again”, practice “ai”and“ay” pronounce ei. Another song the More We Get Together, the Merrier well be, the song repeated with the pronunciation of e, it is emerged in these words: “get”, “together”

70、, “merrier”, “friends”. These songs have lively and cheerful melody, the lyrics are easy to sing, and students are not only easy to learn the correct pronunciation, but also remember the new words and the pronunciation of letter combination.Eighth-grade students have mastered the method of memory wo

71、rds basically; a number of sentence grammar, the understanding and application of their learning have become the stumbling block. Therefore, its helpful for teachers to the select and adopts some of the songs to help students understand the grammar and memorize sentence. If the Happy New Year lyrics

72、 adopt the structure: “whatre you doing now”? “Were singing, were dancing, were laughing, and were running”. Students are very easy to remember the tense structure (be plus present participle), present participle of the three forms (sing - singing, dance - dancing, run - running) and interrogative f

73、orms. Sing a song sings that “sing a song, and youll be fine. Sing a song, and you wont be sad”. Students could easily memorize the “Do something and you will / wont .” this sentence structure. From the more we get together the students have learned “the more we get together, the merrier well be”. W

74、e also encourage students to create lyrics, so some of the students also read the lyrics like this “the more we learn, the more ideas we will have, the better well do it”.For the ninth-grade students, the teacher is allowed to focus on guiding them to appreciate the different styles of English songs

75、. If you want to introduce the cultural background and knowledge to enable students to appreciate the beautiful melody in the exotic cultures, and have a specific understanding towards English. Because of learning lots of songs unconsciously, students English proficiency of crossing cultural communi

76、cation knowledge have been upgrading, which is exactly what we are looking for. For example, when we learn the topic of western festivals, we can sing the song Jingle Bells we have learned, in order to allow students to experience the pleasure to Christmas, although there are not Jesus or Santa Clau

77、s, but there are the snow, sled, small horse-drawn vehicles, ring tones, and the people immersed in the thick Christmas with endless fun. Learned the song, you can mold the sentiment, understand some of the traditional culture of the west and expand cross-cultural knowledge. In learning what kind of

78、 music do you like? We are learning to sing a well-known song in American Country Take Me Home, Country Roads. “Country Road, take me home”. What a deep and sincere love of the village peoples nostalgia. The students not only learned about the style of American country music, but also inspired them

79、to love home, love the motherland.5.2 For the Students in Different Learning StagesAccording to needs of different stages of teaching, you should choose the right English songs. Because every stage of English teaching plays different roles, so the teacher should choose different songs to live up the

80、 goal. When the teacher play English songs in pre-class, students will have good feelings. It helps form a lively classroom atmosphere to enable students to study full of energy and improve the efficiency of the classroom. (1 Jim Scrivener, 2002).Some knowledge can be reviewed through songs, such as

81、 the name of the weeks and months, we can sing The Days of the Week from Sunday to Saturday. Singing The Months of the Year, students can review from January to December. Sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes to review all parts of the bodys name. In the lead-in stage, we can also appreciate the rele

82、vant songs. While learning The Sound of Music, you can play and learn to sing Do-Re-Mi song to arouse the students memories on the movie of Sound of Music, Mary who seems by your side, and we can not only appreciate her lively personality, but also stir up the students a better understanding and des

83、ire to the film and cultural background. Therefore, the students of the text discussion and study on the performance are very active, entertaining, which mobilize the students to learn.In the stage of presenting new knowledge, such as the teaching of past tense, I taught the song Tennessee Waltz. It

84、 sings: “I was waltzing with my darling, when an old friend I happened to see . And while they were waltzing; my friend stole my sweetheart from me”. Learn to sing the song that contains the tense of past, students learn the usage of “when, while”, it helps students to understand this tense. In the

85、Sunshine on My Shoulders, make as a general verb and use a variety of causative verbs, appears several times in this song: (Sunshine on my shoulders can) make me happy, (Sunshine in my eyes can) make me cry. (Sunshine almost always) makes me high. (Id tell a tale to) make you smile. (Id sing a song

86、to) make you feel this way. (Id) make a wish for sunshine, subjun-ctive mood and the attributive clause are the junior secondary level to understand , the song used two four subjunctive mood and attributive clause , “If I had a day that I could give you, Id give you a day just like today. If I had a

87、 song that I could sing for you, Id sing a song to make you feel this way. If I had a tale that I could tell you, Id tell a tale sure to make you smile. If I had a wish that I could wish you, Id make a wish for sunshine all the while.” This song put the complexity on the subjunctive mood and the att

88、ributive clause; its easy to understand in authentic language environment, the students understand them easily and impressively. While practicing, you can guide the students to perform while singing a cheerful song, binding static and dynamic ways; it is not only a regulation of body and mind, but a

89、dding the fun to learn, then enhancing their learning efficiency. When we conclude one lesson, you can allow students to sing in unison or solo. This will not only give people edification and enjoyment, but also to enable students to study in the thick atmosphere of the end of a lesson, there are bo

90、undless feeling of the English class, and expect the next section, so that the process of the teaching of English become a happy learning process experience, students would be happy to participate in English language learning activities, they gradually learn the English language well. The Attention

91、Paid on Selecting SongsThe object of our teachers is primary school students, because of their level of knowledge, they cant understand the difficult songs, so teachers should know the questions about it, when choosing songs ,you should do like this:Content should be positive, those unhealthy should

92、 be avoided; content should close to life with distinctive era, too. So that students can resonate; Lyrics should be simple and easy to understand. Dont use large vocabulary out of the students current level. In general, a song contains no more than five new words; Style should be different. It can

93、keep students lasting freshness towards English songs; Rhythm should be not quick. Movie songs, country songs and nostalgic songs are worthy of recommending. Primary or low-grade students can listen to childrens songs, while the rap music, rock music should not be used. Syntax should be correct. Lis

94、tening to a good but full of mistakes can not serve as a good example in the class, because the students do not have “clear-eyed” capability towards language phenomenon. ConclusionOne of the greatest enemies of successful teaching is students boredom. Starting from the theoretical basis of English s

95、ongs, advantages of English songs, and the application of English songs in primary school teaching, we can see that the employment of English songs in English teaching is indeed a very good way as a supplementary tool. It can attract students attention and involvement; it develops students intellige

96、nce and potentiality; it activates class atmosphere; it can digging the moral factors of songs to optimize the function of educating students; it can ease the emotions and stimulate enthusiasm for learning English . Undoubtedly, it must be on the condition that the teacher is good at selecting songs

97、 for the students, being proficiently at the ways of teaching along with the students cooperation and involvement that the high efficiency can be achieved. Bibliography1 Jim Scrivener, Learning TeachingA Guidebook for English Language Teachers M. Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language, Education Press,

98、2002.2 HarmerJ. How to Teach English M. Bering: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2000.3 Raffini, J.P. 150 Ways to Increase Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom. Needlahm heights. MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1996.4 胡蓉: 音乐在英语中的作用M长春：吉林大学出版社, 19985 谢静蓉: 英文歌曲与英语口语教学A. 成都大学学报(教育科学版),20086 宋金燕: 以歌为伴学英语M. 沈阳：辽宁教育出版社，2000.7 李敏: 将英文歌曲带进英语听力课堂A. 19948 胡壮麟: 语言学教程M. 北京大学出版社，1998，20019 余郑景: 英文歌曲与英语学习B. 程度气象学院学报，199910英语周报第26期第6版.