CHAPTER 1: STUDENT CREATED SONG EXERCISES

1. Introduction

There is nothing new about using songs in class. The international appeal of music
can unlock interest in even the shyest and most reserved students by engaging them in a
real listening medium. Songs have often been used to supplement listening classes, and
depending on the content of the song, other classes such as writing and culture as well.
Typically, teachers simply cloze the lyrics of the song and may prepare several
comprehension type questions. Recently, there have been a number of song book texts
published which include ready made listening exercises to go along with each song.

They need to think about songs that would work well with this type of activity. They
need to make decisions about how to cloze the song and how to write questions about it.
They need to understand and to think about the meaning of the lyrics. It is also refreshing
for the students and me to hear new songs -- songs that are meaningful to the students. An
added benefit is that the students bring in the CD or tape, which permits the teacher to
follow the copyright law.

Here is a set of guidelines and some suggestions for doing this activity:

 appropriate level: all levels

 objectives: listening, reading and thinking practice; song exercise design; fun
 approximate time: 15-30 minutes per song
 preparation time: none for teacher; about one hour per student
 necessary materials: none
 necessary equipment: a CD or tape player
 implementation procedure: teacher makes first song exercise, does the activity
in class, and then asks the students to follow the procedure below

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2. Methods
a. Pick a song that you like and is meaningful to you in some way.
b. Make sure the lyrics of the song are clear and easy to follow.
c. Type, write or photocopy the lyrics on one A4 (standard size) sheet of paper
d. Make deletions to the text based on deleting every nth word or selective words of
your choice. (There should not be more than one deletion per line.) Make sure that
each deleted word is clearly audible.
e. In place of each deleted word, draw a line or parentheses wide enough for the
word to be filled in. (Underlined blanks can be a solid line or a broken line to
indicate the number of letters in the deleted word.)
f. Make sure that the chorus of the song is clearly marked.
g. Make 3-5 comprehension type questions that refer to the song and type or write
them on another A4 sheet of paper.
h. Bring these sheets of paper to class, along with the accompanying CD or tape, the
week before your song exercise is due.
i. The teacher has one week to make photocopies and to think about working the
song into the following lesson. (These song exercises can be done on a stand
alone basis, too, (i.e. as a separate activity).
j. Do the song exercise in class. The teacher can lead this activity or ask the student
who created it to take over. Either way, the student should bring the answers to
class and be prepared to help interpret the lyrics of the song.

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 CHAPTER 2: PASSWORD GAME

1. Introduction

The principle aim of Password is to encourage students to talk about grammatical

aspects of language in a way that makes them feel as though they are simply
communicating in a game.

The preparation consists of making up a number of sentences using vocabulary and

grammatical items that the students have seen in class.

2. Methods
a. Divide the class into two groups.
b. Put two chairs at the front of the room facing the class. The chairs should be
immediately in front of the board.
c. Explain to the groups that you will be writing some things on the board, and one team
member from each group will be sitting in the chairs at the front of the room with
their backs to the board. Their teammates will be able to read what is written there,
but the two volunteers will not.
d. The goal will be for each team in turn to try to explain to their partner what is written
on the board without actually saying any of the words or parts of those words. Each
team will have a given amount of time (for example, 30 seconds) to talk to their
teammate. After the time has passed and if the teammate cannot guess the what is on
the board, the teacher tells the other team that they have the same amount of time to
talk to their teammate (who has been listening to the other team's discussion).

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 CHAPTER 3: GAMES IN THE ESL AND EFL CLASS

1. Introduction

Some teachers think that language games are a waste of time and prefer not to use
them in classroom since games sometimes have been considered only for its one element,
that is fun. In fact, games can provide EFL and ESL students more than that. Among
several strategies used to improve students' proficiency such as visual aids, CALL
(Computer Assisted Language Learning), drama, role-play, and so on, games are another
useful strategy to promote students' language proficiency (Richard - Amato, 1996). This
paper aims to give a clear understanding of what games are and why and how games are
used in the classroom.

2. Methods

It is necessary for those who want to use games as a learning aid to be concerned
about how to use them. Hadfield (1990) suggested that "games should be regarded an
integral part of the language syllabus, not an amusing activity for Friday afternoon of for
the end of the term." Games can contribute to students' skills if they are incorporated into
the classroom, particularly if they are used to reinforce or introduce a grammatical rule or
structure.  For example in the games called "What Would You Do If?" and "Find
Someone Who..." students do not only have fun in class but they learn about some
grammatical rules; they also have a chance to practice and use it with purpose. In "What
Would You Do If?" students learn about the conditionals. In "Find Someone Who,"
students learn how to form questions and answers. Therefore, as we have seen before, it
is  quite a good idea to incorporate games in daily classes. For example, if teachers are
going to introduce present tenses or conditionals, instead of teaching them in a traditional
way, (by simply telling them the rules, have them do some written exercises, drilling and
answering questions), teachers may help students understand these forms of grammar by
playing games, which can also meet all the requirements of the traditional classes
involving learning rules, drilling and repeating. Moreover, students can take this
opportunity to use them in real communication.

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 However, even though games sometimes do not work since student have different
learning styles and preferences, and some other factors such as being used in an
inappropriate time, the nature of games themselves, and even the nature of teachers, it is
still worth trying to us e them in class because they offer several good advantages to
students. Language games used in the classroom are very effective and supportive
activities in contributing to students' language skills and proficiency. Unfortunately,
because of limitations of time and curriculum, teachers normally have to cover all the
content and materials, which students will be tested on, and it is not always easy to
incorporate games into the class.

Nevertheless, it can be seen that games are very useful and can be used to develop
students' language learning and also provide the students an opportunity to practice
communication. Therefore, it is recommended that teachers try some games that may be
useful to their students in order to enhance students' proficiency and help them meet their
goals, and at least to try new things in teaching.

REFERENCES

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VII, No. 4, April 2001, retrieved on November 24 th 2017. from
on: http://iteslj.org/ http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Cunningham-SongExercises.html

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. V, No. 3, March 1999, retrieved on November, 24 th 2017. from
on: http://iteslj.org/

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VIII, No. 9, September 2002, retrieved on: November 24 th 2017.
from on: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Deesri-Games.html