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Question 302 - Teaching English through pop songs
Dear Graham,
I am preparing a teaching pack on teaching English through pop culture for F.1-3 students. Could you please recommend some good sites where I can download songs and lyrics or get some teaching ideas for free please?
Million thanks!

Regards,
Picupio
Dear Picupio

Pop culture is a huge topic but students are interested in it. Last year, High School Musical was ¡®in¡¯. At the moment, everyone is talking about Michael Jackson. In two years, his songs may not be so popular. So the best place to start is to ask your students what songs they are listening to at the moment. Yahoo! Music is also a good site to find out about current trends.

This forum has suggestions of songs to use for teaching English. This site has tips on using songs to teach English. For example, you should check the lyrics to make sure there is no unsuitable language.

When I play songs, I usually miss out some words or mix up the lines. This motivates students to listen.

If you find a song you want to share with students, search for ¡®song name + lyrics¡¯ at a search engine. You will find it. There are also websites which feature song lyrics.

The best way to play ¡®free¡¯ music to play in the classroom is to find it on YouTube. Students can see the video as well and learn more about the culture.

I hope this helps. Your students are lucky to have such a ¡®cool¡¯ teacher!

Best wishes
Graham
Mr Graham Young Send us your questions now!