4.1 Introduction
4.2 Guidelines literature
4.3 Tasks for literature
4.4 Three poems
4.5 The Little Prince
4.6 Malamud's Black
4.7 Guidelines for films
4.8 Tasks for films
4.9 Guidelines songs
4.10 Stranger than you
4.11 Bibliography

4.9 Guidelines for using songs to develop intercultural competence

Ildikó Lázár, Christiane Peck

In the present chapter you will find guidelines to help you explore and exploit songs in general to develop intercultural competence. The ideas can, of course, be adapted to the proficiency level and interest of your class as shown in the examples that follow in the next section.

I. Pre-listening activities

It is important to sensitize students to the song that they are about to hear as well as to raise their interest and curiosity about the piece. Here are a few examples of tasks that you could ask them to do before you actually make them listen to the song:

  • give the students a photo of the group or the singer or the cover of the CD and ask them what kind of music or lyrics they expect to hear
  • ask them to brainstorm about the group, trying to guess what type of music they play and what kind of topics they sing about
  • give them some more information about the group (or ask for a presentation by a student)
  • show the class a picture, photo, comic strip ... that has to do with the content of the song and ask them to describe it
  • make a word map or a mind map on the blackboard about the central topic of the song
  • on the basis of the title, predict what the song might be about.
  • make the students  
    a) write a sentence including the title 
    b) read it out in front of the class
    c) compare the different versions
  • take some key-words out of the lyrics and make the students
    a) write the lyrics with those words
    b) write the story of the song
  • text-jigsaw: Jumble the lines or the stanzas, and ask the students to find the correct order.
  • gap-fill:  
    a) leave gaps in the text  and make the students fill 
        in words that could possibly fit in
    b) give them a list with the words that are missing, 
        the students have to fill in the words in the right
        order.

II. While-listening activities (listening
     comprehension)

As songs are authentic material they should be used for listening comprehension. But remember:  not every song is good for that purpose. Besides, it is always useful to give students the tasks that they have to complete before listening to the song as this helps them focus successfully. The following exercises could be used and adapted according to how easily understandable the lyrics are for the particular group of students you are teaching.

II.1   Listening comprehension without looking at the 
lyrics

Listen to the song and

  • summarize the main issues
  • note down key words and phrases
  • concentrate on who? what? where?
  • play true or false give the students a list of words or symbols or small pictures or phrases that appear in the song and some that don't. The students have to find out which words/pictures are not mentioned or used in the song.
  • ask questions about
  • the instruments you can hear in the song
  • the story, the characters, the atmosphere
  • whether the students liked the music and the lyrics or not, and why.

II.2    Reading the lyrics with gaps

Before hearing the song the students read the text carefully so that they get to know the content. It will be easier for them to fill in the missing words while they listen to the song. Make sure the number and difficulty of gaps is manageable. If the students fail to fill in most of the words, the exercise will be more frustrating than enjoyable.

III.  Analysis

Having listened to the song and read the lyrics, it is important for the students to discuss some of the following topics with the teacher's help. Obviously not all listed topics will be applicable to every song.

  • setting (time, place, social background)
  • themes (personal relationships, conflicts in society...)
  • the style (of the language or the music)
  • tone of the song (attitude of the author)
  • the atmosphere (created by the music and the lyrics)
  • summary (of the story or the message)
  • structure and form (find titles for the stanzas or paraphrase the content)
  • qualities of  the character/s mentioned in the song
  • translate passages of the song that are difficult to understand for the students
  • compare existing translations of the song in other languages 
    (are there any changes made according to the different audiences or markets?)

IV. Post-listening activities

Although often thought-provoking and invigorating, music is also used in class to please the mind and sooth the soul. Having listened to a song and completed some of the above exercises, make sure your students also have time just to listen to and enjoy the music without having to do anything. They probably need time to internalize what they have just heard and learned before they can whole-heartedly participate in further activities. If the class is ready and if the song is appropriate for this purpose, you may want to try out some of the following activities:

  • either orally or in writing compare the topic, situation, story... of the song  with your
    -   personal experiences
    -   the situation in your country
    -   the target language country (if the song is from  
        somewhere else)
    -   the country of your classmates coming from a
        different cultural background
  • write a continuation to the text (if the song tells a story, try to write part two)
  • some research on the Internet about the topic of the song, the singer/band, the style of music or the historical or cultural background to the song.
  • do some of the following creative tasks focusing either on (see examples in brackets):
    a) the culture the song is about (identification) or
    b) the perspective of the students (the adapted 
        version according to the students' cultural
        background)
  • write /
    -   a diary entry (in the name of the person the song  
        is  about or your own)
    -   a letter (to the singer/to the people the song is 
        about)
    -   a critical review of the song (in its home culture or 
        in your own)
    -   a short story (the same message in a different
        form)
    -   a poem (about the same topic)
    -   your own song (about the same topic/characters)
    -   the script for an interview / talk show / role-play / 
        video clip
  • act out /
    -   an interview (with the singer, the characters in 
        the song)
    -   a talk show (with the singer and his or her fans)
    -   a role play (with the characters in the song, or the 
        singer in your country)
    -   a debate (between the singer/band and 
        opponents to this style of music or the content of 
        the song)
    -   a video clip (acceptable in your culture
  • other /
    -   paint a picture inspired by the words of the song
    -   express the opposite (different point of view)
    -   find a solution to the problem presented in the 
        song 

Recommended bibliography

Caspari, Daniela: Übersicht über kreative Umgangsformen mit literarischen Texten. In: Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch 3/1997, 43 / 44.

Griffee, D. T. (1992). Songs in Action. Classroom Techniques and Resources. Prentice Hall.

Check the bibliography of the following publications for further reading on music in language classes:

  • Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch: Musikvideoclips. 60/2002.
  • Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Französisch: Moderne Chansons. 21/1996.
  • Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Spanisch: Música actual. 4/2003.
  • Gourvennec, Ludovic: La nouvelle chanson française. In: Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Französisch 81,82/2006, 4-15.

Internet: www.sester-online.de/englisch/songs.htm

next chapter: 4.10 Stranger than you