6/10/2017 Saricoban&MetinSongs,VerseandGamesforTeachingGrammar(TESL/TEFL)

TheInternetTESLJournal

Songs,VerseandGamesforTeachingGrammar
ArifSaricoban&EsenMetin
arifs[at]hacettepe.edu.tr
HacettepeUniversity&CankayaUniversity(Ankara,Turkey)

Introduction

Grammarteachinghasoftenbeenregardedasastructurebased,formalactivity.Aftertheintegration
ofseveralsourcesandtechniques,whicharemainlybasedoncommunicativeactivities,theteaching
ofgrammargainedanewinsight.Intheteachingofgrammar,techniqueresourcecombinationsare
oftenmodifiedtostructurediscoursematchandifwelldeveloped,theycanbeusedeffectivelyforall
phasesofagrammarlesson.Inordertomakeagrammarlessoneffective,beneficial,andinteresting
a teacher should use some welldeveloped and fascinating techniques in the classroom. In the
present paper, the examples of such integrated sources and techniques the use of songs, verse,
games,andproblemsolvingactivitieswillbeclarifiedandseveralexampleswillbeprovided.

UsingSongsandVerse

Songs

Since the meaning is an important device in teaching grammar, it is important to contextualize any
grammarpoint.Songsareoneofthemostenchantingandculturallyrichresourcesthatcaneasilybe
used in language classrooms. Songs offer a change from routine classroom activities. They are
preciousresourcestodevelopstudentsabilitiesinlistening,speaking,reading,andwriting.Theycan
also be used to teach a variety of language items such as sentence patterns, vocabulary,
pronunciation,rhythm,adjectives,andadverbs.AsstatedbyLoandFaiLi(1998:8),learningEnglish
throughsongsalsoprovidesanonthreateningatmosphereforstudents,whousuallyaretensewhen
speakingEnglishinaformalclassroomsetting.
Songs also give new insights into the target culture. They are the means through which cultural
themes are presented effectively. Since they provide authentic texts, they are motivating. Prosodic
features of the language such as stress, rhythm, intonation are presented through songs, thus
throughusingthemthelanguagewhichiscutupintoaseriesofstructuralpointsbecomesawhole
again.

Therearemanyadvantagesofusingsongsintheclassroom.Throughusingcontemporarypopular
songs,whicharealreadyfamiliartoteenagers,theteachercanmeetthechallengesoftheteenage
needsintheclassroom.Sincesongsarehighlymemorableandmotivating,inmanyformstheymay
constitute a powerful subculture with their own rituals. Furthermore, through using traditional folk
songsthebaseofthelearnersknowledgeofthetargetculturecanbebroadened.Correctlychosen,
traditionalfolksongshavethedualmotivatingattackofprettytunesandinterestingstories,plusfor
many students the added ingredient of novelty (Hill, 1999:29). Most songs, especially folk songs,
follow a regularly repeated verse form, with rhyme, and have a series of other discourse features,
whichmakethemeasytofollow.

Inconsequence,ifselectedproperlyandadoptedcarefully,ateachershouldbenefitfromsongsinall
phasesofteachinggrammar.Songsmaybothbeusedforthepresentationorthepracticephaseof
the grammar lesson. They may encourage extensive and intensive listening, and inspire creativity
and use of imagination in a relaxed classroom atmosphere. While selecting a song the teacher
should take the age, interests of the learners and the language being used in the song into
consideration.Toenhancelearnercommitment,itisalsobeneficialtoallowlearnerstotakepartin
theselectionofthesongs.
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TeachingProcedure
Therearevariouswaysofusingsongsintheclassroom.Thelevelofthestudents,theinterestsand
theageofthelearners,thegrammarpointtobestudied,andthesongitselfhavedeterminantroles
ontheprocedure.Apartfromthem,itmainlydependsonthecreativityoftheteacher.

Forprimarystudents,thebestsongswouldbethosethatareeitherfamiliartothechildrenorthose,
thoughmaybenotfamiliar,whichhaveaninternationalnature,suchasOldMacDonald.Sincethere
isnotastrictteachingprocedure,theteachercanmainlyconcentrateonwhattoteachratherthanon
how to teach. For instance, while teaching them individual letter sounds or spelling the words, the
traditionalcampsong'Bingo',orwhileteachingthemcounting'JohnnyWorkswithOneHammer'will
beuseful.Inordertomakethesongsmoremeaningfulandmoreenjoyable,motionscanbeaddedto
thesongwhichparallelthewordsofthesong.Sincemostchildrenenjoysingingfunandnonsensical
lyrics, using easy children songs will be useful. Furthermore, choosing lively action songs through
whichtheycandanceoractwhilesingingwillensurealivelyatmosphere.

Forteenagersoradultsintheintermediateoradvancedlevel,itisbettertousemoremeaningfulor
popularsongs,whichnotonlyrevieworintroducegrammarpointsbutalsoreflectculturalaspects.At
the primary level of singing the song, the prosodic features of the language is emphasized. At the
higher levels, where the practice of grammar points is at the foreground, songs can be used with
severaltechniques.Someexamplesofthesetechniquesare:

Gapfillsorclosetexts
Focusquestions
Truefalsestatements
Puttheselinesintothecorrectsequence
Dictation
Addafinalverse
Circletheantonyms/synonymsofthegivenwords
Discuss
Ateacher'sselectionofatechniqueorasetoftechniquesshouldbebasedonhisorherobjectives
fortheclassroom.Afterdecidingthegrammarpointtobestudied,andthesongandthetechniques
tobeused,theteachershouldprepareaneffectivelessonplan.Sincesongsarelisteningactivities,it
is advisable to present them as a listening lesson, but of course it is necessary to integrate all the
skillsintheprocessinordertoachievesuccessfulteaching.

When regarding a lesson plan, as a prelistening activity, the theme, the title, or the history of the
song can be discussed. By directing the students toward specific areas, problem vocabulary items
canbepickedupinadvance.Beforelisteningtothesong,itisalsobeneficialtoletthestudentsknow
whichgrammarpointsshouldbestudied.Atthisstage,picturesmayalsobeusedtointroducethe
theme of the song. In the listening stage, some of the techniques listed above can be used, but
among them gap filling is the most widely used technique. Through such gaps, the vocabulary,
grammar,orpronunciationarehighlighted.Thisstagecanbedevelopedbytheteacheraccordingto
theneedsofthestudentsandthegrammarpointtobestudied.

Inthefollowup,integratedskillscanbeusedtocompletetheoverallcoursestructure.Sincemany
songsareonthemesforwhichitiseasytofindrelatedreadingtexts,itmayleadthelearnertoreada
textaboutthesingerorthetheme.Besides,manysongsgiveachanceforawrittenreactionofsome
kind. Opinion questions may lead the learner to write about his own thoughts or reflections. Some
songsdealwithathemethatcanbereexploitedthroughroleplays.Actingmayaddenthusiasmto
thelearningprocess.Finally,somesongsdealwiththemes,whichcanleadtoguideddiscussion.By
leading the students into a discussion, the grammar point could be practiced orally and, in a way,
naturally.

Exploitation of songs for grammatical structures can be illustrated through several examples. For
present tense 'Let It Be' by the Beatles, for past tense 'Yesterday' by the Beatles, for present
progressive 'Sailing' by Rod Stewart, for present perfect 'Nothing Compares to You' by Sinead
Occonor, for past perfect 'Last Night I Had...' by Simon and Garfunkel, for modals 'Blowing in the
Wind' by Bob Dylan, and for conditionals 'El Condor Pasa' by Simon and Garfunkel can be used.

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However,itshouldbekeptinmindthatsongs,whichprovidefrequentrepetitions,ortellastory,or
providecommentsaboutlife,orintroduceculturalthemesaretheeffectiveones,sincetheyprovide
authenticandmeaningfulmaterial.

As a consequence, the use of songs in language classrooms provides many advantages. They
entertain and relax the learners while they are learning or practicing a structure, and they often
eliminatethestudentsnegativeattitudetowardslearning.Throughprovidingauthenticityandcontext
theymakethegrammarpointsmoreunderstandableandeasy.Aslanguageteachers,wecanbenefit
fromusingsongs,sinceourconcernistomotivatethestudentsanddrawtheirutmostattentionon
thesubjectduringteaching.

Poems

Poems, like songs, contextualize a grammar lesson effectively. Since poetry is often spoken,
repeated,dealtwith,andconsidered,itactsasaneffectivetoolforpracticingaspecificgrammatical
structure. Through repeating and considering the poem, the grammatical structures become more
deeply internalized. Thus, poetry not only provides a rewarding resource for structured practice of
grammar,butalsoaproperbasisforreview.Ifapoemthatexemplifiesaparticularstructureisalsoa
good poem, it engages the eye, the ear and the tongue simultaneously while also stimulating and
moving us this polymorphic effect makes poetry easier to memorize than other things for many
students(CelceMurciaandHills,1988:123).

Likesongs,poemsexaggeratetherhythmicnatureofthelanguage.Thusitisanimportantaspectto
betaught,sinceEnglishisasyllabletimedlanguagewithstressedsyllablesbeingspokenatroughly
equaltimepauses,evenineverydayspeech.Similartosongs,poemshaveanenormouslinguistic
valueastheyprovideauthenticityandculturalviews.Apoem'scapacitytocomfortthereaderorthe
listener also increases its effectiveness as a teaching resource. Once a poem or song has been
learned, they stay in the minds of the students for the rest of their lives, with all the rhythms,
grammaticalfeaturesandvocabulary.

Poemsmaybringtheuseofcreativityandtherhythmintothelanguageclassroom,thoughtheymay
alsobringsomedifficulties.Poemsarenotconstructedinasimplewayandsyntacticallytheyareata
higherlevelthanprose,thusitmightbeverydifficultforaforeignlanguagelearnertocomprehend
them completely. As stated by Povey (cited in CelceMurcia and Hills, 1988) there are three main
barriersforliteratureincludingpoetry.Theyarelinguistic,cultural,andintellectualbarriers.Linguistic
difficulties are the problems caused by the syntax or the lexicon of the poem. Cultural difficulties
includeimagery,tone,andallusion.Attheintellectuallevel,thestudentsshouldbeintellectualand
mature enough to understand the theme of the poem. These difficulties could be easily removed if
theteacherprovidesapoemwhichissyntacticallyandthematicallyappropriatetothelevel,ageand
the interests of the students. Thus, by removing or minimizing the potential problems, poetry can
provideanenormouslyrich,enjoyableandauthenticcontextforforeignlanguagelearners.

In the selection of a poem, the teacher should first consider the grammatical structure to be
presented,practiced,orreviewed,thenthelevelandtheageofthestudents,nextthethemeandthe
length of the poem and its appropriateness to the classroom objectives. It is advisable to select a
poemfrom20thcenturypoets.Asolderpoemsoftenprovideamoredifficultlexiconandsyntax,and
as they reflect some oldfashioned ideas, it is more convenient to use contemporary poems than
olderones.Poems,whichreflectculturalthemes,universalfeatures,humanisticvalues,oremotional
aspects,willbemorerelevanttotheforeignlanguagelearners.Finally,throughtakingtheclassroom
objectivesintoconsideration,ateachershouldeffectivelybenefitfrompoemsasteachingaids.

TeachingProcedure
Attheteachingstageofapoem,itisnotadvisabletotalkaboutthemeaningofthepoeminadvance.
Sincetheyofferareadingandlisteningactivity,poemscouldbepresentedthroughareadingplan.At
theprereadingstage,studentsmightbemotivatedthroughsomeenthusiastictalksaboutpoetryor
the poet. Some necessary vocabulary can also be handled at this stage. At the reading stage, in
ordertocreateimagesandstresstheprosodicfeatures,theteachermaywantthestudentstoclose
theireyeswhilehe/sheisreadingthepoem.Afterthepoemhasbeenreadatleasttwice,itisbetter
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toelicittheprimaryresponsesofthestudentsaboutthepoem.Next,afterdistributingthepoemto
students,studentsmaybeaskedtoreaditeitherloudlyorsilently.Inordertopracticethedetermined
grammarpoint,studentsmaybeaskedtoparaphrasethepoem.Throughtransformingtheverseinto
prosestudentsgetacquaintedwiththestructure.
Aftereasingthegrammarandunderstandingthevocabulary,studentsgetanideaaboutthethemeof
thepoem.Readingtheparaphrasedpoemreinforcesthegrammaticalstructureunderconsideration.
Asking questions about context may follow the reading. Through asking Wh questions, providing
additional information about the culture, and asking students to share their experience with the
subjectmatter,theculturalcontentofthepoembecomesmorerealandvivid.Words,pictures,and
sharedexperiencescaneliminatethegapthatiscreatedbydifferentcultures,asnoonecandeny
thatpoemscannotalwaysevokethesamesounds,sights,smells,andassociationsforbothnative
speakersandforeignlanguagelearners.Afterdiscussingthesurfacecontentofthepoem,students
mayagainaskedtoclosetheireyesandvisualizethepoemwhilelisteningtoit.

Asafollowupactivityadiscussionmaybeheld.Afterreviewingtheplotofthepoemandproviding
adequateartfulquestions,thestudentswilleventuallydiscoverthedeepermeaningofthepoem.As
beingafacilitator,ateachershouldalwaysavoidtellingthemeaning.Aftereachstudentgraspshisor
herownmeaning,itispropertodiscussthedepthofthepoem.Inthisprocedure,theteacher'saimis
tosupportthestudentsintheirattemptstounderstandthepoemandmakeitrelevanttotheirlives.
Oncetheyhaveunderstooditandperceiveditsrelevance,theywillhavenoobjectiontopracticing
the poem or even memorizing it, for it will have become special for them (CelceMurcia and Hills,
1988:126).Atthefollowupstage,providingthedeterminedstructure,studentsmayalsobeaskedto
writeapoemaboutanythingtheywant.Insuchaprocedurethefourskillsareeffectivelyintegrated
topracticeorpresentanygrammarpoint.

Sinceeveryclassisdifferent,teachersshouldcreativitydeterminetheteachingprocedure.Itisnot
advisabletoapplyoneproceduretoostrictly.Ateachershouldadopttheactivitiesaccordingtothe
needsofthelearners.However,itmightnotbeveryusefultousepoemsforyoungstudentsorfor
beginners. Instead of poems, using nursery rhymes or songs would be more helpful since they
provide more joyful and easier contexts. From preintermediate to advanced levels, it is really
beneficial to use either songs or poems. Several poems can be adopted from contemporary poem
books. The poems of the W.H. Auden, Robert Frost, Stanley Kunitz, Delmore Schwartz, W.D.
Snodgrass,TheodoreRoethke,GarySnyder,RichardWilbur,andRobertLowell,etc.aresuggested
forthelanguageteacherswhowanttousepoemsintheirgrammarlessons.

UsingGamesandProblemSolvingActivities

The latest concern of the foreign language teachers is to make the students use the language
communicatively. After the realization of communicative competence , activities or techniques that
are taskoriented and that lead students to use the language creatively have gained importance.
Games and problemsolving activities, which are taskbased and have a purpose beyond the
productionofcorrectspeech,aretheexamplesofthemostpreferablecommunicativeactivities.Such
activitieshighlightnotonlythecompetencebutalsotheperformanceofthelearner.Yettheyarethe
indispensable parts of a grammar lesson, since they reinforce a formdiscourse match. In such
activitiestheattentionisonthediscoursecontext.
Bothgamesandproblemsolvingactivitieshaveagoal.Gamesareorganizedaccordingtorules,and
theyareenjoyable.Mostgamesrequirechoralresponsesorgroupworks,whereasproblemsolving
activities(thoughtheyarestructured)requireindividualresponseandcreativesolutions.Gamesand
problemsolving activities are generally used after the presentation, in the practice part, because
suchcommunicativetaskscanonlybehandledaftermasteringsufficientgrammarandlexicalpoints.

Through wellplanned games, learners can practice and internalize vocabulary, grammar and
structuresextensively.Playandcompetitionthatareprovidedbygamesenhancethemotivationof
the students. They also reduce the stress in the classroom. While playing games, the learners
attentionisonthemessage,notonthelanguage.Inaway,studentsacquirelanguageunconsciously
sincetheirwholeattentionisengagedbytheactivity.Byprovidingpersonal,social,andcrosscultural
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issuestodefine,theysometimessimulatereallifesituations.Manygrammargamescanbefoundin
teachinggrammarorcoursebooks.

There is a great overlap between games and problem solving activities. Though games generally
place an emphasis on competition and wining, they also require some type of problemsolving
activity. Like games, problemsolving activities have communicative purposes. Questions which
requirestudentstouseavailableevidencetoreachaconclusionandthelogicproblemswhichassist
language learning by challenging students to demonstrate their understanding of English in an
interestingwayarethetypesofproblemsolvingactivities.Inproblemsolvingactivities,theproblems
are either based on real or imaginary situations. In the activities students are given a real or an
imagerysituation,andtheyareexpectedtofindsolutionsfortheproblems.

Games and problem solving activities can be used for all levels. By regarding the proficiency, age
and experience of the learners, appropriate activities might be applied successfully. It is also
importanttodesignclearandeasydirectionsforthegamesortheactivities.

Throughproblemsolvingactivitiesstudentsutmostattentionistothedetailandtothemeaning.The
solutionpartoftheproblemcanbeusedtogenerateanyspecificgrammarpoint.Insuchactivitiesa
teachershouldactasafacilitatorratherthanadirector.Itisalsopossibletointegrateallskillsinsuch
activities. Reading or listening to a situation, a problem, or a question responding or commenting
either through speaking or writing. It is also advisable to keep in mind that such activities provide
entertainingopportunitiestopracticethinkingclearlywhilefocusingontheformunconsciously.

Insum,gamesandproblemsolvingactivitiesprovidefavorableusagesforextendedcommunicative
practiceofgrammar.Theyarebothmotivatingandchallenging.Theyencouragestudentstointeract
andcommunicate.Throughsuchactivitiesstudentsmatchthediscoursewiththecontextofthegame
ortheproblemsolvingactivity.Sotheseactivitiescreateameaningfulcontextforlanguageuse.The
use of such activities both increases the cooperation and competition in the classroom. Thus,
potential classroom ideas come into being, and a successful, joyful and enthusiastic learning is
provided.

Conclusion
So far, the usage of songs, poems, games, and problem solving activities are clarified. The
advantages and some key points are explained. It is now more apparent that the teaching of
grammarcanbesupportedeffectivelybyusingsuchresources.Accordingtotheneedsanalysisofa
classroom,severaltechniquescanbeintegratedwithsuchresources.Sinceteachingisadeveloping
art,whichrequiresinnovativeandcreativeideastoenrichitseffectiveness,wemustnothesitateto
use such resources in our classrooms. These resources can assist our teaching of grammar while
providingarelaxedatmosphereandmotivatedstudents.Suchactivitiesarestudentcentered,hence,
by using them we give a chance to our students to express themselves, enjoy themselves during
learning,andusethereservesoftheirminds.As,itshouldbeborninmindthatalltheseresources
requiretheactivationofbothleftandrighthemispheres.Thus,weletourstudentsusetheirlongterm
memoryandlearneffectivelyduringsuchactivities.Sothereisanundeniablefactthatifourconcern
istoprovideasuccessfulandbeneficialteaching,wemustnothesitatetousesongs,poems,games,
and problem solving activities, which bring the structural, pragmatic, prosodic and communicative
aspectsoflanguagetogether,inourlanguageclassrooms.

Bibliography

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TheInternetTESLJournal,Vol.VI,No.10,October2000
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