Category: Learning Videos

New Walk in The Woods Action Song for Teaching Children English

It is really important to have fun in the classroom when teaching children English. One way to do this is with emotions. Quickly changing emotions from happy to sad, or not scared to scared can be a fun way of teaching. More below the video….

Walk In The Woods Song

The target language in this video includes animals (owl, fox, bear), nature (woods) and the use of “not” (I’m not scared.) You can pre-teach this vocabulary, or just go ahead and watch the video and have the children follow along. If they are already familiar with the target language, the students should be able to follow along quickly!

Get Moving!

I recommend having your students stand to watch this video. Get them moving and following along with the actions. This will get them more involved, and they will remember the words not only by singing, but with their bodies. Remember: Movement is very important!

Lyrics

Here are the lyrics of the song:

Let’s go for a walk in the woods
Let’s go for a walk in the woods
I’m not scared, no, no
I’m not scared, no, no
Stop! What’s that sound?
An owl? Shhh! Be very, very quiet
(repeat with fox and bear)

So that is the walking in the woods song, give it a try in your classes! For extra excitement, can you think of a game idea for the song? You could have students act out the different characters in the song and sing along. Happy Singing!

Family Finger Songs – Teaching Different Ideas to Young Learners

Many of you may know the popular children’s song Family Finger. I have made some new versions using different vocabulary. I like this song, because it teaches other vocabulary such as, “Where are you?” I also use these songs to teach actions like dig, mix, and more. More below the video:

How To Use This Song in your Classes

This song can be used as a warm-up song or in the middle of your classes as a song break time. You can begin by teaching the Construction Vehicle names, then the actions. Then watch the video and have your students do the actions and sing along. Here are the full lyrics:

Excavator finger, excavator finger where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
Let’s dig like an excavator

Bulldozer finger, bulldozer finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
Let’s push like a bulldozer

Road roller finger, road roller finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
Let’s roll like a road roller

Dump truck finger, Dump truck finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
Let’s drive the dump truck.

Concrete mixer finger, concrete mixer finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
Let’s mix like a concrete mixer.

So give it a try and get moving in your class! Here we go!

 

Walking in The Snow Action Song for Young Learners

It is time to get excited to take our students English to the next level!  If you have been following Dream English for awhile, you know we have covered many topics, and vocabulary items in our lesson plan songs. Now, it is time get exciting and mix it up! More below the video:

Themed Songs

I am beginning to write songs based around themes and ideas, like in the above video, ” Walking in the Snow.” This song covers many things with verbs (walking), emotions and feelings (scared), question phrases (what are those footprints in the snow?), plus some animal names. Let’s have a look at the full lyrics:

I’m walking in the snow
I’m walking in the snow
I’m a little bit scared because
I don’t know
What are those footprints in the snow?
I hear something, Ahhh!
It’s a cute little kitty
(repeat above with cute little puppy, cute little bird, and polar bear)

As you can see, there is a lot to be learned in this song. I also hope that it is a lot of fun for your students! So let’s get singing, and adventurous with our use of vocabulary. Here we go!

Teaching “I’m not….” to Young Learners with a Fun Action Song

In my new video and song, one of the lyrics is “I’m not scared.” This is a great phrase for kids to learn for their confidence, but it can also be easily changed to “I’m not hungry,” or “I’m not sad.” Very useful phrases in English! Have a look at the video, and read more below.

Teaching “I am” Phrases

So, how do we get students to use “not” effectively? First, we have to teach phrases with “I am.” For example, “I’m hungry, I’m happy, I’m sleepy.” If your students are not familiar with these phrases, check out the Feelings Song Here. 

Once your students are comfortable with the “I am” phrases, you could teach them the “I’m not scared” vocabulary from the above video. Then, show them the video. One effective way to show the difference is to say, “I’m scared” and act scared. Then, say “I’m  not scared, ” and act like that. Again, have a look at the video for how I act when I sing, “I’m not scared.”

Put it Together

Now that your students know the “I am” and the “I’m not….” ask them questions like, “Are you hungry?” The student should either answer, “I’m hungry,” or “I’m not hungry.” Go through the other feelings in the same way: happy, sad, sleepy, scared. You may have to do some modeling as a teacher to make sure your students understand the meaning.

Great job! You made it to the end of this blog post. Have a great day teaching!

 

Wild Animal Finger Family Song for Teaching English to Young Learners

I love songs that combine many different elements. The Finger Family song has vocabulary (animal names), question words (where?), and in my version it has actions!  More below the video:

How to teach the song

Start by introducing the animal names using flashcards, or other pictures. In this song we have a cheetah, a dolphin, a lion, a rabbit, and a crocodile. Next, teach the actions of the song : run, swim, roar, hop, and chomp (like  bite).

Next, put your hand to your eyes like you are looking for something and say, “Where?” You can use your students names, if you like. For example, ” Bob, where are you?” Now you have introduced all of the vocabulary in the video. Give the song a try and encourage your students to sing along. It might take a few tries before the students can sing, so be patient and sing along as well so the students can model after you.

Why singing is so important in English Class

Singing is a great way to practice pronunciation, rhythm, and sentence structure in English. Also, the repetitive nature of songs helps the students internalize the language of the song. Internalizing language leads to automatic use, or fluency. This is the goal! Let’s get our kids singing fluently in English. We can do it!

What’s In Your Bag? Classroom Items Song, Video and Game

School supplies are very important vocabulary for young learners of English (ESL, EFL).  It makes it much easier for a student to get a pencil from their bag, if they know what it is! So I have made a new, and a bit silly, video to introduce the vocabulary:

The video introduces the question, “What’s in your bag?” and an answer, “It’s my pencil, ” and other items like notebook, ruler, and eraser.

Tips for watching a video with students

This might go without saying, but I always watch the video with my students, do all of the actions and sing all the way through. Students will model after you, so even if you are putting on a video, it is not a time to sit and relax in class. (sorry!) These videos are designed with a second half that increases the speed of the song. This is great for fluency practice, and really getting your students to internalize the vocabulary!

What’s in your bag? Game

Materials: Bags (either students, or supply some kind of paper, or cloth bag). Students school supplies (pencil, eraser, ruler, etc.)

Ask the students to put one item in their bag, and make a partner. The students take turns asking and answering, like this:

Student 1: What’s in your bag?

Student 2: It’s my pencil. What’s in your bag?

Student 1: It’s my eraser.

Then, the students can play Rock, Scissors, Paper and move onto a new pair. Simple, but fun.

These are just a few ideas of my own.  I encourage you to be a creative teacher, and try out new game and classroom ideas to get the best out of your students!

Fun with Describing Wild Animals In the English Language Classroom

When I teach young learners English (ESL, EFL) I am always aiming to take them to the next level. For teachers familiar with the Dream English “What Do You See? Songs ” I am happy to share the fun new video that uses adjectives to describe the animals.

What Do You See? I See a Big Elephant

In the first Wild Animals Song we sing, “I see an elephant. ” In the new song we will learn, “I see a big elephant.” A simple next step that should have your students describing animals in no time! Check out the video:

Super Tip: Sing the song the whole way through with your students. The second time through increases fluency as it is faster in speed than the first time.

Now, let’s try the fun Tower Game again, and this time let’s use the phrases from this new song like, “I see a small mouse.” Happy teaching!

Music, Music, and more Music in the English Classroom

If you have not noticed, I am passionate about music! Every day I listen to jazz, bossa nova, rock, and maybe even a bit of classical. It has really been a pleasure of mine to create music for Dream English, and I thank you for listening.

Long Videos with More Songs

I have recently started to put together some longer videos that you can play like an album. These are great for at home, or in the classroom before  class or even during a writing activity. The more the students can hear (and sing) the language, the better. And the less as a teacher that you have to hit the play button, or search for a new video, the better. Right?

So without further ado, here is the newest Dream English Mini Album on YouTube Seven Silly Songs:

Happy singing!

New Family Finger Halloween Action Song for ESL EFL Class

If you have not noticed already, I love action songs. I am an active person, and I truly believe that getting students moving in a classroom of young learners of a foreign language is really important! More below the video:

With that in mind, I made the Dream English style version of the popular nursery rhyme Family Finger Halloween version. Learn the Halloween vocabulary ghost, mummy, black cat, monster, and pumpkin in this fun song. Plus, do the actions: fly, walk, hop, run, spin. These kinds of songs are great for the beginning of class when our students have a lot of energy to get out. Make sure you have your students stand up and sing the song. Have them hold out their hand and shake it during the ” Here I am, here I am, how do you do?” part. The more action, the better. Here we go!