Dream English Teaching Tips Blog

Songs can be used in many fun ways in English class (ESL, EFL). I love music, so I make it a centerpiece of my classes. For me, the more songs the better. Here we go!

1. Before Class Time: Get your students ready for the class before it starts by playing songs in English. This can be a playlist of songs that you are singing in your class, or something else nice to listen to.
2. Warm-Up Songs: I always sing a song with my students as part of the warm-up. Keep the warm-up songs simple and introduce the language as part of the warm-up. A great warm=-up song example is “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.”
3. Topic Songs: You can use songs to help teach the vocabulary and phrases that you are learning in the class. For example, if you are learning the weather try the “Weather Song/Sun Comes Up.” It introduces the weather and asks, “How’s the weather?”

4. Fun Time: Sometimes we need a bit of a break from drilling and games and songs can be a lot of fun! Choose a student favorite or some action song to get the kids moving. For example, try “Shake It Out” a student favorite!

5. Goodbye Song: I always end the class with a Goodbye Song. This lets the students know that the class is over. For some reason, the students sing this song very enthusiastically! Check out the Dream English Goodbye Song here.

These are some of my favorite uses of children’s English songs in the classroom. What are your favorite uses of songs? Let us know with a comment on our Dream English Facebook or Instagram Page!