The project

The vast majority of foreign language teachers use music in the classroom, both as a tool for teaching and as a means of motivating students. Most students are exposed to English songs in their everyday lives: on the radio, on television, in TV commercials, etc. They often buy music from English artists and can usually recognize and sing a few of the lyrics. Music is a fun way of approaching the language, and that is what this project is all about.

What does the Sing Along Project consist of? Barbara Latham and Josep Suller (experienced English teachers and musicians) will perform a live concert in your school. But this is a concert with a difference: your students will be able to see the lyrics of the songs, projected onto a big screen, and they will be encouraged not just to listen passively but to join in, sing along, and even, for the more daring among them (teachers included), to perform themselves.

This isn’t a classroom situation where students are conscious that they should be learning. It’s a concert; they’re here to enjoy themselves, participate, and learn without realizing they’re doing it.

Teachers will be provided with packs to use in class to exploit the songs used in the concert. In this way, students will be even more familiar with the songs and the lyrics before coming to the concert. The songs will encourage students to develop their listening skills and to learn new vocabulary and structures; in fact, they can be used as a base to practice all the skills. Although it is not absolutely essential to have used the pack before the concert, familiarity with the songs will build the students’ confidence.

Then they can come along to the concert, have great fun, and learn!