A Talk on "Teaching English Through Songs" at Lunhshan Junior High School

This afternoon, I was invited by one of my best friends Annie (詹麗馨老師) to give a talk on "Teaching English Through Songs" at her school.



First, Annie took me to the principal's office, introducing me to the principal, a very beautiful and capable lady.  Annie always speaks highly of her. 

Then at around 1:30pm I started my speech.  I talked about why we teach songs, what songs to teach, and how to teach them.   We had a wonderful time.  The following is a summary of my speech.

Songs touch our heart and stick to our mind.  I've forgot all the French I learned in college, but I remember the French song "Ah! Vous dirai-je maman," which I learned at that time.  

Songs facilitate our learning in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.  They even inspire us in many aspects.  This morning, I read an article in the United Daily News about education in love and beauty.  I believe songs can teach students both. 

When we teach songs, there are many activities we can do.  We can just let students sit back, relax, and sing.  We can also make learning through songs more challenging, for example, having students fill in blanks or lines while listening, inviting them to guess the missing words in the lyrics before they listen to a song, asking them to tell a story behind a song after they sing it, or even challenging them to create their own lines for a song.

It was really an enjoyable afternoon!  It was really an enjoyable afternoon! I learned from the teachers too. They mentioned some songs that I'd never heard. Wonderful! I've got more to learn.

Here are two more photos.

Annie, Hsin-yi, and me:



Annie, her student teacher, and me: