I have been experimenting with different teaching techniques whilst I have been teaching unsupervised and have found that the Taiwan population is highly suseptible to the power of suggestion through music and run on sentences. For example, I will start a new class with an extra special performance from myself singing one of my favourite Frank Sinatra tunes. The project for the rest of the week is to learn all of the words in the song and have a small concert on the the last class of the week. Side note: This can take longer than one week depending on your experience level with
To continue your post
with… hitting the bong to hard before class.
A newbie starts off with something so “special”, this can only be another incarnation of “formosa”.
Singing in class? It’ll never catch on.
Oops running out of space. Anyway you start them out on something like Moon River for example. Teach them the song and then make them sit through Breakfast At Tiffany’s, they will go ape shit. You will connect with your students on some kind of zen level and never pay for dumplings again.
I have many more class plans if anybody is interested. I suspect that I will be flamed heavily for my post. I suppose that’s all part of being a visionary genius. Ta ta for now and let me knwo if you want more…
Keep 'em coming, keep 'em coming. I really enjoy this kind of stuff.
Thinking outside the box. Yeah, that’s the way to go my good man.
Flamed. You won’t get flamed for this sort of thing, no way. Sarcasm, on the other hand is an entirely different issue. 
Heck, write a book. I am sure the publishers will be lining up once word gets around.
Could you put it on video, or DVD for me?
I can play it on the big screen in my buxiban for the students to watch as they are going home or before class even. The screen takes up an entire wall. You’d be famous.
Put an mpeg online and I’ll make the movie up myself.
Frank would be proud.
Singing in class? Talking about movies? Eating dumplings? Indeed, a true visionary.
I think singing is a very interesting way to teach English and I sincerely hope that more schools in my area use songs and movies to teach English.
Majikthise and I have also invented a few devices to aid in teaching. You know how when you’re telling your students stuff they hard to keep more than a few sentences in their head, it especially difficult when teaching spelling, we have invented a board that can be placed infront of the students and can we written on, we find a small stick of calcium carbonate works well. And here’s the clever part, when that section has been taught, the words can be simply wiped off to start again ! I know what you’re thinking, what about after class when the students aren’t there ? Simple, they have their own 2 meter board (which being black, we call a blackboard) which they can copy the lesson on to during the class and take home afterwards.
These ideas are patented, so you’ll need to pay us if you use them
Vroomfondle (and Majikthise)
Yes very clever and novel, and I’m sure you’ll be able to hoodwink some of the more naive school owners into buying into this. However, the smarter among us see instant flaws. You say you’re using calcium carbonate. I presume you are aware that this is permeable in water. My question, then, is this: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT RAINS? Eh? Or if there’s a flood? All your work, POOF! Down the drain.
Better get back to the drawing board.
Yes very clever and novel, and I’m sure you’ll be able to hoodwink some of the more naive school owners into buying into this. However, the smarter among us see instant flaws. You say you’re using calcium carbonate. I presume you are aware that this is permeable in water. My question, then, is this: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT RAINS? Eh? Or if there’s a flood? All your work, POOF! Down the drain.
Better get back to the drawing board.[/quote]Good point, how about using a small sharpened fish ? They work well in water.
If you can get them to color while they are singing then you’re rockin’. Package your program up and sell it to Kaiser Kastle. They are always looking for high quality stuff like that.
OK, enough of the silliness. Here’s a REAL tip that will save you and your students endless grief.
When marking homework, try using a different-coloured pen to make corrections. DON’T LAUGH! I know what you’re thinking, and to the untrained eye, your thoughts would not be unreasonable, but trust me – this really works and in a year or two – once you’ve got the hang of it – you’ll wonder how you ever could have done it any other way.
And sharpened fish? Sure, if you want your classrooms filled with PETA protesters – on second thoughts, maybe that’s not such a bad idea.
Hey, I’ve taught songs in class before (but only to adults). The Beatles’ She’s Leaving Home is a great way to teach the present continuous tense, and get into a cultural discussion of where a child’s loyalty should lie - with overbearing parents, or with Martin, a man from the motor trade.
Another very popular song I’ve taught is Escape (The Pina Colada Song), in which a man in a stale marriage places a newspaper ad for a soulmate, describing the qualities he is searching for in a woman. There’s an ironic twist at the end of the song that also leads to a good discussion.
If you want to teach the conditional, try Barenaked Ladies’ If I had a Million Dollars. That’s good for a laugh too. The list is endless. Anyway, you don’t want to do a song every week, or even every month in a general convertsation class, but a well-prepared and taught lesson can easily win over an entire class, and, as you say, keep you in dumplings for a while…
Maybe you could have your students make little puppets who can sign along with you. But first you would want to buy a book that teaches you how to teach TPR…you know, stuff like “pick up the scissors”, “pick up the paper”. Then you would be really rocking…a class full of puppet bouncing singing students.
This revolutionary idea will put many English teachers out of a job. Sorry.
It’s a magazine that students can study at home. Pick a magazine like Newsweek and include a CD that has native speakers describing the contents and vocabulary. For example:
“I’m going shopping. And by going I mean as in to “go” somewhere.”
“When you say “shopping”, I suppose you mean to go to a shop and shop.”
"Yes Mark. An American might say. “I’m going shopping.” Whereas a person from England might say, “I’m going shopping.”
“That’s right Susan.”
“You’re pretty too, Mark.”
Maoman, I’ve used Across the Universe to review parts of speech and using plurals with a cloze activity and by the end of the 2-hour class, my students were all singing along with it, from the 16-year-old Saudi brothers to the 43-year-old Uzbekistani man and even a 60+ Brazilian grandmother.
I still have dreams about writing an ESL grammar series based on the poetry of Shel Silverstein and the songs of the Beatles one day.
[quote=“Maoman”]Hey, I’ve taught songs in class before
that’s all great and good, but then the bitches at the front desk would always say i can’t do that then i got screwed out of my job. everybody picks on me and it’s not fair. i can’t help it i look like charlie brown.
ran the man
I always found that singing together in the shower was a great way to teach the prettier girls in my adult classes.
But I’m afraid I must bow my head in apology for depriving students of this benefit over the many years since I stopped teaching.