The role of music and songs for improving listening skills of A1 level learners on the material of Kid`s English 1

Longer songs with a wider variety of structures and vocabulary are more suitable for the development of overall listening skills. For example, the song “Rain, rain go away” is a story based on the topic of the rainforest, and endangered animals and the environment in general. Although quite long, the tune is folksy and catchy and you'll find an activity worksheet to download and print.

Many of the songs on Kid`s English are suitable for singing in class or for an individual child to sing along to. Community singing in class brings the benefit of total participation from all learners, especially if accompanied by actions or mimes. The total physical response (TPR) approach is particularly suited to younger learners.

Children enjoy singing along and it can really improve motivation. Singing can also improve the pronunciation and intonation patterns of the learners, especially younger children. At primary level, vocabulary teaching tends to concentrate on single word items, and songs allow learners to learn ‘chunks’ or meaningful phrases of language rather than single words, as well as to learn about how sounds connect and run together. For example, children can become of aware of using contractions and weak forms. Traditional songs are particularly useful for developing pronunciation and acclimatizing young learners to the sounds of the language.

Simple songs are very repetitive and good for singing along. For very young learners the “The alphabet song” is a good starting point for singing and reinforcing the alphabet.