292 Part V: What Kind of Class Will I Have?
Tuning-In to Songs and Nursery Rhymes
Nursery rhymes are great fun because they contain the kind of vocabulary
that’s appropriate for children, for example names of animals and parts of the
body. They also contain simple actions in nursery rhymes, which kids can do
the actions to. However, when children repeat and act out rhymes, they don’t
see it as learning; it’s more of a game.
Choosing the right song
When it comes to choosing a nursery rhyme or song for teaching English,
resist the temptation to simply choose your favourites so you can indulge in
a bit of nostalgia from your childhood. Think about it! Some rhymes make no
real sense at all and certainly won’t do well under scrutiny. Take this line for
example:
Ring a ring o’ roses, a pocket full of posies...
Songs that contain words you think are useful are actually a better bet.
You may not analyse all the words at this stage but as students progress
in English they should be able to recall the rhyme and have some common
English words at their disposal. Choose nursery rhymes with an easy,
memorable tune and beat so everyone can clap and sing along (or at least
hum at first). Rhymes of more than eight lines are hard to memorise unless
they’re very repetitive. In addition, go for rhymes that are easy enough to
pronounce and easy to act out.
Kids also like to perform actions to the rhyme because it helps them
remember and adds to the meaning. I’m a big fan of good old Incey Wincey
Spider myself, because the hands are moving all the way through.
Teaching your class to sing
So how do you actually teach foreign children an English rhyme? You don’t
need to break the song down in all its parts. Only certain words deserve a bit
of focus. Words that are accompanied by a mime or action are an easy target
because the movement helps explain the meaning. You can also highlight
words that are part of your course syllabus such as numbers and colours.
You should decide what the rhyme is basically about and teach the vocabulary
that describes the theme. So for Incey Wincey Spider, focus on ‘spider’,
‘climb’ and ‘spout’. For Ten Green Bottles teach the number and the colour
along with ‘bottle’ and ‘wall’.
