Stage 2: While-teaching activities
This stage is useful to help the learners
understand the text through activities. As
pointed out earlier, one advantage of Listen
and Do songs is that students are active as
they are listening. However, do not expect
your students to learn the song and the
accompanying actions in the first listening.
They will need to listen to the song a few
times. Drawing on my experience, I suggest
listening to a song three or four times and
carrying out the tasks described below.
First listening. The aim of the first listening,
as pointed out by Harmer (1991), is to
give students an idea of what the listening
material sounds like. Let the students listen
to the song without any interruptions so
that they will have an opportunity to hear
the music and the lyrics. This may also be
termed free listening. I find this activity quite
beneficial and motivating for my students,
and they express positive feelings about free
listening. After the free listening, tell the students
to look at the lyrics of the song (from
the handout, textbook, board, or poster),
since this is probably the best time to let students
see and read the lyrics. (If the students
read the lyrics before the first listening, they
may try to read along and not concentrate.)
Next, read the lyrics of the song aloud and
ask the students to listen and follow from the
handout. Finally, read the lyrics aloud line
by line and ask the students to repeat every
line aloud.
After you have completed the repetition
phase, use the power of TPR to teach the
actions for the song. Read every line aloud,
demonstrate the associated action or actions,
and ask the students to do the same actions.
The following well-known song, “Head,
Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” (Oxford University
Press 1997), illustrates the activity.