My own teaching shows that songs can be effectively used in an intermediate class for the purpose of teaching speaking to prospective EFL teachers. The main reasons for this are as follows:
• As a cultural phenomenon, songs can introduce students to the musical and cultural patterns typical for the target language community.
• Songs belong to a synthetic genre, which includes both lyrics, and music and these two constituents may be used as a good incentive for speaking English in class.
• Songs can effectively contribute to the students' development of esthetic appreciation since they may help them shape their artistic tastes in formulating a critical evaluation of the songs they listen to and discuss.
• Prospective teachers of English, in order to be able to use effectively songs in their own teaching in future, should themselves be exposed to them in the context of a teacher training program.