Using Songs in ELT | Music in the English Classroom

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A2–B1 · Teaching with Music

Songs in Class — Why They Work

📖 From my experience:
I played the organ as a child in Chittagong. Music was not a luxury — it was the only place in our house that wasn’t tense. In the classroom, music does the same thing: it reduces the filter, opens something, and lets language in. Krashen called it the ‘affective filter’. I call it the feeling that makes you stop thinking you can’t do this.

🎯 Language focus:
Why music works for language learning:

1. Rhythm supports pronunciation — stress, weak forms, connected speech
2. Repetition builds vocabulary naturally (Nation: 8–10 exposures)
3. Emotional engagement lowers the affective filter (Krashen)
4. Authentic input at real speed — useful for listening sub-skills

Gap-fill from lyrics is the classic task — but also:
predict the next word · spot the grammar item · find all the verbs

✅ Music task sequence:
1. Lead-in: show the song title — predict content (5 min)
2. Gist listen: what’s the mood / main idea? (1 listen)
3. Detail task: gap-fill, find the rhyme scheme, spot a grammar item
4. Follow-up: sing + discuss / write a verse / compare to their own experience

Music in class

1. What is the ‘affective filter’? Krashen’s term for the emotional barrier that blocks input when learners feel anxious or unsafe. Music lowers it.

2. Name one thing to check before using a song in class. Level of language (not too fast/dense), content (appropriate themes), copyright/licensing if printing lyrics.

3. Can a gap-fill be the whole song activity? No — gap-fill is a detail task. Always add a gist task first and a follow-up production task after.

🧒 For younger learners: Give young learners a sentence from the song — they draw it! Listening → visual interpretation → vocabulary discussion. Three skills, one song.

👩‍🏫 Cambridge CELTA note: Using music is supported by CELTA topic area 4 (materials and resources). Select songs with clear diction, controlled vocabulary, and at the right CEFR level. Avoid songs that normalise harmful content. Gap-fill should target a language aim — not be the aim itself.

Independent project; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.

Songs in Class — Why They Actually Work

Songs in Class — Why They Work

Music in class

Find out what your English actually produces.

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