English Music for Middle school.

[jwkelley]

My JTE wants me to have the kids listen to a song and arrange the lyrics. I was wondering if anyone knew any good song the kids would like. Something that is slow and simple, and possibly something related to the "have to" grammar point.

I was thinking Lemon tree. But would like a few options.

[AyaReiko]

Is Bananaphone too fast?

[Jiggit]

Let's not pretend there's any other answer than One Direction and Taylor Swift.

[Ebi]

Honestly, I haven't had a lot of success using real, current pop music for listening activities. It's usually too fast, doesn't enunciate clear enough, and uses too much unfamiliar grammar and vocabulary. Also, songs tend to be pretty long, so it takes a lot of time if you play the same song over and over for them to finally understand what's being said.

I've used songs targeted for non-native speakers and holiday music for listening activities, but the pop songs usually had to be artificially slowed down and/or cut short to be of any use, and even then students had trouble with songs I thought were relatively simple. In my experience modern pop songs have been good for some activities that don't require comprehension, like "hot potato" games, since they usually have a good beat.

If you get any good suggestions, I want to hear them too!

[Cbill1]

What about "Happy" by Will Pharrell, or an edited version of Katy Perry's Hot & Cold. Both are fast, but involve a lot of simple vocabulary and repetition.

In a pinch, you could probably use Rebecca Black's "Friday" too, but I imagine that you want the kids to still like you once class is over.

[BifCarbet]

What about "Happy" by Will Pharrell

I have got to hear that version! The regular one makes me very angry.

[Jiggit]

I have got to hear that version! The regular one makes me very angry.

You might appreciate this:

[BifCarbet]

Hahaha. I don't know this guy, but I like him.