Learning English Through Songs

by Gaidamachenko Anastasia

Kyiv, 2020
 Table of Contents:

1. INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................3
2. PRONUNCIATION............................................................................................................................3
2.1 Using songs to focus on sounds...................................................................................................4
2.2 Using songs to focus on words....................................................................................................4
2.3 Using songs to focus on connected speech..................................................................................4
3. VOCABULARY.................................................................................................................................5
4. GRAMMAR........................................................................................................................................6
5. SONG SELECTION............................................................................................................................8
5.1 Relevancy....................................................................................................................................8
5.2 Meaningfulness............................................................................................................................8
5.3 Interestingness.............................................................................................................................8
5.4 Comprehensibility.......................................................................................................................8
5.5 Age appropriateness.....................................................................................................................9
5.6 Simple story.................................................................................................................................9
5.7 Lyrics...........................................................................................................................................9
5.8 Memorable melody......................................................................................................................9
5.9 The type of songs.........................................................................................................................9
6. CULTURE........................................................................................................................................10
7. IT’S FUN!.........................................................................................................................................11
7.1 Sing along !................................................................................................................................11
7.2 Try to sing from memory...........................................................................................................11
7.3 Find new music that builds on top of what you have learned.....................................................11
8. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................12

APPENDIX1……..………………………………………………………………………………………...13
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................24

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1. INTRODUCTION

Recent studies in the area of foreign language education note that aspects like the motivation
facilitate the learning process. There are different ways to achieve this objective and improve the
motivation and at the same time the effectiveness of the learning; one of these ways is the
MUSIC.
Learning English through songs is a rather popular method. It makes English learning process
much more interesting, relaxing and joyful. There are many benefits of using songs to learn
English like improving pronunciation and expanding vocabulary and that is much more
important - it makes a huge difference in the learning process! Let us consider the main reasons
why it makes sense to use songs in learning English as a second language:
1. Pronunciation. Singing along really helps to pronounce correctly and to link those words
together in a proper way.
2. Vocabulary. Songs have a lot of vocabulary and the best part is that the words used are
often very useful. Songs typically do not have complicated words used in high-level
academic English. Instead, they have words used in the everyday language, like slang and
idioms used by native speakers.
3. Grammar. It is also true that some songs do not always have the perfect grammar, but
they can help to get familiar with general grammatical patterns.
4. Song selection. Learning English through songs should involve the selection of songs
appropriate for students’ age, interests and level of knowledge of the English language.
Song selection is important for students because if they like the songs, they will try to
understand the meaning.
5. Culture. The lyrics of English songs give insight into English-speaking culture and how
English-speaking people think and feel and how they think about the world. Songs are
stuffed with references to the local everyday life. English songs are like a window into
the culture behind the language. It is almost impossible to find such information in a
textbook.
6. It’s fun! Song improves the listener’s mood; you can enjoy yourself by singing, without
being afraid of making mistakes. And besides, it is easy to listen to songs. We can do it
on our way to school, in your room or in the shower – almost anywhere!
Now, let us focus on the above reasons in more detail.

2. PRONUNCIATION

It is hard to know how a word is pronounced unless you actually hear it. Songs are a fantastic
way to hear English words spoken (or sung) by a local British or American. A listener can pay
attention to new words, its pronunciation and intonation and can try to copy this pronunciation to
sound more natural when speaking English.

Songs provide examples of authentic, memorable and rhythmic language to be a wonderful tool
to polish up pronunciation. They can be motivating to repeatedly listen to and imitate favorite

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musical heroes. By listening to English songs, students can listen to the native pronunciation and
also develop their listening ability. Melodies and rhymes may as well promote good
pronunciation through copying a native speaker speech. Let us have a look at some aspects of
pronunciation that can be focused on through songs.
 Using songs to focus on sounds;
 Using songs to focus on words;
 Using songs to focus on connected speech.

2.1 Using songs to focus on sounds

Sounds are the smallest unit from which words are formed and can be categorized as vowels and
consonants.
Why are they difficult?
 As languages differ in their range of sounds, students have to learn to 'physically' produce
certain sounds previously unknown to them.
 Learners can find sounds difficult to pick out, and may not see the point in focusing on
them.
However, incorrectly pronounced sounds strain communication, sometimes even changing a
phrase's meaning. Songs are authentic and easily accessible examples of spoken English. The
rhymes in songs provide listeners with repetition of similar sounds, so we often choose to listen
to songs time and again, indirectly exposing ourselves to these sounds.

Thus, it is necessary to focus on particular sounds, and concentrate on songs' rhymes.

2.2 Using songs to focus on words

Words are combinations of sounds which form together to give meaning. A word is uttered in
syllables, usually one emphasized syllable (the stress) and the rest weak (unstressed).

Why are they difficult?

 Even when the same words exist in both languages, the number of syllables is not
always identical.
 Each English word has its own stress pattern, with very complex 'rules' to guide
learners.
 Weak syllables are central to English, though students often find this hard to believe.
Moreover, focusing on these can result in over-emphasis (not weakening) of these
syllables.

Words in songs fit the music, helping learners associate the number of syllables/stress in these
words, with memorable rhythms. The relaxed atmosphere songs create can expose students to
this difficult pronunciation area, without their realizing. Songs contain endless examples of weak
syllables, helping to convince learners of the way English is pronounced.

Therefore, it is necessary to raise learners' awareness of the number of syllables/word stress,

especially those words where the music makes the stress patterns clearer.

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2.3 Using songs to focus on connected speech
Connected speech is the natural way we speak, linking together and emphasizing certain words,
rather than each word standing alone. Contractions (two words forming one) are an extreme
example of the way we connect speech, to the extent that the written form too is affected.
Why is it difficult?

 Students normally learn words individually and, especially at lower levels, tend to
pronounce each word separately.
 Students frequently misconceive contractions as being 'incorrect', only used in 'slang'.
 Not all words within a phrase carry the same weight.

Songs provide real and 'catchy' examples of how whole phrases are pronounced often to the
extent that students find it difficult to pick out individual words. The music further emphasizes
the 'flow' of the words. Songs, like other spoken texts, are full of contractions. Students can be
keen to reproduce this, in order to sing the song as they hear it.

So, it is necessary to listen to the songs that have numerous contracted words to convince
listeners that contractions are natural in English.

To summarize the above it has to be said that there are no ‘standard’ songs for learning
pronunciation. Any song can be an example of different pronunciation aspects for music’s
natural rhythm in words and phrases is a source for developing good pronunciation. However, it
is crucial to choose songs that are clear, not too fast, memorable and easy to repeat, depending
on the area of pronunciation to be focusing on. It also needs to be mentioned that English is
spoken in many different accents by people across the UK, North America and Australia. The
voices in songs make it easier to hear this in action and understand the differences between them.
Singing along with English songs will help to reduce the listener’s own accent.

Finally, a word of warning: songs are creative works, so occasional 'mis-pronunciation' can also
be faced with.

3. VOCABULARY

Vocabulary has a very important role in gaining the success of language learning. Vocabulary
can support the development of the four basic skills: reading, listening speaking, and writing. It
can be said that each of the four language skills requires the mastery of vocabulary. However,
there is a widely used opinion that vocabulary development is about learning words only, but it is
about much more than that. It is true that learning vocabulary cannot be separated from other
language elements, after mastering new words one must be trained how the words are
pronounced, spelled and used in a sentence. It can be said that vocabulary is a basic part in
mastering language. In this context, songs are powerful tool to enrich learners' vocabulary for it
is much easier to remember the lyrics of a song than just a list of new words! In lyrics, words
always appear in context, and so it is easy to remember them along with the melody of the song.
While students listened to the song, they are exposed to the new vocabulary several times.
Combining words with the rhythm hold songs together in a way that improves the mind’s ability
to recall the words which helps in learning vocabulary and phrases. Larry Lynch (2002) says,

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‘songs are usually directed to the native-speaking population so they usually contain
contemporary vocabulary, idioms, and expressions.’

Nowadays, it is almost impossible to escape from song. It is used in films, advertisements, radio,
and even played in most shops, restaurants and other public places. Current technological
inventions enable people to enjoy their favorite music anywhere at any time. It is believed that
song can be one of very useful media for introducing new English words to increase the English
foreign Language students' vocabulary. Some researchers have conducted the study on the use of
song in teaching vocabulary. Kenny Norton (2005), for instance, states that teaching vocabulary
through songs allows the students to learn vocabulary in alternate way, one is that is less
threatening yet still provides the repetition needed to learn new words.

The content of song is not only for entertaining, but it also can offer a new and natural way to
learn a language. It has to be mentioned that the melody is an important factor in the retention of
information. The combination of melody and words are retained in the brain easily and more
effective. When words are in a musical context, they are better retained, thus the use of songs
may improve the memory and the retention of vocabulary. Music is a good tool to help listeners
to improve their vocabulary because of its repetitive nature.

New vocabulary can be successfully acquired via listening to popular songs. Music can help
listeners to deal with their difficulties of retaining vocabulary because it has the quality of
sticking in people’s head, which can be called ‘the-song-stuck-in-my-head’ phenomenon. When
a song sticks in one’s head, it is difficult to get rid of it. The song consists of two verses, a bridge
and a chorus. The chorus usually repeats many times which can help to remember the new
vocabulary from this part first. Thus, the song is a source of repetition which is also a factor that
can help to remember words better and quicker. Moreover, the atmosphere created by the song
enhances the ability to remember new vocabularies. It is because songs evoke positive emotions,
which can bring and increases student confidence in the language acquisition. Song also contains
some elements of language that is used in everyday communication; therefore, a variety of new
vocabulary, grammar, a wide range of accents and cultural aspects can be introduced in a natural
way. Consequently, songs can be used to understand and produce language, remember words
over time and be able to recall them readily, and also strategy development for coping with gaps
in word knowledge, including coping with unknown words or unfamiliar uses of known words.
Song, for some people, has become an element in their daily that could not be separated,
especially to most young people. Thus, the activity of hearing songs will subconsciously enrich
vocabulary in any case.

4. GRAMMAR

What is Grammar? Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar
as the "rules" of a language; but in fact, no language has rules. If we use the word “rules”, we
suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game. But
languages did not start like that. Languages started by people making sounds, which evolved into
words, phrases and sentences. No commonly spoken language is fixed. All languages change
over time. What we call “grammar” is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time.

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One might think that grammar needs to be learnt in a very structured way but listening to music
will help to remember grammar patterns and learn how to use grammar correctly in everyday
conversation. Songs are one of the most enchanting and culturally rich resources that can easily
be used in language classrooms to develop students’ abilities in listening, speaking, reading, and
writing. They can also be used to teach a variety of language items such as sentence patterns,
tenses, modals, adjectives, adverbs and so on.

There are many advantages of using songs as part of learning activities. Through using
contemporary popular songs, which are already familiar to teenagers, it is possible to meet the
challenges of the teenage needs in the classroom. If selected properly and adopted carefully, the
songs can be applicable in all the phases of the English grammar learning.

Exploitation of songs for grammatical structures can be illustrated through several examples. For
Present Tense - ‘Let It Be’ by the Beatles, for Past Tense – ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles, for
Present Progressive ‘Sailing’ by Rod Stewart, for Present Perfect ‘Nothing Compares to You’ by
Sinead O’Connor, for Past Perfect ‘Last Night I Had...’ by Simon and Garfunkel, for Modals
‘Blowing in the Wind’ by Bob Dylan, and for Conditionals ‘El Condor Pasa’ by Simon and
Garfunkel can be used. However, it should be kept in mind that songs, which provide frequent
repetitions, or tell a story, or provide comments about life, or introduce cultural themes are the
most effective ones, since they provide authentic and meaningful material.

Other examples of songs material that can be used to facilitate learning of English grammar and
English verb tenses particularly are shown in Table 1. As regards to the tenses learning, the use
of songs is considered to be quite effective especially for young learners. This might be because
the song is one of an interesting learning media that is familiar to students. This statement is
supported by an opinion that through songs, the class atmosphere can be more comfortable for
students are usually tense when speaking English in a formal classroom setting. Besides, songs
are highly memorable and motivating which is also an advantage for the learning process.

Table 1. The examples of songs to learn English verb tenses (please refer to Appendix 1)
Songs to study Present Simple
Songs to study Present Continuous
Songs to study Present Perfect
Songs to study Present Perfect Continuous Foreigner ‘Waiting For A Girl Like You’
Songs to study Past Simple
Songs to study Past Continuous
Songs to study Past Perfect
Eric Clapton ‘Wonderful Tonight’
The Beatles ‘She Loves You’
Fool’s Garden ‘Lemon Tree’
Rod Stewart ‘Sailing’
Suzanne Vega ‘Tom’s Dinner’
Chris de Burgh ‘Lady In Red’
Sinead O’Connor ‘Nothing Compares To You’
Queen ‘We Are The Champions’
Led Zeppelin ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’
Anastasia ‘Left Outside Alone’
The Beatles ‘Yellow Submarine’
Gloria Gaynor ‘I Will Survive’
Celine Dion ‘Because You Loved Me’
John Lennon ‘Jealous’
Oasis ‘Champagne Supernova’
Aerosmith ‘Crying’
Simon & Garfunkel ‘I Had The Strangest

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Songs to study Past Perfect Continuous
Songs to study Future Simple
Songs to study Future Continuous
Songs to study Future Perfect
Dream’
Madness ‘My Girl’
The Who ‘Odorono’
Pet Shop Boys ‘Hit and Miss’
Soul Asylum ‘Lately’
Gilbert O' Sullivan ‘Having Said That’
Whitney Houston ‘I Will Always Love You'
The Beatles ‘All My Loving’
The Police ‘Every Breath You Take’
Ottis Redding ‘Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay’
Faith Hill ‘You Will Be Mine’
Sheryl Crowe ‘It’s Only Love’

Music is a great natural introduction to new grammar forms, in many ways resembling our
effortless first-language acquisition. However, not everything is so simple. The major problems
that could be faced with using songs to learn the language is the non-standard grammar in many
of the songs and the ‘non-serious’ image of the pop songs. The first problem is that the non-
standard grammar will confuse the foreign language students. The answer to this is obvious - not
all songs are suitable for foreign language classes. It is thus crucial to do the research and to
choose songs suitable for learners and using appropriate grammar patterns. However, we have to
admit that non-standard grammar is fairly common in daily usage of most languages and the
students also have to learn to deal with it in a language they learn. Through the use of songs
students are encouraged to work into grammar intuitively, not by memorizing rules, they have
opportunity to learn grammar patterns through memorizing the lyrics, perhaps without even
noticing it.

5. SONG SELECTION

Before the learning activity is getting started, it is necessary to select an appropriate song to learn
from. There are a few important criteria for the selection of songs that have to be followed. It
depends primarily on the aims and goals of lessons, learners’ age and the level of linguistic
competence. As guidelines one could use the following nine qualities, which are at the same time
criteria or tips that could be useful to pick the right music for learning English. Every criterion is
explained in short as follows:

5.1 Relevancy
Firstly, a song should be relevant to the topic covered during the lesson. Secondly, it is important
to present it at the right time, within the right context. Regarding relevancy, it would be a good
idea to base the song on the topic learned, or base the lesson on the song.

5.2 Meaningfulness
Every selected song should have a clear function. Songs, while fun in their nature, are not to be
used merely for fun. Using songs during the lessons must have an educational goal.

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5.3 Interestingness
When selecting a song it is important to keep in mind what the listeners may find interesting.
This is not just referring to the topic of the song’s lyrics, but the way the song is presented as
well. Different songs give a chance to cover different topics with interest.

5.4 Comprehensibility
This is an aspect related to the age level of the students, and along with that, their linguistic
competence. The songs used should always be something that the listeners can more or less
understand. The meaning of individual words and phrases can be presented before the song
itself, or even with the song. What is more, when one listens to a song several times, the meaning
becomes more understandable and a person can internalize the meaning.

5.5 Age appropriateness

When it is said that a song should be age appropriate, this means both contextually and
linguistically. The song should cover the themes and topic learners can relate to, in a language
they can more or less comprehend. Giving young learners a song with a language level
appropriate for them, while the content of the song is either too abstract or too mature for them
will make them either confused, or lose interest. On the other hand, giving them a contextually
appropriate song with too complex linguistic aspects will bring them to a situation in which they
have no way of grasping the meaning of what was presented. Furthermore, giving older learners
a song with a relatively inappropriate content (immature or uninteresting) will make them lose
their interest.

5.6 Simple story

A song having a simple story is important not only for younger, but also for older learners, when
it comes to focusing on new vocabulary and grammar. If a complex song (in a storyline sense) is
used, learners will focus on the story instead of what they are asking to focus on in the first
place. More complex stories are fine if the goal of the lesson is the storyline of the song.
However, if the goal is vocabulary or grammar, it is better to keep things simple.

5.7 Lyrics
It would be great if the listeners could learn English purely by listening to the music. In practice,
they will have to spend some time to understand it first. Instead of trying to figure out the lyrics,
it is always better to refer to the printed out text to break the song down, word by word in order
to understand and analyze the lyrics.

5.8 Memorable melody

Along with the lyrics, a very important part of a song is its melody. If a melody is memorable
and “catchy” enough, the learners will go home still chanting or humming the song covered in
class. If this happens, it is implied that the learners are also using the lyrics over and over again
and that they will understand the usefulness of listening songs and singing in a foreign language.

After considering all aforementioned criteria, the last but not the least additional criterion is as
follows:

5.9 The type of songs

When considering the music genre or the type of the song, one can choose among authentic
traditional English folk songs, modern popular rock/pop songs or songs specially written for

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learning a language. It is useful to pick a song that tells a story, which could make it easier to
understand and visualize the lyrics. Perhaps heavy metal or rap is not the best place to start, so it
is crucial to pay attention to the music with right kind of language, therefore it is better to start
with pop music. Pop music mainstream tends to be about love and romance, which is good
because there is a lot of repeated vocabulary. It is also important to avoid those song that
 use difficult or dialectal language which is not commonly used;
 are not mainstream for it is probably more efficient to learn from music which would
provide a common or colloquial language;
 are too fast and hard to learn from;
 do not have lyrics readily available.

6. CULTURE

Music is a direct interpretation of culture. Although culture continues to change rapidly with the
advancements in technology, music will always connect the people of the world and share a
special aspect of each culture with one another. In the broad sense, culture is the views and ideals
of a country. Music is often the expression of idea, opinion, or emotion. Therefore, the culture's
ideas or views is almost always represented in the lyrics or style of their music. Music is very
malleable and is affected by a countless number of factors. However, these factors put together
equal the culture. For example - a culture that values money and material well-being will present
this through music by the glorification of these items. Indeed, content related to money or such
things as wealth, cash, social status, diamonds, luxury cars, etc. is quite popular through English
song lyrics and this trend has been popular for decades. Table 2 shows the Top 10 song about
money wherein the artists explain the need for, the things we do to get, and, sadly, the highly
volatile nature of financial wealth. Ultimately, music is the expression of culture.

Table 2. The Top 10 Songs About Money and Material Wealth

ABBA ‘Money, Money, Money’
Pet Shop Boys ‘Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)’
Cyndi Lauper ‘Money Changes Everything’
Liza Minnelli ‘Money Makes the World Go Round’
Madonna ‘Material Girl’
Billy Joel ‘Easy Money’
The Supremes ‘Money (That's What I Want)’
Pink Floyd ‘Money’
Donna Summer ‘She Works Hard For The Money’
Dire Straits ‘Money For Nothing’

Music is a huge component of cultural identity; it plays an important role for every step of
human life. Music serves many functions and needs. It provides various forms of
communication, religious and spiritual worship, artistic expression, and community celebration.
It reflects the culture, history and folklore of countries. Listening to songs is an excellent way of
learning about the culture of a specific country or region, as well as the language that is used
inside the cultural community, since language is one of the branches of culture.

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The use of music in the foreign language classroom offers a unique approach to enhance learners'
awareness of another culture, and also can aid in the practice of communication skills. In this
sense, music may be a powerful motivator. Actually, music is a cultural phenomenon, it appeals
to all ages, ranging from little children to senior citizens. “Music is everywhere and all students
have musical tastes. [.] I also hope it will show teachers how stimulating it is to tune in to the
wealth of information, reactions, and feelings already there in our students. The advantage of
musical materials is that they are so readily available to the teacher, and so immediately
motivational to most students.’’ (Murphey 1993, 5). Therefore, listening to English language
songs is an excellent way to absorb the culture of English-speaking peoples. It can be an insight
into the way English-speaking people think and feel. If nothing else, having a knowledge of
popular songs and artists gives you something to talk about with your English-speaking friends
and a good conversation is a great way to improve your English!

7. IT’S FUN!

Singing songs is a fun way to learn English! Why music is fun? Music builds language skills
vocabulary, structures and does it naturally. Music helps to develop motor skills. It builds
listening, playing, creating, moving, singing and improves reading skills. Music sets a tone and
good atmosphere in the classroom. It creates an environment that is very much conducive to
learning. This atmosphere, created by music can enhance the ability of students to easily
remember vocabulary words; therefore, shortening the study time.

Probably the most obvious advantage to using songs in the young learner classroom is that they
are enjoyable. Most students enjoy singing and usually respond well to using songs in the
classroom, for they often think of songs as entertainment rather than study and therefore find
learning English through songs fun and enjoyable, but there are more significant benefits to
using songs other than just being fun. First, songs can bring variety to the everyday classroom
routine. This variety stimulates interest and attention, which can help maintain classroom
motivation, thereby helping learners to reach higher levels of achievement. Secondly, songs can
help to create a relaxed and informal atmosphere that makes the classroom a nonthreatening
environment. By reducing anxiety, songs can help increase student interest and motivate them.

Music is a universal language and one that we can all enjoy and relate to. Listen to English songs
every single day whether in the classroom or at home and you will soon be surprised at how
much of the English language you can pick up with relative ease. When you incorporate
language learning into fun activities like listening and singing aloud to music, you will not even
notice that you are picking up a second language. So, have fun and enjoy! Realize that learning
English through music can be a perfectly natural, enjoyable, rich part of your daily life.

7.1 Sing along!

Unless you are singing in front of an audience, it does not matter if you are the worst vocalist in
the world. So do not worry if you do not possess any musical ability. Regardless of your singing
abilities, you should try singing out loud to the music. This forces your mouth to adopt the right
shapes and move with the rhythm of the song.

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7.2 Try to sing from memory.
After a while, you should find that you are starting to memorize the song. And then you are
ready to take the next big leap - try singing the song without looking at the lyrics. By the point,
you should be able to find that you can do a much better job including such words in your
everyday speech.

7.3 Find new music that builds on top of what you have learned.
This is perhaps the most difficult step. Each new song that you learn should have the right
balance of totally new vocabulary and in progress vocabulary. This right level of overlap keeps
you motivated, and also naturally reinforces your previous learning for maximum benefit.

8. CONCLUSION

Using English songs in the classroom has both linguistic and cognitive value for strengthening
English language acquisition. It helps to develop cross-cultural and interactive communication
skills. Song lyrics will stimulate phonetics, vocabulary and improve grammar. Students are
motivated through song-based activities combined with catchy lyrics. Listening skills become
more intense and focused. During the digital age, an extraordinary collection of music can be
downloaded at little or no cost and numerous websites from around the world are available for
educators and students. Creativity and imagination are stimulated in a positive class atmosphere
where music is incorporated to enable optimum learning.

Learn English through songs is a great alternative to improve students’ ability in mastering
grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Through songs, both teacher and students are able to
get some great benefits. In the teaching and learning process, using songs as a media can help to
create an interesting, motivating and non-threatening atmosphere, which can make students feel
comfortable so that they can understand the material better. At last, regarding to those benefits
the students achievement can also be improved by using the songs as the learning media.

No doubt that music is a strong method to use for teaching languages as it appeals to people of
all ages and levels. It brings fun, creativity and depth into the classrooms and opens up exciting
possibilities and new horizons for English language learning activities.

______________________

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APPENDIX 1 - The Examples of Songs to Learn English Verb Tenses.

Present Simple Wonderful Tonight

(Eric Clapton)

It's late in the evening;

she's wondering what clothes to wear.
She puts on her make-up
and brushes her long blonde hair.
And then she asks me,
"Do I look all right?"
And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful
tonight."

We go to a party
and everyone turns to see
This beautiful lady
that's walking around with me.
And then she asks me,
"Do you feel all right?"
And I say, "Yes, I feel wonderful
tonight."

I feel wonderful
because I see The love light in your eyes.
And the wonder of it all
Is that you just don't realize
how much I love you.

It's time to go home now and

I've got an aching head,
So I give her the car keys
and she helps me to bed.
And then I tell her,
as I turn out the light,
I say, "My darling, you were wonderful tonight.
Oh my darling, you were wonderful tonight."

Eric Clapton
© Warner/Chappell Music International Ltd., Eric Patrick Clapton, E C Music Ltd.

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Present Continuous Sailing
(Rod Steward)

I am sailing
I am sailing
Home again
'Cross the sea
I am sailing
Stormy waters
To be near you
To be free

I am flying
I am flying
Like a bird
'Cross the sky
I am flying
Passing high clouds
To be near you
To be free

Can you hear me? Can you hear me?

Through the dark night, far away
I am dying, forever crying
To be with you, who can say
Can you hear me? Can you hear me?
Through the dark night, far away
I am dying, forever crying
To be with you, who can say?

We are sailing, we are sailing

Home again
'Cross the sea
We are sailing
Stormy waters
To be near you
To be free

Oh, Lord, to be near you, to be free

Oh, my Lord, to be near you, to be free
Oh, my Lord, to be near you, to be free
Oh, Lord

Gavin Maurice Sutherland

© Universal Music Publishing Group

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Present Perfect Lady in Red
(Chris de Burgh)

I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight,

I've never seen you shine so bright,
I've never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance,
They're looking for a little romance, given half a chance,
And I have never seen that dress you're wearing,
Or the highlights in your hair that catch your eyes,
I have been blind;

The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek,

There's nobody here, it's just you and me,
It's where I want to be,
But I hardly know this beauty by my side,
I'll never forget the way you look tonight;

I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight,

I've never seen you shine so bright, you were amazing,
I've never seen so many people want to be there by your side,
And when you turned to me and smiled, it took my breath away,
And I have never had such a feeling,
Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight;

The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek,

There's nobody here, it's just you and me,
It's where I want to be,
But I hardly know this beauty by my side,
I'll never forget the way you look tonight;

I never will forget the way you look tonight...

The lady in red, the lady in red,
The lady in red, my lady in red,

I love you...

Chris de Burgh
© Rondor Music (London) Ltd.
© A&M Records Ltd., London

15
Present Perfect Since I've Been Loving You
Continuous (Led Zeppelin)

Workin' from seven to eleven every night

It really makes life a drag
I don't think that's right
I've really been the best of fools
I did what I could, yeah
'Cause I love you, baby
How I love you, darling
How I love you, baby
My beloved little girl, little girl

But baby, since I've been loving you, yeah

I'm about to lose my worried mind, oh yeah
Everybody trying to tell me
That you didn't mean me no good
I've been trying, Lord, let me tell you
Let me tell you I really did the best I could
I've been working from seven to eleven every night
I said it kinda makes my life a drag
Lord, that ain't right, no no

Since I've been loving you

I'm about to lose my worried mind
Watch out
Said I've been crying, yeah
Oh, my tears they fell like rain
Don't you hear, don't you hear them falling
Don't you hear, don't you hear them falling
Do you remember, mama, when I knocked upon your door?
I said you had the nerve to tell me
You didn't want me no more, yeah
I open my front door, hear my back door slam
You know, you must have one of them new fangled
New fangled back door man

I've been working from seven, seven, seven to eleven every night
It kinda makes my life a drag, a drag, drag
Ah, yeah, it makes a drag
Baby, since I've been loving you
I'm about to lose
I'm about to lose, lose my worried mind
Just one more, just one more, oh yeah
Since I've been loving you, I'm about to lose my worried mind

Jimmy Page / Robert Plant / John Paul Jones

© Warner Chappell Music, Inc

16
Past Simple Yellow Submarine
(The Beatles)

In the town where I was born

Lived a man who sailed to sea
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines
So we sailed up to the sun
'Til we found a sea of green
And we lived beneath the waves
In our yellow submarine

We all live in a yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

And our friends are all aboard

Many more of them live next door
And the band begins to play

We all live in a yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
(Full speed ahead Mr. Parker, full speed ahead
Full speed ahead it is, Sergeant
Action station, action station
Aye, aye, sir, fire
Captain, captain)

As we live a life of ease

Everyone of us has all we need (has all we need)
Sky of blue (sky of blue) and sea of green (and sea of green)
In our yellow submarine (in our yellow, submarine, ha ha)

We all live in a yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine
We all live in a yellow submarine
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

John Winston Lennon / Paul James McCartney

© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

17
Past Continuous Jealous
(John Lennon)

I was dreaming of the past

And my heart was beating fast
I began to lose control
I began to lose control

I didn't mean to hurt you

I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh my, I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy
I was feeling insecure
You might not love me anymore
I was shivering inside
I was shivering inside

Oh, I didn't mean to hurt you

I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh my, I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy
I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh my, I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy

I was trying to catch your eyes

Thought that you was trying to hide
I was swallowing my pain
I was swallowing my pain
I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh no, I didn't want to hurt you

I'm just a jealous guy

Watch out baby, I'm just a jealous guy
Look out baby, I'm just a jealous guy

John Winston Lennon

© Universal Music Publishing Group

18
Past Perfect Odorono
(The Who)

She sang the best she'd ever sang

She couldn't ever sing any better
But Mr. Davidson never rang
She knew he would forget her

She'd seen him there

And put herself to ransom
He had stared
He really was quite handsome

She had really looked her best

She couldn't ever look any better
But she knew she'd failed the test
She knew he would forget her

Triumphant was the way she felt

As she acknowledged the applause
Triumphant was the way she'd felt
When she saw him at the dressing room door

She was happier than she'd ever been

As he praised her for her grace
But his expression changed, she had seen
As he leant to kiss her face

It ended there
He claimed a late appointment
She quickly turned
To hide her disappointment

She ripped her glittering gown

Couldn't face another show, no
Her deodorant had let her down
She should have used Odorono

Peter Townshend
© Fabulous Music Ltd.

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Past Perfect Hit and Miss
Continuous (Pet Shop Boys)

If you want to know

Why I miss you so
Just think back to the first time
We were in love
The night was getting late
I recognised my fate
When you spoke
I awoke
We were in love

Waiting, I'd been waiting so long for this

Waiting, all my life had been hit and miss
I knew in my heart this was only the start of a new life

Your solemn face, your eyes

Lit up at this surprise
My heart sped, raced ahead
For we were in love

After that we stayed

Together every day
I relaxed with the fact
That we were in love
So in love

Waiting, all my life had been hit and miss

Waiting to experience such a kiss
I knew in my heart this was only the start of a new life

Now if your heart is cold

And I seem too old
Just think back to the first time
We were in love
So in love
We were in love
So in love

Neil Tennant / Christopher Lowe

© EMI Virgin Music, Inc., Cage Music Ltd.

20
Future Simple All My Loving
(The Beatles)

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you

Tomorrow I'll miss you
Remember I'll always be true
And then while I'm away, I'll write home everyday
And I'll send all my loving to you

I'll pretend that I'm kissing the lips I am missing

And hope that my dreams will come true
And then while I'm away, I'll write home everyday
And I'll send all my loving to you

All my loving I will send to you

All my loving
Darling, I'll be true

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you

Tomorrow I'll miss you
Remember I'll always be true
And then while I'm away, I'll write home everyday
And I'll send all my loving to you

All my loving I will send to you

All my loving
Darling, I'll be true

All my loving
All my loving
Ooh
All my loving I will send to you

John Winston Lennon / Paul James McCartney

© Sony/ATV Tunes Llc, Northern Songs Ltd., MPL Communications Inc.

21
Future Continuous Every Breath You Take
(The Police)

Every breath you take

Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you

Every single day

Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching you

Oh, can't you see

You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you

Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace

I dream at night I can only see your face
I look around but it's you I can't replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep crying baby, baby please

Oh, can't you see

You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you

Every move you make

Every step you take
I'll be watching you

(Every game you play)

(Every night you stay) I'll be watching you

Gordon Sumner
© GM Sumner

22
Future Perfect It’s Only Love
(Sheryl Crowe)

I think I met my match again

Standing 'round the candlelight
In the middle of this blizzard
You stood and melted all the ice

Oh, it's only love

Oh, it's only love
Oh, if only love comes 'round again
It will have been worth the ride

You were master of so many

Savior to none
I waged all of my hopes so plenty on you
Now, look what I've become

Oh, it's only love

Oh, it's only love
Oh, if only love comes 'round again
It will have been worth the ride
And what a ride

Sometimes, lonely is not only a word

Faces I have known
And if you see me, could you free me with a smile
So, I can let go?

Oh, it's only love

Oh, it's only love
Oh, if only love comes 'round again
It will have been

Comes 'round again

It will have been
Worth the ride, worth the ride
And what a ride

What a ride

Sheryl Crow
© Chrysalis One Music Publishing Group Ireland

23
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Asrifan, Andi (2009). Using Songs In Teaching English Language For The Young Learners

Boothe, Diane & West, Jeff. English Language Learning through Music and Song Lyrics-The
Performance of a Lifetime. Internationa1 Conference The Future of Education.

Ebong, B. and Sabbadini M. J. (2006). Developing pronunciation through songs. Teaching

English. British Council, Cameroon.

Galandrová, Daniela (Brno 2007). Popular Music As A Springboard To Grammar Teaching.

Masaryk University.

Kusnierek, Anna (2016). The role of music and songs in teaching English vocabulary to students.
World Scientific News 43(1) (2016) 1-55. EISSN 2392-2192.

Lems, Kristin (2018).New Ideas for Teaching English Using Songs and Music. English Teaching
Forum. National Louis University, Chicago, USA.

Lynch, Larry (2002). Using Pop Songs to Improve Language Listening Comprehension Skills.
Retrieved August. 2014.

Murphey, Tim (1993). Music and Song, Resource books for Teachers, series editor Alan Maley.
Oxford University Publishing, Oxford, p. 5-12.

Nino, Daniel Fernando Perez (2010). The Role of Music in Young Learners' Oral Production in
English. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. PROFILE Vol. 12, No. 1, 2010. ISSN 1657-0790.
Bogota, Colombia. Pages 141-157.

Norton, Kenny (2005). Vocabulary Songs. ELT Journal forum retrieved May 2005.

Rome, Elena Juste (2014). The Contribution Of Music In Learning English. Universidad de
Valladolid. Escuela De Educacion De Soria.

Romero, Paola X. (2017). Teaching and Learning English through Songs: A Literature Review.
TESOL, Michigan State University

Sigurd ardottir, Diifa (2011). Language learning through music. HASKOLI ISLANDS
Toffoli, Denyze, Sockett, Geoffrey (2014). English language music: Does it help with learning?
Association des Professeurs de Langues des IUT (APLIUT), 2014, HAL Id: hal-01227563

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