Making my way through old photographs

Of the night when you first stood by my side

Old friends with smiles some are here some are gone
Good memories of our senior high
Looking back we're the only couple still together
Even then I knew this love would be forever, I knew

'Cause there's nobody else in the world that could love you
Any more than I do, always here for you
Nobody else in this world could love you more
Nobody could love you any more than I do
I'm still here for you

Our lives have all changed we've come a long long way
Our faces show the lines of two young sons
And in their houses there will be pictures
Like the ones of you and me
Hope they can look back and smile just like we have done
Never once have I ever felt the need for another
We were strong and survived the storm in time to discover
To discover one another

All of the smiles we have won

Just from looking back and reliving all the good times
And when we've been through all the pages
We just start again, we just start again, oh

TEXT: Nobody Else

 Text info: Song written by Gary Barlow and performed by the English pop band Take
That in the 90s.

 Thought to: students from 4th ESO to 2nd Bachillerato (15-18 years). It can be
worked with the whole class or just in small groups.

 Why this text? I think there are several points that explain why I have chosen this text:
first I think it is a very good example of piece of writing where you can see how to
combine different tenses when explaining a story; in addition there are lots of
omissions in the text which are typical in the everyday speaking; moreover examples
of isolated uses of words are very well contextualized (words like: ‘ever’, ‘even’ or for
instance the use of the comparative ‘like’); and finally, I think it is a very good sample
of how to write a simple but nice piece of writing. I think this last point can be
important for students because when you are learning a language you have the feeling
that you only understand adapted materials but if you find something authentic and
 you understand it your motivation and self-esteem (in the learning context) suddenly
increases.

 Teaching aims: according to the way I have designed the activities related to the text
my teaching aims are: on the one hand to promote the idea that English language is
accessible for everybody and that sometimes simple things can be the nicest ones. On
the other hand, I would like to help them to become aware of the properly use of
tenses when explaining a story and also to realize the positions words take in the
sentences (I will explain this point later in the directions).

 Timing: I have planned to use it during two one-hour classes.

 How can be used? / Directions: First I would deliver the text without title and within
blanks (the blanks would be the red words in the original text). Then I would give
them a couple of minutes for them to read it and afterwards I would read it aloud.
 1st lesson: I would encourage students to pay attention and underline
subjects in the text. I want them to become aware that in the two first
paragraphs there is just one person speaking (I) whether in the two next
ones the subject becomes plural (Our, we). Then I would ask them who
they think could be these subjects (I expect variety of answers). Then I
would work with them in order to find out which words could suit in
every place: for example, in line 16 when it says ‘hope they can look
back and __’ the commonest option here would be to find another verb
because the conjunction ‘and’ uses to unify equal grammatical words.
But that is just one example because in almost all the gaps there are
different options than can be right and what I want is them to free their
imagination and create their stories with words that could have been
chosen by the author. Inside all this process I would remark every
moment the narrator changes the tense to help them with their choices
and to highlight the use of this combination of tenses. The first session
would end with some homework for those who have not finished filling
the gaps that can do it at home and bring it for next session.
 2nd lesson: During the second lesson I would ask them to read aloud
their answers in every line while I reveal them the original answer in
every occasion. That would be a very good chance to examine which
options would suit and which not but above all why. We would stop in
some examples the text show of how to use some elements that use to
be problematic for Spanish learners as the use of ‘ever’ (line 17), the
comparative ‘like’ (lines 15-16), and the great deal of omissions the
text also shows. Finally we all would examine the different stories that
have been created by them and I would collect them to read it carefully
at home and maybe that would be one instance of their formative
assessment.

 Possible students’ reaction: I know music is a great part in any teenager’s life so I
expect them to ask me constantly which is the author or the group of the text.
However I would not tell them until the end because on the one hand I do not want
them to have any prejudice, and on the other hand, that would help me to keep
their curiosity. Regarding the process I expect them to participate and create their
own composition and stories and I think they would like it because at the end of
 all, when they would have finished their compositions they will feel very proud of
them. Of course I also expect them to ask me why some words can suit or not.
 Diversity: I think this text can be very productive and the teacher can adapt it to
different levels. One way of adapting it would be offering them the text with less
quantity of gaps or giving them clues about the kind of word that can suit the
place. In addition I think that a very interesting idea (if there are enough time)
would be to ask them to draw the story in a comic form. In other words, first
separating the sentences and then attaching them to pictures (drawn by themselves
or collected from magazines, etc). I think that would be a very funny activity.

 Links or proposals: If students like, enjoy and what is more important learn with
this kind of text I think that would be a very good idea to have a look to other
songs that can be worthy and they can work by their own or just propose to work it
together in class. Some examples would be: Babe (Take That), Someday
(Nickleback), Incomplete (Backstreet boys), She will be love (Maroon 5), etc.