Most children enjoy singing, and songs are often a welcome change from the routine1 classroom activity in learning a language. Pleasure for its own sake is an important part of language learning … Songs make the experience of learning English a child-centered and enjoyable one2. … They help when they reinforce3 the teaching. In this way they can be a useful aid in the learning of vocabulary, pronunciation, structures, and sentence patterns …
Learning takes place not merely through good presentation, but through meaningful, spaced repetition of the learning items4 … The teacher's task is to see that repetition is meaningful, and songs provide a means of increasing the amount of repetition possible without losing the learner's interest. Songs can thus help the teacher by consolidating5 his teaching. They may be used to help us get familiar with (1) sounds; (2) rhythm and stress6; (3) formulae7; (4) syntactical items8; (5) vocabulary.
Children enjoy trying to produce new sounds, and learning new sounds takes practice. … A carefully chosen song allows the child to practice a new sound or sound position without producing boredom9. A song like Bounce the Ball10, for example, gives an opportunity to practice the diphthongs11 [u] and [au], and the final [l].
Bounce the ball, bounce the ball,
Bounce the ball high,
Bounce the ball, bounce the ball,
Let the ball fall．
Blow the whistle, blow the whistle,
Blow, blow, blow,
Blow it hard, blow it loud,
Blow, blow, blow．
Songs can help establish a feeling for the rhythm and stressing of spoken English. Girls and Boys Come Out and Play gives a useful lesson in English rhythm and stressing.
Girls and boys come out and play,
The sun above is bright today,
Leave your work and leave your sleep,
Come and join us in the street,
Come with a shout and come with a call,
Come with a smile and bring your ball,
Down the steps and up the path,
All the fun will make you laugh．
Some songs contain everyday expressions which are useful in conversation. A song such as How Are You Today? gives practice in the pronunciation and stressing of a frequent and useful phrase.
How are you, yes how are you, how are you today?
I have come to visit you from many miles away,
I have got a gift for you,
I have got a song for you,
How are you, yes how are you, how are you today?
Every song is an opportunity for vocabulary review12, provided that 13 it uses the vocabulary of the school course. Some songs offer a pleasant way of giving repetition to words of a particular center of interest or situation. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes is useful for reviewing the names of parts of the body, and is accompanied by action14.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,
Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes, and eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes．
Learning takes place not merely through good presentation, but through meaningful, spaced repetition of the learning items4 … The teacher's task is to see that repetition is meaningful, and songs provide a means of increasing the amount of repetition possible without losing the learner's interest. Songs can thus help the teacher by consolidating5 his teaching. They may be used to help us get familiar with (1) sounds; (2) rhythm and stress6; (3) formulae7; (4) syntactical items8; (5) vocabulary.
Children enjoy trying to produce new sounds, and learning new sounds takes practice. … A carefully chosen song allows the child to practice a new sound or sound position without producing boredom9. A song like Bounce the Ball10, for example, gives an opportunity to practice the diphthongs11 [u] and [au], and the final [l].
Bounce the ball, bounce the ball,
Bounce the ball high,
Bounce the ball, bounce the ball,
Let the ball fall．
Blow the whistle, blow the whistle,
Blow, blow, blow,
Blow it hard, blow it loud,
Blow, blow, blow．
Songs can help establish a feeling for the rhythm and stressing of spoken English. Girls and Boys Come Out and Play gives a useful lesson in English rhythm and stressing.
Girls and boys come out and play,
The sun above is bright today,
Leave your work and leave your sleep,
Come and join us in the street,
Come with a shout and come with a call,
Come with a smile and bring your ball,
Down the steps and up the path,
All the fun will make you laugh．
Some songs contain everyday expressions which are useful in conversation. A song such as How Are You Today? gives practice in the pronunciation and stressing of a frequent and useful phrase.
How are you, yes how are you, how are you today?
I have come to visit you from many miles away,
I have got a gift for you,
I have got a song for you,
How are you, yes how are you, how are you today?
Every song is an opportunity for vocabulary review12, provided that 13 it uses the vocabulary of the school course. Some songs offer a pleasant way of giving repetition to words of a particular center of interest or situation. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes is useful for reviewing the names of parts of the body, and is accompanied by action14.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,
Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes, and eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes．
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摘编者注：
英语歌曲在英语学习中常常起到重要的辅助作用。它能通过一定的旋律、反复地歌唱，让学生熟记词语，熟悉语音、节奏和重音，了解并掌握句法和惯用法。在不知不觉的歌唱中学英语，实在是有趣又高效。
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1． routine n．常规，每日相同的活动
2． Songs make… a child－centered and enjoyable one: 歌曲使英语学习成为一种以孩子为中心的愉快的学习活动。
3． reinforce] v．增强，补充
4． learning takes place…the learning items．学习不仅要有（教师的）好的讲授方法，而且还要对学习要点有意义地、经常性地重复。 Not merely…but 不仅……而且； spaced 分隔开的
5． consolidate v．巩固
6． rhythm and stress 韵律和重音
7． formulae n．套语，惯用法
8． syntactical items 句法项目
9． boredom n．厌烦，讨厌
10．Bounce the Ball 拍皮球（歌名）
11．diphthong] n．双元音
12．review n．复习
13．provided that 假如，如果
14．…is accompanied by action ……伴之以动作