Songs in the EFL Classroom

Elvis Presley’s "In the Ghetto" and its potential to enhance skills and competences

Term Paper , 2014 , 27 Pages , Grade: 1,3

Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies

The main purpose of this term paper will be to discuss the positive and problematic aspects of songs for the EFL classroom, as well as to analyze the value of Elvis Presley’s “In the Ghetto” for the classroom, including the presentation of a lesson plan.

The first part will focus on theoretical aspects, including a definition and classification of songs, as well as their advantages and problems for the English classroom. The second part will turn to the practical example of the song “In the Ghetto” by Elvis Presley. In a first step the song itself will be evaluated, considering its chances for the classroom, as well as investigating its problematic elements. In a next step a lesson plan with a focus on expanding knowledge and enhancing skills and competences will be presented and analyzed.

Songs are part of the daily life of most people—including teachers and especially pupils—which helps to connect school life with the student’s free time. Even though songs are an effective and useful teaching tool in itself, English benefits even more from songs due to the fact that English is the dominant language of the music industry. However, songs are still not used very often in the EFL classroom and many of the main textbooks used in Germany only include parts of songs or offer songs as extra activities (e.g. Green Line 5+6). One of the main reasons for this might be the difficulty of choosing an appropriate song for the classroom since songs sometimes include problematic elements.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical Part
2.1. Definition and Types of Songs
2.2. Advantages of Songs for the EFL Classroom
2.3. Problematic Aspects of Songs for the EFL Classroom

3. Practical Part
3.1. Analysis and Evaluation of the potential of a song for the EFL classroom: “In the Ghetto”—Elvis Presley
3.2. Presentation and Analysis of a Lesson Plan: Elvis Presley “In the Ghetto”—The Vicious Circle of Poverty

4. Conclusion

5. Works Cited

6. Appendix

• College: University of Trier
• Grade: 1,3
• Author: Stephanie Desoye (Author)
• Publication Year: 2014
• Pages: 27
• Catalog Number: V1001001
• ISBN (eBook): 9783346376091
• ISBN (Book): 9783346376107
• Language: English
• Tags: Songs, lesson plan, teaching, EFL classroom, Elvis Presley