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Using Song Lyrics to Improve Listening Comprehension

Using Song Lyrics to Improve Listening Comprehension

Date: Mar 23 2009

Topic: Listening

Author: nad1a

Lesson

It's probably no news to you that songs lyrics can be a great listening exercise and practice. You can improve your comprehension and pronunciation and, also, learn a couple of new words and structures. So over here, I would suggest a way to combine your interests in music with learning English.

One thing you can do is, have gap-filling exercises with songs lyrics. You listen to the song and try and find the missing (erased) words in the lyrics.  It's easy to find ready-to-use exercises of that type online.

But if you're interested in a specific song you can't find exercises for, you can either prepare one for yourself, get the lyrics and erase some of the words in it, or have a sort of dictation, where you listen and write what you hear and then check your work. 

1. Listen to the song to understand the main meaning, what it is about etc
2. Listen to it trying to fill the gaps.
3. Check your work and listen to it again.
4. Take out the unknown or interesting words. Search the internet for more collocations and associations with those words. Make your own sentences with them.
5. Listen to the song again (and sing along if you're in the mood :-)) You can do that while reading along and then without the written lyrics, trying to see if you can understand everything you hear.


Actually, you can use this approach with all kind of listening material. You can practice with narrated stories or conversations, interviews. Of course, you will need the scripts and the recorded audio material. Luckily, you can easily get hold of the lyrics of almost any song, or the scripts of any movie or a show online.

This may sound like a lot of work, but after all, you want to learn, right? And apart from that, if you really like the song or the artist in question, you won't necessarily feel like you're doing any work at all. :-)

 ***

I've made a collection of some Similar exercises .

 

More lessons on Pronunciation

Comments

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lonelycat

lonelycat

Azerbaijan

i think i can learn and practice watching films in English 

09:05 PM May 19 2009 |

winter sonata

Morocco

i will work so hard for practice Engliish

06:50 PM May 19 2009 |

blue2007

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

I would like to practice English ,

 

10:10 AM May 19 2009 |

julywidiawati

Indonesia

it is not easy to write down the lyrics of a song, especially r&b song..

07:00 AM May 19 2009 |

yammering

yammering

China

so many ehglish TV shows aslo tell us that learning songs can improve our english skills!

06:28 PM May 18 2009 |

Paulo Souza

Brazil

Thank you!

I really appreciate that.

05:07 PM May 18 2009 |

raymondbin

raymondbin

China

that's a funny way to improve my English, i'l try it!!

04:17 AM May 18 2009 |

hussien55

Egypt

now i am try learning english i wish fluent it

 

12:27 AM May 15 2009 |

nanito1

Lebanon

ali

11:54 AM May 11 2009 |

radgull

radgull

Spain

I totally agree with you, I think that listening to songs is one of the best ways to improve that skill, good post. If you want exercises about that topic you can check my web in the section SONGS: http://www.myplaceforenglish.blogspot.com

If you like leave a comment; Thank you I really appreciate your job.

03:19 PM May 10 2009 |

kikimasho

kikimasho

China

let me have a try, it's a ineresting way of learning

05:49 PM May 09 2009 |

zhongxiaohong

China

I'm afraid of my poor english.I want to make sure that does it really make sense?Hoping for your reply,and would like to make friend with you sincerely!

04:45 AM May 08 2009 |

zhongxiaohong

China

Once taking an exam,i can't remember all the words when filling the blanks in a song or in a listening meterial.What's more,we can just listen to the music one time.Any better method for me to improve my english listening?Thank you!

04:38 AM May 08 2009 |

stand by me

Saudi Arabia

i really like this methood of learning and i tried it .

it was very nice and intresting experience .

thanx dear

12:39 AM May 07 2009 |

Nicmaat

Somalia

I will try

thank u

03:57 PM May 04 2009 |

hgaivhkd

Saudi Arabia

hiiiiiiiiiii

01:44 PM May 04 2009 |

albanna102

Yemen

thank you so much

11:43 AM May 04 2009 |

qwer24

China

thank you

i will try

03:15 AM May 04 2009 |

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