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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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pablo goes

Brazil

how do you old

 

02:42 AM May 03 2009 |

uoyunbat

Mongolia

hi

 

09:24 AM May 01 2009 |

afra202

afra202

United Arab Emirates

Waw!! that really ganna improve my Eng .  so thank u a lot.. i think it's great way to practice the grammar and pronunciation at the same time  and aslo learn New words. 3 in one =P

02:25 PM Apr 28 2009 |

Osama El-Arabi

Egypt

Nadia you are very active and helpfull than you alot

04:47 PM Apr 27 2009 |

NAJLA

NAJLA

Saudi Arabia

I used to listen to real conversations and short stories but song lyrics seems funnier…

mmmm

 

I will try some

thanx

06:40 PM Apr 25 2009 |

tromimi4

Madagascar

I've always tried to anderstand songs but your suggestions are really good!Thanx for all your help!!

 

02:08 PM Apr 24 2009 |

GaLaxY

GaLaxY

Saudi Arabia

thank you so much Smile

12:27 PM Apr 24 2009 |

jieyu1987

jieyu1987

China

thank you

05:38 AM Apr 24 2009 |

syant

syant

Indonesia

i've been using this tips since i began to learn english. This is a fun way to study …. :)

07:22 AM Apr 21 2009 |

annieanna

annieanna

China

 

the point is  keeping on it every day !!

05:04 AM Apr 19 2009 |

doha-e-b

doha-e-b

Israel

I use this idea but not since along time it helped me to memorize new words and how to write them and I am having fun and singing at the same time and it really helped my pronunciation.

02:24 PM Apr 18 2009 |

Amido Hernan Rios

Colombia

Yeah, good way for practicing pronounciation, grammar and meaning.

01:31 PM Apr 18 2009 |

guohuanxing

China

     thanks

01:38 PM Apr 15 2009 |

passionforluv

Malaysia

Agreed with you Nadia . sometimes i don't look at the lyrics and try to figure out the words myself. Accent give me lots of trouble.

06:40 AM Apr 14 2009 |

mohamed.zake

Egypt

hello every body

i would like to make friendes in diffrent countaries

06:44 PM Apr 13 2009 |

Army-xie

Army-xie

China

I agree with you !

01:06 PM Apr 12 2009 |

marco polo

marco polo

Cameroon

hi!

i've fund it very interesting to improve. I've been learning english for qzuite some time, wath I need now it is to use the language by talking with people. I can find my way by getting in touch with you.

see you soon

02:31 PM Apr 11 2009 |

BABENO

BABENO

Egypt

thanks a lot nada this is my email can you add me   to talk with to improve my languge see ya

 

11:59 PM Apr 10 2009 |

silina 1

Algeria

thanks a lot

08:43 PM Apr 08 2009 |

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