Rhythm, Rhyme and Music in Teaching English to

Young Students

Elena Rafaelevna Watson, PhD

January 23, 2014

Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980)

“The Gutenberg Galaxy” (1962)

Oral culturePrint culture

-How communication technology (alphabetic writing, printing press, electronic media)

affects cognition,

which in turn affects

social organization

Oral Culture

What is ORAL CULTURE? Ancient Greece Tribes in Amazonia, Africa and Indian /

Pacific Ocean islands Way of transmitting oral history, oral

literature, oral law and other kinds of knowledge across generations without a writing system.

Primitive people…

Dumb… Slow learners… Or…?

…Do they just do it ……in a different way?

How do they learn?- Through:

Folktales Myths Poetry + rhythm Sayings & Ballads music Songs Chants Spells

Cognition in Oral tradition vs Cognition in Written tradition(Marshall McLuhan)

All senses are balanced and simultaneous,

while auditory sense is dominant

World of Acoustic Space Non-linear thinking Symbols & Situations Phenomenal memory Mnemonic devices: form,

formulas Improvising Imagination + Emotion

Visual sense is dominant (How do you spell it?)

Logic Analysis Abstract thinking Categories &

Classification Connected linear

sequences From easy to difficult;

from simple to complex

Are There Any Features of Oral Culture in Modern Society?

Country Russia vs Western World - exams

Religion: Orthodox and Catholic vs Protestant

Person Less educated people vs Well educated ??? People who sing a lot??? People who

know a lot by heart??? vs Those who do not What about children?

How Can We Use This in Teaching English?

Adopt an integrated approach!

GrammarVocabularyPhoneticsConversational practiceListening comprehension

Grammar: Building blocks?

I would have done it

had it not been for

the unfortunate circumstances.

Vocabulary

Learning words in context

Difference in meaning Prepositions and word combinations Grammar attached

… because it sounds right

Phonetics

Teaching separate sounds and Intonations patterns?

Or integrate it all into the rest of the material?

Listening Comprehension: What Are the Problems?

Anticipation & Predictability in: Vocabulary Grammar Topic Background

knowledge

As well as in:

Assimilation Rhythm Intonation

RHYTHM: stress-timing vs syllable-timing

Stress-timing Stressed syllables take

longer to say than unstressed syllables

Regular alternation between the stressed and unstressed syllables

Stressed syllables recur at regular intervals of time, unstressed syllables between them are squeezed

Syllable-timing:Each syllable has the same time duration

Stress-timing Telegram principle

Stressed syllables – important / new information

Unstressed syllables – function words, get compressed, for non-native speakers are hard to recognize

Do we have stress-timing or syllable-timing in Russian?

Do we compress unstressed or function words?

Do we compress unstressed syllables?

Both Russian and English are

stress-timed languages. So – what’s the problem?

Careful speaking / reading Bad knowledge of grammar (building

blocks) Rhythm: combination of stressed and

unstressed syllables in a rhythmic group

English: /STRESSED + unstressed/Russian: /unstressed + STRESSED/

Формула A. A. Потебни

3 – a stressed vowel sound: ОСТОРÓЖНО2 – a vowel sound in the syllable which directly

precedes the stressed syllable: ОСТОРÓЖНО - a vowel in the initial position: ОСТОРÓЖНО - a vowel in the final position: ОСТОРÓЖНО

1 – unstressed vowels in all the other types of syllables МОЛОКÓ, ПОСЛÉДОВАТЕЛЬНЫЙ

1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 КАРАКÁТИЦА; БЕЗОБРÁЗНЫЙ; НАПРИМÉР

Possible Mistakes: Ничего Себе!

Demonstration

[ˌdemənˈstreɪʃn] >[dɪmʌnˈstreɪʃn]Success

[səkˈses]>[sʌkˈses]I suppose

[aɪ ˈspəʊz]>[ˌaɪ sʌˈpəʊz]

До свидания

[дъсв ’идáн’jʌ] >

> [дóсв ’идáн’jъ]

Последовательность

[пʌсл’э ́дъвът’ил’нъс’т‘>

>[пъсл’э ́дъвáт’ил’нъс’т’]

Например

[нъпр’им’э ́р] >[нáпр’им’э ́р]

Focusing: which words to stress?

Jack and Jill went up the hillTo fetch a pail of water.Jack fell down and broke his

crownAnd Jill came tumbling after.

Using poems and songs in class: Which ones to choose?

Good morning, good morning,Good morning to you!Good morning, good morning,I’m glad to see you!

Good morning to you!I’m glad to see you!

Jazz Chants: compact, efficient, all aspects at once (19)

The sun is shining. I love the sun! – Me too! (3)The sun is shining today.

It’s raining today. I love the rain! – Not me! (3)It’s raining, raining today.

It’s snowing today. I love the snow! – I’m cold! (3)It’s snowing, snowing today.

(a, the, too, not, it, I, me, today, cold, sun, to shine, to love,

to be, rain, to rain, snow, to snow) = 17

Shoes and Socks! (2)

What do you wear on your head?A hat.

What do you wear on your hands?

Gloves.What do you wear on your feet?

Socks.Shoes and

socks.Shoes and

socks.What do you wear when it’s cold?

Socks.Shoes and

socks.Shoes and socks.

What do you wear when it’s warm?

Socks.Shoes and

socks.Shoes and

socks.Where do you wear your hat?

On my head.Where do you wear your gloves?

On my hands.What do you wear on your feet?

Socks.Shoes and

socks.Shoes and

socks.

Who Is Sylvia? (3)

Who has a name that starts with S?

I do.She does.

What’s her name?Sylvia.

Who has a name that ends with A?I do.She does.

What’s her name?Sylvia.

Who has a name with a V in the middle?

I do.She does.

What’s her name?Sylvia.

Who has a name with an L in the middle?

I do.She

does.What’s her name?

Sylvia.Who is Sylvia?

I am.She is.

What’s her name?

SYLVIA!

You Did It Again! (6)

You did it again!- What did I do?

You did it again!- What did I do?

I told you not to do it,And you did it again!

- I’m sorry.- I’m sorry.

You broke it!- What did I

break?You took it!

- What did I take?

You lost it!- What did I

lose?

You chose it!- What did I

choose?I told you not to do it,And you did it again!

- I’m sorry.- I’m sorry.

You wore it!- What did I

wear?You tore it!

- What did I tear?I told you not to do it,And you did it again!

- I’m sorry.- I’m sorry.

Grandma’s going to the grocery store! (14)

Grandma’s going to the grocery store. (2)

1,2,3,4!Who’s going?- Grandma’s going!Where’s she going?- To the grocery store!1,2,3,4! When is she going?- At a quarter after four!1,2,3,4!

What’s she going to buy at the grocery store?

1,2,3,4!

A loaf of bread!

A bottle of milk!

A big bag of cookies

And a little can of peas!

Holiday Jazz Chants: New Year’s Resolutions (4)

I promise: To be very very good To do the things I should To make my bed each day To put my things away Not to throw my socks on the floor To put my socks in the drawer To do my homework right Not to stay up late at night To listen to my mom and dad Not to do anything bad

Fingerplays

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.Down came the rain and washed the spider

out.Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout

again.

Look at the diphthongs again! SPOUT, DOWN, OUT

Any other fingerplays?

Two little birds are sitting on the wall All the fish are swimming in the ocean This is a church and this is a steeple 5 little monkeys:

(swinging in the tree / jumping on the bed) This is a bunny with ears so funny Flitter flutter butterfly!: Teachers make

them up!

Let Us Summarize It All! How Can We Teach Young Kids?

STRENGTHS:

Excellent Oral Perception Phenomenal Memory Learning in Context, through Models,

Situations and Symbols

Let Us Summarize It All! How Can We Teach Young Kids?

WEAKNESSES

Bad Physical Command of the Body (including Organs of Speech)

No Abstract Thinking (in our understanding)

No Logic (in our understanding)

Let Us Summarize It All! How Can We Teach Young Kids?

KEY WORD:

LANGUAGE EXPOSURE!

Laying a strong foundation for the future acquisition of English at school.

May not be visible – below the surface.No quick spectacular results.

Things We Should Not Do

Start with the alphabet or teach it before kids are at least 6 years old

Teach words out of context just providing the translation

Teach grammar logically Have students repeat everything after

a non-native English speaking teacher

Things We Should Do

Expose children to as much authentic audio and video material as possible

Have children learn by heart as much authentic audio material as possible

Mostly use CHANTS, SONGS, POEMS, FINGER-PLAYS and SHORT DIALOGUES

Teach RHYTHM! Turn songs and poems into speech

RHYTHM, RHYMES, MUSIC and MULTIPLE REPETITION

Where Do We Get All This Wonderful Authentic Material?

Among other things:

20th Century Anglo-American (+ Australian and New Zealand)

Children’s Literature&

Pop-Culture(songs, films, games)

THANK YOU!