UNIT 7

SONGS AND NURSERY RHYMES

ENGLISH FOR YOUNG LEARNERS

KAH1043

Dr Mazlina Che Mustafa

Early Childhood Education Department
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
INTRODUCTION
 Concepts and Definitions
• Murphey (1992) as cited in (Kuśnierek, 2016) names songs as
‘adolescent motherese’ (p.7).
• According to him, ‘motherese’ means the highly affective and
musical language that adults use to communicate with infants.
• As toddlers grow up they get less and less of motherese. The
language vanishes slowly as children develop and them may be
replaced by a song. A typical example of ‘motherese’ speech
may be a lullaby (Kuśnierek, 2016).

• A song has the variety of new words and phrases with many
different themes in which children can learn some items of
vocabulary and rhymes of the language.
 Benefits of Songs
• The use of songs has numerous benefits for
young children who learn English as a second
language.
• Songs can enhance the feelings and rhythm to
English language practice.
• Children remember what has been learned
more easily, and draw children more deeply
into a lesson.
• When children sing English songs and nursery
rhymes, they learn new words in the context
of their lives.
 Benefit: Songs help to balance
children’s energy levels

Some children come to early childhood centres

with full energy, while others are quite reserved.

When teachers start activities with an active

song, energetic children will be able to calm
down a bit and the quiet children will feel
encouraged to participate in the activities.
 Benefit: Songs in signaling transitions
• Children need time to tune in during transitions from one
activity to another. Verbal directions alone can be
difficult to understand, especially when a child is focusing
on a different activity. Using songs to signal changes helps
children to be alert and then understand that there is a transition
from the current activity the next one.
• Different songs to signal transitions such as when it is
time to start class, time to clean up,and time to make a
circle. Children will learn new words as well as find that transitions
can be smooth for them. A transition is something that helps
moves children from one activity to another. An example
would be from lesson time to story time or clean up time to snack
time. Transitions can be rhythmic chants, songs, or short stories.
 Ways of Using Songs
• Singing: catchy melodies and useful language
content.
• Actions: combined with the songs, it promotes
better understanding.
• Background: English songs in the background while
children do activities may help to easily remember
patterns of songs without focusing on the words
too much, they also pick up chunks of language in
songs. For children to be able to sing along to the
song, teachers need English songs with simpler
words and the words repetitive.
Steps of Using Song as Listening Activities

• Pre-Listening -Activating prior-knowledge

Prior knowledge is organized in schemata: abstract, generalized
mental representations of one’s experience that are available
to help people understand new experiences. The idea of prior
knowledge is one part of the cognitive model of language
processing.
• While-listening
It is important for children to have a purpose for listening to help
them focus on listening more effectively.
• Post-listening
Allows teachers to isolate children’s responses and thereby gauge
the progress the children are making on listening skills.
Songs and nursery rhymes to develop
listening skills
• Less monotonous in comparison to narration.
• Improves listening skills in English because
they provide children with practice listening to
different forms of intonation and rhythm.
• English has a stress-timed rhythm, for which
songs can help to establish a feeling.
Songs and nursery rhymes to develop
speaking skills in English
• Children are usuallyinterested in learning how
to make new sounds as they develop the
language.Singing a song, however simple, is a
pleasing achievement. After the children listen
to the song, they would attempt to sing it.
• Moreover, since the words in the refrain
(rhythmic section) are repeated several times,
they are easily memorized.
Songs and nursery rhymes to develop
English vocabulary

•Songs and nursery rhymes can provide the

opportunity for vocabulary practice in a
meaninful context for young children. They are
usually based around a theme or topic that can
provide the context for vocabulary learning. The
song “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, for
example, could be used to teach body parts.
Sentence structures and sentence patterns
• Many children's songs and nursery rhymes
have a simple sentence structure or sentence
pattern that can become set in the mind of
the learner. Songs could be used to reinforce
questions taught in the classroom.

• The song “Where is Thumbkin?” is useful for

practising WH-question forms.
 Conclusion
A classroom full of songs is a warm classroom where
students are getting lots of quality English input in a fun and
easy-to-understand way.
Singing is an activity that children of all levels can enjoy
while they acquire English asa second language. English
language learners will be able to follow along with gestures
and dances as they gradually learn the language in the
song.
Song is also a great language package that bundles culture,
vocabulary, listening, grammar and a host of other language
skills in just a few rhymes.