Sunday 11 March 2012

LyricsTraining- Learning with Songs!



What is it about?                                                                   

LyricsTraining is a website providing listening exercises with music videos and lyrics. The music videos are labeled at different language level, and there are also exercises at different levels for the same song. Learners need to fill in the blanks by listening to the song. When learners finish the line of the lyrics, the song will go on to the next line. Learners can replay the same line again and again. The song won't keep going if the previous line hasn't been finished. Each time you restart the game, the blanks will be in different places. It's an relaxing and interesting way to learn and improve listening skills. In addition to English, there are also songs in other kinds of foreign language.

Why is it good to language learning?                                    
  • When playing the game, learners will listen to the lyrics again and again unconsciously, which can develop their listening skills. When they get the answer, they can get the reward right away, which is that they can keep the song going.
  • The website is based on songs, which are quite motivating in language learning. Since the exercises are on-line, students can play the listening games after class, which increase the time the learners are exposed to the language.
  • It's a great self-learning resource.


How can it be used?                                                              
  • Students can go to the website and practice their listening at home. There is a billboard showing the highest scores, which can motivate students to take the challenge and see if they can get on the board.
  • We can also use this in class. Play the song and make students have a group competition. The group which first get the correct answer gets one point.
  • In addition to English songs, there are also Spanish songs, which are available for Spanish learners.
  • For teachers who like to use songs but are not sure which song is popular for students, this website is a good reference.
  • There is also a karaoke mode which students can see the lyrics along with the singers singing the song. Students can use this function to get familiar with the songs before practicing listening the missing words. We can also ask students to use this function to learn an English song, and we can ask them to sing an English song in class.


What are the limitations?                                                     
  • For students who are not interested in music or songs, there are not many other options in this website.
  • The patterns of the exercises are not various.

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