English in the 21st Century
The ability to speak and understand English is a key life-skill for people living in the 21st century. The more the world becomes interdependent and globalised, the more pressing the need grows for those who do not share the same mother-tongue to be able to understand each other. Effective innovations, accelerations and transformations in how teachers present and teach the language, especially at primary school level, and their positive effects on children’s attitudes to studying and communicating in English, are to be welcomed and encouraged. We take pride in presenting The FunSongs Method.
What is the FunSongs Method?
The FunSongs Method is an organized way of teaching the English language through music and mime, rhythm and rhyme. It combines elements of Total Physical Response (Prof. James Asher) and Suggestopedia (Prof. Georgi Lozanov). The learning process is strengthened and accelerated by activating several intelligences in the learner’s mind at the same time in line with Prof. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
Learning new language through music and movement is particularly useful in encouraging intelligible pronunciation and reinforcing memorisation. Neuroscientists agree that children learn more effectively when they are having fun.
Looking for an answer to a question?
Below you’ll find answers to the questions we get asked the most about our FunSongs packages.
FunSongs action song packages are ideal for children aged from 5 to 10. Taught correctly children learn and memorise the songs and their vocabulary fast. Each action song package comes with a set of worksheets graded in difficulty. Often Worksheet 1 is appropriate for children starting to learn to read and write while the higher level worksheets, based less on images and more on reading and writing tasks, are challenging and more suitable for older children.
The FunSongs Technique is an organized and effective way of presenting, teaching and learning new language through action songs. Combining melody and mime, rhythm and rhyme will help you make your English lessons fun and effective. Our teaching action videos quickly help you learn the songs before you present them to your class.
Simple! Use the action song search facility to find the most appropriate action song for your course. For example it you’re looking for a song about parts of the body, insert “arms” into the search engine. You will then be redirected to two action songs packs: Time to Play and The Monster March. Once you have a pack that interests you, follow the instructions to buy it through PayPal. You can then download it immediately. Each pack contains a Teacher’s Notes page with instructions and suggestions on how to teach the song and make use of the graded worksheets. You can also acquire a FunSongs licence to download all our action song packs in one go, click here for further information.
FunSongs action songs have been specially written to present and teach key vocabulary in a way in which your young learners will never forget. The FunSongs Method brings several expressive disciplines into the learning process: music, singing, mime, dance, poetry. Different intelligences are activated in the learners mind at the same time. Because of the emotional power of music and mime, learners are engaged in the learning process emotionally.
First decide on the lexical field(s) you want to teach. Then using our action song search engine on the home page, locate the most appropriate action song package. Once you have downloaded the package follow the instructions in the Teacher’s Notes. For an overview of the FunSongs Method download Charles Goodger’s e-book “Music and Mime, Rhythm and Rhyme.” You may also find this article published by EFL Magazine useful. http://eflmagazine.com/pres
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