Creating chants is a lot easier than you think.
Creating a Vocabulary Chant (based on an idea from Caroline Graham)
- Write a list of the vocabulary you want to use and categorise according to the number of syllables.Students as young as 6 or 7 can do this and it’s a fantastic way to get adults to notice spelling and pronunciation. It is also an additional way to get students to drill lexis without them realising.
- Name 2 syllable words (A), 3 syllable words (B) and 1 syllable words (C)
- Choose one word from each group, preferably that link in some way, and repeat using the following formula
(4/4 time)
A B C +
A B C +
A B A B
A B C +
Example
apples, oranges, pears
apples, oranges, pears
apples, oranges, apples, oranges,
apples, oranges, pears
More suggestions
- Try using 3, 4, 2 syllable words but remember to keep the same 4/4 beat
- Choose words with similar sounds to make tongue twisters Eg carrots, cauliflower, corn
- Get your students to make up their own chants and then teach the rest of the class
(give them the language to play with and enjoy)
I LOVE this. I use it all the time and have been ever since I saw you do it at the IH Conference in Mataro. Now and then I get a student who hates it, but 90% of the time they go crazy for it it. They just love the fact they are making up their own. And it’s so effective! I love it. I love it a lot! Thank you!
Oh. By the way. It’s Kylie here. And thanks for posting the Drawl the drill handout.
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Dear Jane,
Hello from my class trip to the North Sea (today it’s pouring, so that reminds me of my stay in ….).
Thank you so much for your inspirations on language training!
In two of my classes I introduced ‘chanting’ and it’s really fun (and, efficient, for what I can see/say so far.) I’m trying to create chants for every language/grammar phenomenon we come across during a school year…
Have you ever thought of offering / creating a kind of data base for well made chants? (Because not everything I invent, seems to be first choice rhythm-wise / rhyme-wise… 😉
All my best wishes,
yours, Peter
Thank you for this invaluable tip!
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