Sing, Sang, Sung, Singing Irregular Verbs Suzanne
L. Medina, Ph.D. Presentations on this topic were made at the following conferences: * CATESOL (California Association of Teachers to Speakers of Other Languages) Conference held in Pasadena, California on April 13, 1998. * The Los Angeles Regional CATESOL Conference held at Mt. San Antonio College (Walnut, Calif.) on November 1, 1997. * Southern
Nevada Regional CATESOL Conference held in Las
Vegas, Nevada on October 16, 1997. Overview of the Presentation "Ring, rang, rung, ringing." "Sweep, swept, swept, sweeping." These are but a few of the many irregular verb forms which non-native speakers of English must acquire. Needless to say, recalling these irregular verb forms is difficult for many E.S.L. learners. Yet what can E.S.L. teachers do to facilitate the process of learning these verbs? While there are no pills or injections, there is an alternative and enjoyable way that can be used with E.S.L. students: songs. Songs offer a viable alternative since, in the research literature, songs have demonstrated to have a powerful impact upon rote memorization and language acquisition (Medina, 1991). During this session, the presenter demonstrated a technique which she has used with hundreds of E.S.L. students to help them successfully recall English irregular verb forms. Participants were introduced to the three irregular verb songs which have allowed students to master these forms, then they experienced first-hand the process of acquiring English irregular verbs through songs. Finally, the presenter discussed step-by-step the procedure and strategies used in order to teach irregular verb forms with these songs. Participants
received handouts containing an outline of the
procedure used to instruct irregular verbs
through song, the words of a sample irregular
verb song ("Hernando’s Irregular Verb
Hideaway"), and information regarding tape
cassettes which are available for purchase. If
you would like to learn more about these tapes,
click here. Procedure for Presenting Songs Step 1: Teach the meanings of irregular verbs in a song (i.e., the base form)
IRREGULAR VERB HIDEAWAY (Tango) The following irregular verbs and their various verb forms were sung to the melody of "Hernando’s Hideaway." Verse 1 Verse 2 Chorus (spoken, not sung) beat beat beaten
[beating] (Musical interlude) Verse
3 Note:
An alternative tango is provided on the cassette
tape. Copyright
© 2000 Suzanne L. Medina. All rights reserved.
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