Learning through Songs for GCSE French, Spanish and German
Authentic music from target-language countries
An engaging resource that pairs music with language learning!
A formula which clearly works
An engaging resource that pairs music with language learning!
A formula which clearly works
Authentic target-language songs from diverse cultures, genres and countries are explored through differentiated worksheets.
Creative activities based on the 2016 specifications help students to improve their language and listening skills while learning about real-world issues relating to the required topics of study.
The snippets of information have certainly broadened my knowledge and saved hours of preparation!
Each song has 5 worksheets:
- Starter: Prepares students through warm-up activities and context clues
- Understanding the song lyrics: vocab-based activities help students understand the song and learn new expressions
- Putting the song into context: a reading comprehension activity based on a text introducing the singer or the band, followed by translation ✓ Activities include: answering questions, finding correct statements, finishing sentences and more
- Analysing the meaning of the song: activities focused on speaking and writing help students begin to develop their analytical skills to understand culture, self-expression and more in the context of music
- Giving your opinion: students share their opinion of the song and justify it – an important skill for speaking and writing
For use in class or as homework!
Also available for A Level French, German and Spanish
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What do teachers say about this resource? (9361)
I really was impressed with the resource. Working in a school where our numbers are consistently strong we are always looking for ways to further engage our students and provide them with content that will inspire them to take the language further on to AS/A2 level. This resource is so rich in pop culture with several references to artists beyond the ones used in the resource. I think that students will enjoy discovering new artists and broadening their appreciation of Francophone music.
I particularly liked the progression of tasks. The tasks enable students of all abilities to access the content on some level, for example, watching the video with the sound off allowing your eyes to piece together the story. I like the way the level of challenge gradually builds from the single words responses in the lyrics section, through to grasping the key message of the track through comprehension and analysis tasks. The final production task, puts the song in to a relevant everyday situation/context that has strong links with the AQA GCSE specification eg envrionment, social/global issues ie refugees. I like that the focus of your lesson could be on the music alone but equally there are research tasks that could be explored in depth as well.
A number of skills would be developed through using this resource. Skills in researching, analysing language, writing with a purpose would all lead the student to become a more independent learner. Students would benefit culturally from the resource because of the vast number of artists mentioned. With music being a key interest of this generation, it would help to generate an interest in the target language whilst developing some of the skills needed to succeed not only at GCSE but also at A-level and would help them to bridge that gap.
The resource ties in a nice range of activities that are similar to what would be expected on a GCSE course and in a GCSE exam. The written tasks are often set as a series of bullet points to address in a written paragraph, somewhat similar to the 16 marker essay. The research tasks, such as the ones about a French speaking country like Senegal would help students to think outside of the typical France bubble that most of their knowledge relates to. The Global issues letter to government task ties in the conditional tense with suggesting solutions to world problems and current issues. Each track is linked specifically to at least one of the chapters of the specification.
I thought this was a great resource. Songs are a massively underused resource in MFL. I loved the way that the identification of each song’s contribution to the specification was spelled out so that it can be easily placed into a scheme of work in the appropriate unit of work.
The fact that there were activities aimed at different abilities would mean that you could mix and match the activities to different groups within your class.
There was a good range of skills involved in the resource. Many of the activities echo the type of activity that pupils will be expected to complete during their GCSE exam. The range of skills addressed was also very important and although the resource had a nice organised feel in terms of the way it was set out, there was plenty of variety. I thought that the range of different levels was also really valuable. It means that you can address the issue of differentiation both within and across groups.
This resource has a lot to offer. It gives pupils a glimpse into the world of French music. I liked the fact that the extra tips would often give more able and enthusiastic learners the chance to go off on their own and investigate the artist further, often with more suggestions for songs.
I also think that providing links to both the official video and one with lyrics means that pupils will be aware that they can listen to a song, decide whether they like it and look for a version that will help them with the words.
I liked the presentation and the layout. It is clear and predictable in a reassuring sense. Once the pupils have been exposed to a worksheet on one song, they will have a good idea what to expect from future activities in this vein. There was a good interspersal of vocabulary and vocabulary exercises.
I think that this resource addresses this specification well. It is very well mapped to the different units and would be easy to integrate into a pre-exisiting SOW.
This is the resources that I think we all spend years thinking we should make and never get around to doing it. I think it would really help to improve interest and engagement.
This is a fun resource! Great variety of songs, with an international dimension. The author seems to have excellent knowledge of the contemporary music scene. Excellent variety of tasks.
Very well organised, and well-presented with a variety of resources and tasks. It is a well-made and fun resource to use for all abilities. Teachers can exploit the thematic and grammatical content of the song, plus it uses authentic language
The resource is well rounded with a wide variety of tasks. When I first saw that the resource focused around songs, I assumed it aimed to target listening skills, but it addresses all parts of the syllabus, with reading, writing, discussion and translation tasks. The vocabulary is relevant and the exercises well planned. I also appreciated all the information – it is not always easy finding time to inform oneself about the current music scene and certainly not in this amount of detail. The snippets of information have certainly broadened my knowledge and saved hours of preparation!
An engaging, different, modern and well done resource. I like the cultural elements taught as well. It helps keep students interested in the subject.
What do teachers say about this resource? (9362)
Excellent, great choice of songs from all backgrounds, really pleasant, and well differentiated. I really like how they are differentiated in terms of difficulty and the fact that there is a range of cultural background to match the new specs. This is not only appropriate but also enriching. I am very impressed there is an activity that required productive skills rather than students taking a simply passive stance. I like that at times students are asked to translate. The mini biographies help students improve their reading comprehension and focus on 3rd person and past tenses, which is brilliant. It is very effective to have a reference to further songs by the same artist or similar songs in terms for style and genre.
Fantastic, fun and engaging.It gets students motivated with different activities and it is all well explained and prepared for the teacher, saving time.
This is a really useful, fun resource that will appeal to students working at GCSE level and which will offer sufficient challenge to more able students in KS3 who want to study Spanish at GCSE. It offers the opportunity to hear authentic Spanish in action in a format that is of particular interest to teens. There is a variety of broadly differentiated activities which not only aim to improve listening skills but also help to break down text for grammar/writing purposes and work with new texts for comprehension purposes. It is particularly useful at the current time with the popularity of the Spanish language being frequently used by English-speaking pop stars in their music.
I liked the wide variety of exercises. I particularly liked the exercises proposed in the creative section, I found them useful and motivating, and it gave students the change have to give their opinion. I also valued that the songs present current topics that would be motivating for students (LGTB, social media, environment...), giving opportunity for discussion, and that some of the videos are visually very attractive.
What do teachers say about this resource? (9363)
This is an extremely engaging set of worksheets with a formula which clearly works – students are gently guided to understand the lyrics of a popular song, then given some context about the performers, and then encouraged to interpret the lyrics in a way which goes beyond the superficial, without feeling too ‘literary’. This would be a great motivational tool for students in Years 10/11, to encourage them to expand their knowledge outside of the classroom and get to know German-speaking culture independently according to their own tastes. It’s an insightful resource and I’m sure it’ll be very successful.
Generally I really like the resource. It is modern and up to date - using modern songs and fitting in with the GCSE exams. I think all students are excited by the prospect of using songs to learn and even better when there is a Youtube video to watch. It is a great idea to make GCSE resources out of the songs.
Like: Covers all skills areas, covers a range of topics, worksheets are clear to follow and look attractive and often have the layout of a GCSE paper. The resource (ie the song and video clip) is exciting to the student. The exercises and topics are in line with GCSE specifications. The answers are provided. There are other suggestions if you like the song or the artist.
Definitely enhances learning. Exciting, modern, stimulating resources (songs and videos). Covers aspects of GCSE specifications. Covers a range of topics and all the skills - reading, listening, writing, speaking and translation.
This resource is described as being suited to all specifications and for that reason it covers a range of skills and types of exercises. I think there is a good range - but I particularly like how there is great focus on preparing something in line with the speaking and writing exams, which gives students something concrete to review and revise from and incorporate into their exam revision notes. I also like the idea that that there are Foundation and Higher level worksheets to suit the students depending on the exam they are taking.
Keywords
- GCSE French
- GCSE French Listening
- GCSE Learning through Songs
- GCSE French Learning through Songs
- GCSE Songs
- GCSE French Songs
- GCSE German
- GCSE German Listening
- GCSE German Learning through Songs
- GCSE German Songs
- GCSE Spanish GCSE Spanish Listening GCSE Culture GCSE Learning through GCSE Spanish Culture GCSE Spanish Learning through GCSE Learning through Songs GCSE Spanish Learning through Song