The place where I live

The song "DOWNTOWN" is an old song performed by Frank Sinatra, therefore appropriate for adults. The song sounds super old, yet funny and unusual. Besides, it's about the excitements of being downtown, which is an opportunity for students to share how they feel about the place where they live. After a brief discussion, students listen to the song and identify elements that show why the author enjoys downtown so much. In the end, students are arranged in two groups and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living downtown. 

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Don't you remember?

Age: Adults
Focus: Would X Used To

"DON'T YOU REMEMBER" is performed by Dean Martin, therefore a great song to play in a class of adults. Mine usually love those old songs. The activity consists in allowing students to briefly say weather they have a good memory or not. Then, they listen to the song and say whether the author has a good memory or not. Finally, students write about a memory they have using USED TO and WOULD. 

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When is lying better than telling the truth?

Age: Older Teens & Adults
Focus: Reflection & Discussion

The song "DO YOU REMEMBER" by Phil Collins is a romantic song but it's about a relationship that ended. The focus is engage students into a group discussion. Simple task, actually: First, students  choose from a number of options provided and explain their choices.  Then, they listen to the song/ read the lyrics and guess why the author ended his relationship (After listening to the song, students will realize that lying was not the only reason). Finally, they reflect and have a group discussion about lying. 

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Dancing Queen

Age: Teens & Adults

Focus: Relative Clauses

The purpose of the activity below is to practice relative clauses, although there aren't any in the lyrics. Simple task: First, students play a guessing game. Then, they listen to the song and find "hidden" relative clauses. Finally, they google the band and write down three pieces of information about them using relative clauses as well. 

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Got dumped?

Age: Adults
Focus: Simple Past

The song "CRYING" is a song about a broken heart, therefore, not a teenager's cup of tea. The goal here is to practice and memorize the past form of the verbs in the song. First, students do a word search activity. Then, they read the lyrics and change the verbs into the past, in order to once again visualize and memorize the past form. Next, they engage into a written task (either fill in a table with the past form of the verbs, once again an opportunity to memorize them, or write a letter in response to the author of the song).

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Lessons we learn

Age: Adults
Focus: Verb Tenses

"CRASH BOOM BANG" by Roxette is a song about a lesson the author has learned. After having a brief discussion in pairs, students listen to the song and identify the verb tenses presented. In the end, students guess what lesson the author has learned.

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Past Modals

Age: Adults
Focus: Past Modals


The song "I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT" by Frank Sinatra offers students a good opportunity to practice past modals. First, students play a guessing game to guess who the author of the song is and then they listen to the song as the read the lyrics. After that, students work on a short written  task, in which they individually write sentences about themselves and finally share them with a peer.

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