YouTube in Use at School - Working with Music Videos
On this page, I would like to give you an example of how new media could be used in the classroom, showing you an example which refers to music. In this case we will use YouTube as the tool and music or rather the music video as the English channel. I am quite sure that students really like talking about music, songs and songtexts as music is part of their daily life, especially English music.
What did I choose?
This idea is for a 45-minute lesson which will deal with the same songtext, but two different musical (and visual) translations. On the one hand there is Rihanna’s „Don’t stop the music“ and on the other hand we will listen to Jamie Cullum’s version. Below you find the songtext.
I don’t want to give a detailed lesson plan showing the time, methods and all that information as this should be the „what can you do“ and not a detailed and fixed realization. It should be an example of how YouTube can, amongst other ideas, be integrated into class, in this case by talking about music.
What did I choose?
This idea is for a 45-minute lesson which will deal with the same songtext, but two different musical (and visual) translations. On the one hand there is Rihanna’s „Don’t stop the music“ and on the other hand we will listen to Jamie Cullum’s version. Below you find the songtext.
I don’t want to give a detailed lesson plan showing the time, methods and all that information as this should be the „what can you do“ and not a detailed and fixed realization. It should be an example of how YouTube can, amongst other ideas, be integrated into class, in this case by talking about music.
"(Please) Don't Stop the Music"
It's gettin late
I'm making my way over to my favorite place
I gotta get my body moving
shake the stress away
I wasn't looking for nobody when you looked my way
Possible candidate (yeah)
Who knew,
That you'd be up here looking like you do
You're making staying over here impossible
Baby I must say your aura is incredible
If you don't have to go, don't
Do you know what you started
I just came here to party
Now we're rocking on the dancefloor
Acting naughty
Your hands around my waist
Just let the music play
We're hand in hand
Chest to chest
Now we're face to face
I wanna take you away
lets escape into the music
Dj let it play
I just can't refuse it
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don't stop the
Please don't stop the music
I wanna take you away
lets escape into the music
Dj let it play
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don't stop the music
Please don't stop the
Please don't stop the
Please don't stop the music
I'm making my way over to my favorite place
I gotta get my body moving
shake the stress away
I wasn't looking for nobody when you looked my way
Possible candidate (yeah)
Who knew,
That you'd be up here looking like you do
You're making staying over here impossible
Baby I must say your aura is incredible
If you don't have to go, don't
Do you know what you started
I just came here to party
Now we're rocking on the dancefloor
Acting naughty
Your hands around my waist
Just let the music play
We're hand in hand
Chest to chest
Now we're face to face
I wanna take you away
lets escape into the music
Dj let it play
I just can't refuse it
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don't stop the
Please don't stop the music
I wanna take you away
lets escape into the music
Dj let it play
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don't stop the music
Please don't stop the
Please don't stop the
Please don't stop the music
I said Baby are you ready cause it's getting close
Don't you feel the passion ready to explode
What goes on between us no one has to know
This is a private show (oh)
Do you know what you started
I just came here to party
But now we're rockin on the dancefloor
Acting naughty
Your hands around my waist
Just let the music play
We're hand in hand
Chest to chest
Now we're face to face
I wanna take you away
lets escape into the music
Dj let it play
I just can't refuse it
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don't stop the
Please don't stop the music
I wanna take you away
lets escape into the music
Dj let it play
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don't stop the music
Please don't stop the
Please don't stop the
Please don't stop the music
(Please don't stop the music
Please don't stop the music
Please don't stop the music)
Lyrics taken from:
http://www.magistrix.de/lyrics/Jamie%20Cullum/Dont-Stop-The-Music-423008.html
Why did I choose this song or rather these versions?
I chose these versions because they are very different from each other which is the basis for a discussion about the two versions which have the same textual basis. Apart from that, I think that almost all students know at least Rihanna’s version. Jamie Cullum’s version will be new to many students. Note: You can do this kind of lesson with students from the 10th grade onwards, always depending on how you work with it.
I chose these versions because they are very different from each other which is the basis for a discussion about the two versions which have the same textual basis. Apart from that, I think that almost all students know at least Rihanna’s version. Jamie Cullum’s version will be new to many students. Note: You can do this kind of lesson with students from the 10th grade onwards, always depending on how you work with it.
What are the aims of the lesson?
The students should activate their listening skills and try to comprehend what the interpreters are singing about. This is often more difficult because the music may overlap with what is being said and singers tend to mumble at the end of a sentence. Nevertheless, students listen to music in their daily life. Often they are even not aware of what they listen to. Listening comprehension is therefore one aim. The other aim is the interpretation of both versions and its comparison regarding the musical realization and the video itself. How do they differ and why? What does the one version communicate and what does the other? Students should analyze the difference and gain a feeling for the fact that the musical (and visual) translation of one and the same songtext can change the character of a song completely.
The third main aim is to improve the speaking skills. We do have comprehensible and authentic input. Students should be encouraged to speak English and speaking about a topic which is closely related to their lives is maybe an incentive.
Generally, this kind of lesson could be done at the end of a school term if the teacher still has a time buffer or if the teacher just wants to include a lesson out of context, just in order to provide variety during the school year and to speak about a topic which is related to the students personal life.
How will the lesson look like?
First of all, the students could listen to the song (Rihanna) maybe twice and they should try to understand what is being said. Here, you could perfectly integrate the tool PiratePad so that the students can write down words or phrases they understand. Everyone can read it as it will be saved in one document and maybe students feel more comfortable to add what they have understood if they see in which direction it goes. But you don’t have to use PiratePad here, you can also just tell the students to write down what they understand on a sheet of paper.
The teacher will then talk about what has been collected on PiratePad (or on the blackboard or whiteboard) and students can try to sum up the sense of the song. After that part, the teacher would hand out the text in written form (alternatively you can have a look at the text on the internet) so that the students can write down notes if they want to. The text will be read together again aloud.
The teacher could ask the students to sum up the content of the song in one sentence (listening and speaking skills) to make sure everyone got the message and to practice being precise in what they say.
If the content of the song is clear, the students will first listen to the Rihanna version while watching the video on YouTube and in a second step do the same thing with Jamie Cullum’s music video.
The students have the task to find out characteristics and differences of the two videos (musically and visaually). The keywords could (again) be collected via PiratePad, students could order their keywords on their own, building categories.
After listening to the videos (twice) and after having collected keywords, the class can discuss them, summarize the main points and come to a conclusion. At the end it is always good to ask which version the students like better and especially why. They should give good arguments to support their opinion.
As a homework, students could (if that tool is used in class anyway) integrate the lessons content into their blogs or portfolios by summarizing the main points and the quintessence. They would also publish their text about why they like one version better than the other one.
Note: This kind of lesson is always a good change and can easily and quickly be prepared and realized. Students could get the task to find a song of their choice which they want to present to their classmates and which they want to talk about. It can be one song only or it can be a comparison. YouTube offers not all, but many music videos and the students could play around with it and talk about English music in English, taking not only the musical but also the visual realization into consideration. I am sure that the motivation for talking about that is quite high.
The students should activate their listening skills and try to comprehend what the interpreters are singing about. This is often more difficult because the music may overlap with what is being said and singers tend to mumble at the end of a sentence. Nevertheless, students listen to music in their daily life. Often they are even not aware of what they listen to. Listening comprehension is therefore one aim. The other aim is the interpretation of both versions and its comparison regarding the musical realization and the video itself. How do they differ and why? What does the one version communicate and what does the other? Students should analyze the difference and gain a feeling for the fact that the musical (and visual) translation of one and the same songtext can change the character of a song completely.
The third main aim is to improve the speaking skills. We do have comprehensible and authentic input. Students should be encouraged to speak English and speaking about a topic which is closely related to their lives is maybe an incentive.
Generally, this kind of lesson could be done at the end of a school term if the teacher still has a time buffer or if the teacher just wants to include a lesson out of context, just in order to provide variety during the school year and to speak about a topic which is related to the students personal life.
How will the lesson look like?
First of all, the students could listen to the song (Rihanna) maybe twice and they should try to understand what is being said. Here, you could perfectly integrate the tool PiratePad so that the students can write down words or phrases they understand. Everyone can read it as it will be saved in one document and maybe students feel more comfortable to add what they have understood if they see in which direction it goes. But you don’t have to use PiratePad here, you can also just tell the students to write down what they understand on a sheet of paper.
The teacher will then talk about what has been collected on PiratePad (or on the blackboard or whiteboard) and students can try to sum up the sense of the song. After that part, the teacher would hand out the text in written form (alternatively you can have a look at the text on the internet) so that the students can write down notes if they want to. The text will be read together again aloud.
The teacher could ask the students to sum up the content of the song in one sentence (listening and speaking skills) to make sure everyone got the message and to practice being precise in what they say.
If the content of the song is clear, the students will first listen to the Rihanna version while watching the video on YouTube and in a second step do the same thing with Jamie Cullum’s music video.
The students have the task to find out characteristics and differences of the two videos (musically and visaually). The keywords could (again) be collected via PiratePad, students could order their keywords on their own, building categories.
After listening to the videos (twice) and after having collected keywords, the class can discuss them, summarize the main points and come to a conclusion. At the end it is always good to ask which version the students like better and especially why. They should give good arguments to support their opinion.
As a homework, students could (if that tool is used in class anyway) integrate the lessons content into their blogs or portfolios by summarizing the main points and the quintessence. They would also publish their text about why they like one version better than the other one.
Note: This kind of lesson is always a good change and can easily and quickly be prepared and realized. Students could get the task to find a song of their choice which they want to present to their classmates and which they want to talk about. It can be one song only or it can be a comparison. YouTube offers not all, but many music videos and the students could play around with it and talk about English music in English, taking not only the musical but also the visual realization into consideration. I am sure that the motivation for talking about that is quite high.
Rihanna
animation
performance
dancing
general idea of sex - ne specific person
bass
beats
RnB
sexual incentives
playing with femininity
emphasis on female curves
video makes text appear superficial
full of relish
video = message
performance
dancing
general idea of sex - ne specific person
bass
beats
RnB
sexual incentives
playing with femininity
emphasis on female curves
video makes text appear superficial
full of relish
video = message
Jamie Cullum
melancholic
thoughtful
emotional
obvious confession to one particular person
piano
voice
pop-jazz
emphasis on text rather than on performance and visual effects
text = message
thoughtful
emotional
obvious confession to one particular person
piano
voice
pop-jazz
emphasis on text rather than on performance and visual effects
text = message
Last but not Least...
I hope that you like the idea of the leasson and how YouTube could be integrated into class using music videos. I personally like it and I would always encourage students to consciously listen to English music. The subconscious learning effect is quite high, this is at least what I experienced myself. I am sure that you can get the students' attention via talking about music and the possibilities you have with the help of YouTube are amazing. Studenbts can always prepare a lesson on their own choosing a song they like and want to talk about! Check it out...! :-)
PS: For negative aspects regarding YouTube please read my reflection on the tool here.
added: December 2010
PS: For negative aspects regarding YouTube please read my reflection on the tool here.
added: December 2010
