Using Words from Pop Songs
Simon Mumford, Turkey
Simon Mumford teaches EAP at Izmir University of Economics, Turkey. He is particularly interested in designing classroom activities, and has published many articles. E-mail: simon.mumford@ieu.edu.tr
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Procedure 1
Procedure 2
This activity is based on a word cloud representing the most common words in current pop songs, available from www.theguardian.com
- Show the word cloud to students, and ask if they recognise any of the words in songs that are currently popular.
- Ask students to write a short story or song lyrics using as many of the words as possible, e.g.
I was in love, and I was feeling really alive. I wanted to go and tell someone about this miracle, so I got out of my house and started running. Then I saw something really bad! A cool-looking stranger was taking you home. 'Wait!' I cried. Yeah, you never came back to me, but, oh! I'm never gonna believe that you really left me.
Student writing may be influenced by pop songs. However, if your students are writing formal essays, use the word cloud as examples of words to avoid. Point out that reduced forms such as wanna and gonna are not acceptable in formal writing. Write the words on the board and ask for more formal alternatives. Here are some examples:
| Song word | More formal alternatives |
| really | extremely, completely |
| want, wanna | would like to, desire to, intend to |
| love, like | respect, admire, prefer |
| see | observe, understand |
| take | purchase, remove, obtain |
| let | allow, enable |
| stop | prevent, obstruct |
| right | correct, appropriate |
| lying | hiding the truth, being dishonest |
| stranger | unfamiliar person |
| now | currently, at present |
| just | simply, merely |
| little | small, limited amount |
| cause | because, due to |
| talk (about) | discuss, debate |
The Methodology for Teaching Spoken Grammar and English course can be viewed here
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