Of course, these activities can be included in regular classes as enhancements to various methods and to augment almost any theme. For example, the sometimes overworked theme of family benefits from an essential song for ESL entitled Family Tree, recorded by Tom Chapin on the Sony Kids Music label. The song has lyrics with universal appeal to all ages and cultures with a wonderful theme of connectedness through world wide kinship. I usually discuss the meaning of the first verse to set the stage for singing the song. This leads to further discussion of all of the geographical places mentioned and other vocabulary.
Students can then create their own family trees.
After All . I split the class in half so that one group sings the first part of a line and the other group sings the second part. This requires strict attention from the students while giving them time to catch their breath to really sing out their part. Then everyone joins together for a raucous reading of the chorus. As this song only requires three chords, it lends itself to be played and sung in a rock style which usually motivates the class.