Other Mixes By Bear
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Legend of Bear Presents: 'Songs For Swingin' Classrooms'
| Side A | ||
| Artist | Song | |
| Joanna Newsom | Emily | |
| Dionne Warwick | Walk on By | |
| Ben E King | Stand by Me | |
| Sufjan Stevens | Casimir Pulaski Day | |
| Bobbie Gentry | Ode to Billie Joe | |
| The Beach Boys | God Only Knows | |
| Side B | ||
| Artist | Song | Buy |
| Marvin Gaye | I heard it through the grapevine | |
| Arctic Monkeys | I bet you look good on the dancefloor | |
| The Shangri-La's | Give him a great big kiss | |
| The Supremes | You Can't Hurry Love | |
| Jilted John | Jilted John | |
| The Crystals | Then he kissed me | |
| Leonard Cohen | The Partisan | |
| Camera Obscura | I love my Jean | |
| The Velvet Underground | Sunday Morning | |
| The Beatles | Yesterday | |
Comment:
Through my many months as an English language teacher I've used a whole bunch of songs in the classroom. Here they all are, on one handy cassette to keep in my box amongst the photocopies, grammar books and dried-up board pens. Most of this is the sort of jukebox stuff Aotmers everywhere will be more than, maybe too, familiar with. But it's amazing how exotic and rare it sounds to those who've grown up outside the western world. (That old idea: the most well known and recognised musician is not the Beatles, but Bob Marley.) Still, you can't go wrong with soul, Motown, classic 60s pop: short, sharp, sweet, 3 minute chunks of EFL fun.As for the rest...
Joanna Newsom's 12 minute feast of vocabulary: not to be used lightly. I have only done so once. Strictly for high levels, obviously.
Sufjan, Gentry, Jilted John: all good narratives. You can draw these out a bit more, study the stories and discuss depth and meaning. Okay, maybe not so much with John. Still, I can recommend the experience of seeing a gang of Thai and Malaysian girls happily chanting 'Gordon is a moron' to anyone.
Leonard Cohen: I once used this to demonstrate the meaning of 'melancholy'. It lasted about two minutes ('Jake! turn it off! Next time, bring Red Hot Chilli Peppers!') but they got the idea.
Camera Obscura: Just used once. The lyrics are a Robert Burns poem. Actually quite baffling.
Arctic Monkeys: This was used on my training course. To the cooler question 'Who do you think looks good on the dancefloor?', a pre-intermediate level, 56 year old Colombian university lecturer shouted: 'Everyone! Everyone who likes to dance looks good on the dancefloor!'
The Velvets: Studying a picture of them, a 17 year old Brazilian CSS fan asked, very sincerely, 'Were they Mods?'
The Beatles: An EFL classic, for beginners. It absolutely and clearly nails present/past tenses. Thanks Macca!
And remember: No Tense, No Sense.
Feedback:
This is brilliant! A wonderful use of classic (and not so classic) songs brought into a new context through your notes. I'm still smiling at that Jilted John image :)
This is what life is about.
Fantastic - and how creative of you. Good on your Colombian university lecturer, too...
How fabulous.
I guess you could really mess with your students' syntax by playing Wire's "Truculent Yet."
I guess you could really mess with your students' syntax by playing Wire's "Truculent Yet."
i wish i had a teacher like you when i was in school -- excellent batch of tunes old & new, all given new life through new eyes -- wonderful stuff
I love it!
What a great context to expose people to great music. To Jenergy's point, I can think of dozens of songs to instill confusion.
Fantastic mix. The notes made me smile too. Hey Bear? Have you got those leather elbow pad thingys on your jacket? That would truly seal the deal for me. Teach on...
Ahh, bringing the western sounds to the kids. I love it, in a imperialistic kind of way! Just kidding. Straight up classics with some choice modern cuts... lovely!
LOL on Barry's comment about the leather elbow pads on the jacket, and of course the jacket would have to be tweed.
Loved the storyline. I'm living in the past (participle that is).
Loved the storyline. I'm living in the past (participle that is).
Jake: You're the coolest teacher in the World. Had you have been mine back in the day, I may have passed more exams, ended up a Brain Surgeon or a lawyer etc etc
What on earth did your students think of Jilted John? And more to the point, how did you manage to fit it into a lesson? Stroke of genius that I reckon...
What on earth did your students think of Jilted John? And more to the point, how did you manage to fit it into a lesson? Stroke of genius that I reckon...
Wow! This is a great exercise--I wish I'd have had more teachers like you back in my day (and, quite frankly, wish that I had entered your profession instead of the path that I chose)--and a great mix, to boot. This is my MotW.
oh yes
Wonderful in every way. I wish I'd had you as a professor while learning english!
The reason for this mix, the contents and the accompanying notes are so brilliant that I am unable to berate you for the use of cassette tape as your recording medium of choice. Now that's what I call teaching! Please accept this accolade and a side order of respect.