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Thank you for buying our CD! This CD is a
little bit special so we're going to try
and help you get the most from it! As a general
rule the CDs are suitable for the final year
of kindergarten through to first year junior
high.
First of all your CD has 3 sections. Put
it in a normal CD player and you have the
7 songs complete with vocals. Then you have
the same songs but without the vocals, so
the kids can sing along on their own. Finally
if you put the CD in a suitable computer
you'll get the CD-ROM section!
These resources can work on their own, but
the way to get the best use of them is to
use them together with games and actions
to create a fun, effective learning environment!
Music
Just playing the CD to the kids won't unfortunately
make them fluent! The Genki English songs
are designed to be simple enough for the
kids to be actually able to sing them. First
of all a parent or teacher should teach the
kids the meaning of the words, and go through
the pronunciation. This can be done by a
native teacher, or by a non-native teacher
using the software. On the Genki English
website there are numerous games that can
be used to practice the English used in the
songs. Finally, once the kids can basically
sing the song, you should have a go at singing
along with the CD. Keeping the CD to the
end keeps the kids' interest level up! If
you are teaching children in Japan, then
please make sure you don't use "katakana"
when teaching the song as children should
learn the correct pronunciation by listening!
During subsequent lessons, the vocab can
be easily revised by singing the songs.
Songs are great as a learning tool as the
melodies aid memorisation of the words. Similarly,
using actions and dances helps the kids to
remember the songs, and makes them more fun!
Suggested actions for the songs include:
CD Vol I
1."What's your name?". Kids form
into groups of 2. Everyone sings "What's
your name?" etc. Then one child from
each pair sings "My name is " plus
their own name (please don't become Richard
or Mr Monkey!). The other child then sings
"My name is cc". The 2 children
shake each other's hand whilst saying "Nice
to meet you!". They then split up and
each finds another partner! Repeat 3 times!
2. "How are you?". It is best to
have gestures for each answer. For example
rubbing your tummy for "hungry",
pretending to sleep for "tired",
hugging yourself for "cold", pulling
a sad face for "sad", smiling for
"happy", jumping in the air for
"great!", a thumbs up for "Good!"
and an OK sign for "OK"!
3. "Left and Right" The kids act
out the movements whilst singing the song,
i.e. they all step one step left on "left",
one step right for "right" etc.
etc. For the "Sit down, Stand up"
part I usually find it is better for the
kids to listen and do the actions. When the
"Left and right, forward and back"
section returns they start singing again!
This dance really helps the kids remember
"left" and "right", even
if they are not too sure in their native
tongue! You can teach this song in 10 minutes.
4. "How much?" Put the kids into
2 groups. One group are shopkeepers and have
items to sell. The other group are the shoppers
and each one pairs up with a shopkeeper.
All the shoppers sing together "How
much, how much, how much is that " plus
the name of the object that their shopkeeper
partner is holding. The shopkeepers then
reply "It's 10,9,8" etc. and the
shoppers say "I'll take it!". The
shoppers then move to the adjacent shop (make
sure you decided in which direction everyone
will move before you start!). When the song
finishes, repeat again with the shoppers
and shopkeepers reversing roles. This song
takes maybe 1 hour to teach - splitting it
over 2 classes is good!
5. "What's the weather like?" Like
the "How are you?" song, hand movements
help a great deal. When singing "rainy",
put your hands in the air and make your fingers
fall down like rain, for "cloudy"
your hands trace out a cloud shape in front
of you, for "windy" try swooshing
your hands down from top right to bottom
left, for "snowy" you can pretend
you are throwing a snow ball. For "sunny"
you trace out a circle in front of you, for
"fine" you can hold your hand above
your eyes like you can see a long way, for
"hot" you can wipe your brow and
for "it's a beautiful day" it's
good to lean back and outstretch your arms!
I usually do this in two 20 minute sessions.
6. "Where are you from?". It is
difficult to assign any specific gestures
to this song without evoking racial stereotypes.
Therefore I find it good for the kids to
split into two groups. The first group sings
one line (e.g. "Where are you from?")
and the other group sings the next line.
You keep going backwards and forwards like
this with the aim being to sing louder and
better than the other team! Or you could
use flags!
7. "Thank you". Actions can be
good for the seasons part of this song. For
"summer" you can pretend to swim,
for "autumn" your hands fall from
the sky like leaves from a tree, for winter
you can pretend to ski and for "spring"
your hands can shoot up in the air like a
new plant. For the final "goodbye"
verse I like to sing the line "goodbye"
and then clap 3 times in time to the CD,
sing another "goodbye" and another
set of claps. Saving this for the final verse
keeps everyone excited as they wait for it
to come around! This song can be taught in
15 minutes.
CD ROM Section
The software should be OK on most Windows
95 or newer PCs, or newer Mac computers.
However if your machine is slightly older,
you may need to install "Flash"
in order to get the pages to speak. You can
do this by selecting the file in the Flash
directory of the CD.
Each song has its own software page. On the
left are the lyrics to the song. Kids can
play around with the lyrics, repeating the
lines one at a time till they get them right.
On the top right is the description of the
words used. It's a good idea for the kids
to spend 10 or 15 minutes playing round until
they know all the words!! If they are speaking
the words as well as listening to them, they
can practice their pronunciation! Finally
they'll be ready to try the quiz! The idea
is that you listen to the words spoken and
then click on the correct picture! If you
have a group of computers, then getting all
the kids to start the quiz together and then
finding who can finish fastest is a great
idea!
I keep finding out new ways to use the CDs,
and the information here is just a guideline.
Adjust the ideas, think of your own, and
above all have fun! You can find out more
information, games and ideas on the songs
page of the Genki English website at www.GenkiEnglish.com
You can also contact me with any questions,
problems or suggestions at cd@genkienglish.net
Be genki,
Richard
c 2000 www.GenkiEnglish.com
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