LyricsTraining: The Symphony of Language Learning

[Source: Pixabay]

Language learning is fun, but as language teachers we almost never hear our students say that. At least, my students never said in front of me, "Wow! I had so much fun today learning prepositions!" Let's face the reality, classes cannot be all about fun. Classes are meant to promote learning and that is the main goal. However, as I said in my previous blog posts, a little fun in the classroom can never be harmful. 

Technology is one of the most effective agents for making lessons more enjoyable, interesting and at the same time to create and nurture a proper learning environment. There are a lot of websites to help students learn autonomously inside and outside the classroom that do not only make learning delightful but also ensure that meaningful learning takes place in a short amount of time. One of such musical platforms of online language learning resources is LyricsTraining.

What is LyricsTraining?

LyricsTraining is a music video based website which is directly linked to YouTube. Clicking on any music video will cause an information gap activity pop up below the video. Every lyric of the video will be played once and the video will go to a stop until the lyric sentence with information gap is filled in with the correct answer. And as soon as it goes to a stop the timer at the top will start ticking or in other words the red line to indicate time will start getting shorter. So there is a time limit which must be maintained and an answer should be given before it disappears. 

  

Users can listen to the lyric again by clicking the previous button. Upon providing the correct answer, the video would start rolling again and the second lyric will be played and along with it the information gap activity will also be displayed right at the bottom of the music video. There is also a score board at the top to indicate the score a user has acquired. However, providing wrong answers or running out of time is as frustrating as losing in any video game. The game will be over as soon as the time runs out or the user provides wrong answers. Nonetheless, it is also as exciting as any other video game because the user can keep trying again and again.

Moreover, a user can determine the level of difficulty and change it with every song they want to try out. At the beginner level there are few information gaps, but as the level soars higher, the information gaps also increase in number. There are hundreds of YouTube music videos on this website each containing different difficulty levels, which means a user can keep playing even after they get the lyrics of a number of music videos right. This increasing level of difficulty can prove to be highly motivating to learners, since one of the key factors of motivation is an appropriate level of difficulty (Gower & Janet McDowall, 2012, p. 92).

Target Users

Unlike many other educational websites, LyricsTraining offers a free account on the website and even with no account any user, be it a teacher or a learner or an individual of any other profession, can get free access to all the videos. It may not be a traditional game, but this website does indeed offer a gamified version of listening activities for language learners of all ages and levels.

There are particular genres available for children and a variety of music types to appeal to the taste of a wide range of learners who would not only enjoy playing the engaging game but also groove to the music and learn pronunciation, vocabulary and sentence structures at the same time.

How English Teachers Can Use LyricsTraining?

English teachers can use LyricsTraining in a variety of ways. Teachers can build a plethora of listening activities around this website. Some of these are discussed below.

Flipped Classroom Listening Activities

LyricsTraining can be used as activities for conducting listening tasks inside the class and also outside the class. Teachers can use this website for conducting short classroom quizzes or flipped classroom activities. As this website is a gamified version of listening activities, it has the ability to keep the learners engaged and involved.

Whole Class Listening Activity

Teachers can make groups of students, play the song on YouTube and let students write down as many lyrics as they can. After that, the teacher can elicit and get a clear idea about students' level of proficiency in listening. Then they can select one student from each group to come forward and play the game on the projector screen to find out how many students could actually get most of the sentences right.

Awareness about Global Issues

Furthermore, teachers can choose context-relevant and social-cause related music videos for playing this game in order to make learners aware of various issues, such as- racism, environmental problems etc. that will help learners gain awareness besides improving their language skills.

Check out this video to get a deeper insight into LyricsTraining.

Layout, Navigation and Language

LyricsTraining has a well-organized layout and is very easy to navigate. Not only the teachers but also students can use it with ease and comfort. It has a user-friendly language, so no matter what category of learners use it, beginner level, intermediate level or advanced level, it is easy to understand the language and operate the navigation options. Also it has a number of search filters that help to determine the pace of the songs according to the desired levels. In addition to that, the teacher/learners can also choose the vocal (male/female) and the length of the song according to their own choices.

The best part of this website is that, although it is called LyricsTraining, but users/teachers/learners can choose the genre of their own liking and even play the game on trailers or TV shows that are available on YouTube! Most interestingly, there are particular genres for children as well.

Limitations

LyricsTraining has a couple of limitations that teachers should bear in mind.

1. While teaching young learners, the teachers may have to be a little careful about maintaining the appropriateness of contents and young learners may require some guidance to use this website. Also, as I have already mentioned if the teacher wants to use this website for young learners, they can opt for genres available for children that are appropriate for both their age and level.
2. Another limitation of this website would be the lack of variety in activities. Since it is only information gap activities, learners may not find it interesting  anymore after a time being.

However, using this website appropriately in the classroom can make learning fun anyway.

Let Music Sweep Away the Stress of Learning

The best thing about this website is that learners (as well as teachers!) can get relieved from the stress of learning and groove a little with the beats of music while filling in the gaps! After all, music is said to have healing powers and several studies show that listening to music can accelerate the learning process. And this has been backed up by Lake (2002) who said, language has the ability of creating a relaxed atmosphere in language classrooms and enhances language acquisition. So undoubtedly it is a win-win situation for both the teacher and learners!

References:

1. Gower, L., & McDowall, J. (2012). Interactive music video games and children's musical development. British Journal of Music Education, 29(1), 91-105. Retrieved on 7 February, 2019 from https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/1982E4EE108C74C318C68FD3166F6A5C/S0265051711000398a.pdf/interactive_music_video_games_and_childrens_musical_development.pdf

2. Lake, R. (2002). Enhancing acquisition through music. The Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning. Retrieved on 7 February, 2019 from http://coreilimagination.com/Books/V7.pdf#page=101