Students in Malaysia had a fun and memorable experience learning English grammar after their teacher implemented a creative class activity based on the popular song ‘Happier’ by Olivia Rodrigo.
The teacher did not use textbooks to teach past tense verbs, but used the words of the song to teach students the grammar in a more practical way. The students got to learn English, through music, and also took part in an interactive lesson.
Learning English by Music
In the lesson, the teacher wrote the following lyrics from “Happier” on a whiteboard in the classroom and asked students to identify and circle the past tense verbs that they could find.
The students carefully searched through the lyrics and found several past tense verbs, including “broke,” “moved,” “found,” “was,” and “detached”. The teacher went on to explain how these words were used for describing events and states that had occurred.
The teacher adopted a song that was familiar to most of the students in the class, to assist students to see grammar rules in everyday English. The activity also allowed them to practise reading, pronunciation and vocabulary while learning the correct use of past tense verbs.
Creative Approach In Malaysian Classroom
The classroom exercise created an active learning environment where students worked together to complete the task before discussing their answers with the teacher.
Music-based learning activities have become a useful method for many teachers because songs combine different language skills, including listening, reading and speaking practice. They can also help students pay more attention during lessons.
For this Malaysian classroom, choosing Olivia Rodrigo’s “Happier” provided students with a familiar example of how English is used in real sentences. The teacher kept the main learning goal focused on grammar while making the lesson more engaging.
Students Practise English In New Way
The activity showed how traditional grammar lessons can be combined with creative teaching methods. Students could learn verbs in the past tense from song lyrics as well as written exercises.
In the lesson, students learned the structures of sentences and the change of verbs to describe past events. It enabled them to practise English in a new way and to be grounded in a song they already knew.
The Malaysian teacher’s classroom approach emphasized that a simple change of the teaching activity could make learning more interactive for the students.
Watch the video here:
@mslucyenglishteacher 🎶 What if your favourite breakup song could teach English? 💔 Today, my pupils learned past tense through song lyrics. The melody helps them remember grammar rules while naturally building their English vocabulary. Where melody meets memory, language learning becomes effortless. #happieroliviarodrigo #PastTense #Grammar #LearningThroughMusic
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