Home › Forums › Resources, tools and activities › Using sound effects in class with young learners
      TeachingEnglish
      Using sound effects in class with young learners
      Submitted by Gareth Cottrill on 19 August, 2010 - 10:51

      Hi there,

       

      I am a teacher currently working in China with young learners, i.e. those between the ages of 3 and 15.  I have recently started trying to use sound effects in class, for the following (my own) reasons: content is negotiable.  Whereas a picture of a bus is a bus is a picture of a bus, this sound, is it a bus, a car, a train, a what-have-you.  Are they frogs, or aliens, and in either case, what are they trying to say to us?  I find that some students respond very differently to sound effects than they would to yet another flashcard.

       I've found it helps them practice listening in a non-English context. It’s easy to stop listening to stuff around you. Listening for sounds helps students listen more attentively when it comes to dealing with words, which are (in a known tongue) processed differently to sounds; and in an unknown tongue, in the case of some of my students, not necessarily processed at all. 

       It’s different, benefits the kinaesthetic learners: if you can find a stereo recording, just watch the kids’ heads move as the sound pans round, like watching an invisible tennis match, you know their brains are working to process rather than just flashcard: BLAM!

       

      These are some, in my own words, of the reasons I found for using sound effects in class.  I would also like to know of anybody else's experiences in using sound effects in a class with this age group of learners, what activities have been tried, where is a good place to get resources etc. etc.  Sadly, being in China, we have no access to Youtube or that would be a good place to try, but if anybody can give me their thoughts on effective strategies I would be very grateful, as too would my students.

      Oh, and by sound effects, I mean pigs squealing, cows mooing, engines revving, glass shattering, doors closing, footsteps walking away (then coming closer...). 

      They have a lot of potential, and rather than just experiment I wondered if I could learn from others' experiences.

       

      Thanks all

      Gaz

       

      ‹ Projects Ideas for water day! ›

      Tag
      Brent4016's picture
      Brent4016
      Sound Effects
      Submitted on 1 September, 2010 - 09:17

      I teach at the college level and will start using sound drops this semester. I'm not going to use "effects" but spoken English, such as clips from hit movies or songs.

      You can download sound effects off the internet. One good site (that appears to be free of copyright entanglements) is http://www.soundboard.com/terms.aspx

      I'm not sure that spoken English won't be processed at all--for your older students.  I think it might work if you use a limited number of spoken English clips and then replay them frequently.  The first 3 or 4 times, the students probably won't catch them, but eventually it should start to stick.  Keep it light and humorous--try and use them when they aren't expecting it (not just when you are reading a story or directly from the text).

      I also think it might help to start by using some clips that they are already familiar with, like "I'm king of the world!" from Titanic. If you play that first, and then follow-up with other clips that they don't know, it might act as a scaffold for their ears.

      I haven't read anything on this so I could be totally wrong. It's just a trial and error process for me. Enthusiasm for English learning is not very high at my institution so I'm hoping this can add some more energy and focus to my classes.