Grammar Chants Resources for English Learners

The use of grammar chants to learn English are useful for learners of all ages. Chants  can be used to learn vocabulary and grammar and are a lot of fun to use in classes. They are especially effective when used to help students learn problematic forms. These chants are also known as jazz chants and there are a number of great jazz chants books available by Carolyn Graham who has done a great job of introducing her jazz chants to English learners. The chants  on the site cover a wide range of simple grammar and vocabulary subjects for lower level English learners.   English learning chants  use repetition to engage the right side of the brains musical intelligence. The use of multiple intelligences can go a long way to helping students speak English automatically. Here are a number of chants for some of the most common beginning level problem areas. Many of these chants are simple. However, remember that through the use of repetition and having fun together (be as crazy as you like) students will improve their automatic use of the language. Using a chant is pretty straight-forward. The teacher (or leader) stands up in front of the class and chants the lines. Its important to be as rhythmical as possible because these rhythms help the brain during the  learning process. The main idea is to break up a learning objective into small, bite-sized pieces. For example, to practice questions forms you can start with a question word, then on to the simple beginning of a question with the question word, auxiliary verb, followed by the  main verb. In this way, students learn to group chunks of language that often come together. In this case, the pattern of auxiliary verb subject main verb i.e.  do you do, did you go, has she done, etc.   Example of the Beginning of a Chant What What do you do? What do you do in the afternoon? When   When do you go... When do you go to visit your mom?   and so on... Using this form of a chant could also work well for strong collocations such as make and do. Start with the subject, then make or do and then the collocating noun. Example of Make and Do Chant She   She makes   She makes the bed. We   We do We do our homework. etc.   Be creative, and youll find your students having fun while learning important English basics.