Lyrics Training: Listening was never such fun

Lyrics Training: Listening was never such fun

One of the biggest challenges I as a teacher have ever faced is to have my students patiently with utmost attention participate in the listening activity. I have observed a number of times that the students get distracted, withdrawn or lose interest while performing the activity and it is very important for the teacher to hold their attention right till the end in order to complete the task.

And when such activity is given to them as homework, I am quite sure and prepared that it might not be done by the students. And so, while I was browsing the internet for some teaching materials, I chanced upon this website called 'Lyricstraining.com' and seems that this website is a sure shot answer to my problem- practice listening with music. WOW! 

Lyricstraining.com is a highly interactive music website containing songs along with their lyrics in 7 different languages, English being one of them.

The user has an option to sign up for an account but the website can be used directly even without a sign up. The songs are categorised under various genres, the user can click on a language, genre and a song of his choice and can start practicing.

HOW?

Its pretty easy! Once the song is selected, the user is asked to select the level of the activity and then asked to play the game. The video of the song is played along with the lyrics flashing under the video. The user needs to keep up with the pace of the song and fill in the words missing in the lyrics. If the user misses to hear or understand the word, the left icon can be clicked for a replay of the line. If the gap is filled with the correct word, it is marked with a short green line and if an incorrect letter is put for the word, it does not accept and thus will not progress to the next line. Even after repeated attempts, the user is not able to fill the gap with the correct word, the answer can be checked by clicking the icon on the right side. And this way, the song progresses to the next line and following the same steps the user completes the listening activity until the end of the song. The score, gaps, hits  and fail can be checked which appears on top of the video. 

Lets take a look at the snapshots to understand how it looks:

(The karaoke version simply allows the user to sing along the song with the help of the lyrics flashed on the screen).

I feel this a great tool that can be used by a teacher to encourage her students to practice listening skills at home. The students are not only spoilt for choice in selecting the songs as the website is updated with the latests songs but also get to enjoy the music and alongside practice the skill. 

This definitely seems to become the most enjoyable homework that students will not complain about.

The only thing that is leaving me amazed and thoughtful is about this wonderful tool being absolutely FREE! 

Russell Stannard's tutorial on using Lyricstraining can help you understand the website better:

Have your students sing along, practice and enjoy. Like always, I look forward to your inputs and feedback.