Enjoy singing! Enjoy learning! —lyricstraining

If your students are fond of music ♫
I strongly recommend you introduce lyricstraining (link Learn Languages with Music Videos, Lyrics and Karaoke! (lyricstraining.com) to your students!

Elegant melody
Impressive lyrics
Learning English is not a dull and struggling task anymore!

(website screenshot of lyricstraining)

Ready?
Now let's start our English learning journey in the world of music!

How to use lyricstraining

Students can create their own account (for free!!) at the first step. (It is fine if they don't want to register.) Then students can search their favorite songs by typing the title of songs in the above search bar.

(website screenshot of lyricstraining)

Choose the mode according to their ability. Students can see how many words they need to fill under different types of modes.

(website screenshot of lyricstraining)

After clicking start, the song begins. What students need to do is to fill the lyrics in the suspension points after listening to the song. The song will continue if their spellings are correct and timely. Students can also playback if they miss it or they can try some letters if they really can't spell words out (But if students try so many times and the red bar above comes to empty, the Game is over.)

(website screenshot of lyricstraining)

Students can also see their score and rank after they finish the game.
So, listen carefully when the song begins! Try to fill the gaps as many as possible. But if they feel the current mode is demanding, it is fine to lower the mode level.

(website screenshot of lyricstraining)

Why to use lyricstraining

As for teachers, you can also create your own gap-filling version (after you log in to your account) by clicking NEW EXERCISE.

(website screenshot of lyricstraining)

To some students, it is a novel way to learn English via music. This can not only encourage students to remember more words but also promote their listening skills. What's more, this may stimulate learners' intrinsic motivation to learn English since they can really receive tremendous joyfulness from it! I have to admit that remembering word spelling from a book is dull and inefficient. But reciting words from a song will be more interesting and meaningful. Basically, the lyrics create a context. Just as the research of Xiaolong Li (1988) has suggested that:

Since adequate cues in context can relieve learners of English as a second language from the anxiety of unfamiliar words, it might follow that reasonably sufficient contextual cues should be provided in texts for second language learners to create enough information for them. 

What's more, lyricstraining really allows students to choose whatever they want to learn. Students can keep their own preferences in learning rather than just following teachers' input. Returning autonomy to students can also develop students' independence and responsibility. One of my experienced colleagues often encourages students to make learning plans by themselves. They have to accomplish their daily tasks since these tasks are their own decisions. In fact, her students all make it! Thus, why not arrange your English homework with lyricstraining? Maybe after a while, your students can remember more words than you expected. Here, students can also learn other languages. 

(website screenshot of lyricstraining)

Limitations

Maybe sometimes the easiest mode is still difficult for the learners whose foundation is extremely poor. Besides, due to the copyright, some songs are not available. 

Another thing that should be kept in mind is that the accuracy of lyrics varies. Especially for beginners who can't apply grammar rules with ease, may be confused by the improper usage of words and sentence structures. In that way, giving learning autonomy doesn't mean doing nothing with their study. Teachers should help students find practical learning materials.

Further support

If you want to know more about lyricstraining (e.g. how to get the answer), or you hope to hear more voices about this tool, this video may give you some help. 

Enjoy your English learning trip! Have fun!