Disfruta las Cosas Buenas (Enjoy the Good Things)

“This is all about language acquisition,” says Mrs. Perry, who enjoys teaching with music. “If you’re trying to acquire new words, they say it takes at least 65 repetitions for a word to become a permanent part of your vocabulary. Music and storytelling provide ideal vehicles to get that number of repetitions and not lose their attention.”

Before the dancing, students listen to Latino pop hits like Chayanne’s song “Madre Tierra” (“Mother Earth”) and write down words they hear and recognize. Some of the high-frequency verbs they already know, which is one reason Mrs. Perry feels they enjoy the songs. After she introduces students to a few new words, they discuss the imagery of the song and then she gives her students some motions to accompany the lyrics. Linking motion to vocabulary helps cement the words into long term memory more quickly.

“We don’t talk about every single word because I want them to enjoy the song and focus on the catchy refrain,” Mrs. Perry says. “If I spent time on every word in the lyrics I would lose them.”

And then she turns on a Zumba video!

The students don’t know every word of the song, but they do know the vocabulary in the refrain, and they do enjoy the dancing.

“They all get it; they leave the classroom singing,” Mrs. Perry says. “How powerful is that? They actually capture the refrain by listening carefully. They’re singing an authentic song that’s on the radio, performed by a Latin artist. They can listen to a message in a foreign language and understand it. Building confidence in their ability to listen and understand native speakers is critical since they are then more apt to use their skills outside the classroom.”

Here’s a refrain the students have been singing over and over again, from Chayanne’s song “Madre Tierra,” which carries a message that Mrs. Perry knows resonates with eighth graders:

Oye

Abre tus ojos

Mira hacia arriba

Disfruta las cosas buenas que tiene la vida

Abre tus ojos

Mira hacia arriba

Disfruta las cosas buenas que tiene la vida 

Lala lala

Listen

Open your eyes

Look up

Enjoy the good things that you have in your life

Open your eyes

Look up

Enjoy the good things that you have in your life

Lala lala


PHOTOS: Minush Krasniqi