Teaching with Karaoke

About six years ago, I was a tutor in an adult literacy program. I attended G.E.D. courses with students who had moderate to severe disabilities. I worked one-on-one with my students, and coordinated with the classroom teachers to adapt the group activities to my students' individual abilities.

One day during lunch, I chatted with one of the teachers about my weekend plans. I told her that every Saturday night, I visited a local karaoke bar. She said she had a home karaoke machine, but had never sung in public. Then, she had a brainstorm.

"Hey, if I brought my machine to class, could you lead a karaoke session with the students? It would be a great Friday afternoon activity."

Of course, I agreed. I love karaoke, and I'm a total ham. I'm also always up for recruiting new karaoke fans.

The karaoke afternoon was a smash hit. The students got a big hit out of showing off to each other, and they loved seeing their teachers get into the act. The head teacher and I had a blast, too.

As it turned out, the karaoke day did more for our students than either of us had anticipated. More than just a fun way to spend a Friday afternoon, it also served educational purposes. Several of our more reserved students, many of whom would sooner chew on thumbtacks then speak before the class, took the microphone and sang their hearts out. Particularly during group songs or duets, these shy students were able to come out of their shells when they held that magical microphone in their hands. The machine we had that day was a fairly simple model, with just a tape deck and an attached microphone. We didn't even have karaoke music; the students simply sang over the recorded lyrics. We chose simple tunes that everyone knew, so we didn't have to worry about printed lyrics. However, if we had wished, printed lyrics could have been useful. The students could have practiced their reading skills while they had fun, and may not have even noticed they were doing something educational! Also, although we implemented this activity with adult students, it can also be used with children of nearly any age.

Obviously, a lot of costly equipment is not required to create a karaoke activity for the classroom. A simple machine like that pictured can run as low as $15 USD. Since most karaoke is on CD these days, any good boom box with a CD player would work just fine. For just a bit more, this machine plays CD+Gs (CD plus graphics), and lets the singers see the lyrics on a 5.5" screen. For those on an even lower budget, some videos are available, like Disney's Sing Along Songs, which feature fun, follow-the-bouncing-ball-style lyrics on-screen, accompanied by colorful animation.

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