Yesterday (08/08) I met with Soufiane, Jose David, and Mire for a listening lesson. This time around Mire provided the song...
This was her first time doing this type of exercise with me so I am sure she did not know what to expect. I asked her what her favorite listening song was, and she replied, "uh, I don't know, 'Whistle' I guess," though it sounded more like she said 'weasel' in her think Spanish accent.
So, while she was taking a bathroom break, I pulled up both the lyrics and audio/video for "Whistle" by Flo rida. For those of you who have never listened to, or heard of this song, let's just say that most people might not deem the content appropriate for a classroom environment. However, I felt that it was a great teaching moment (the line between appropriate and inappropriate are very obscure to me), after all, we are all adults, no?
This did in fact prove to be a very good teaching moment for a number of reasons...
1. Flo rida's pace forced the tutees to listen intensely.
2. The content stimulated conversation.
3. The nature of hip-hop uses a lot of puns, idioms, and metaphors that required explanation and modeling.
4. There was a definite cultural aspect to the manner in which the artist directed his words at the females which also required explanation.
When we finished with Flo rida, we moved onto California Dreaming by the Mamas and Pappas which was much easier and self explanatory by comparison. I think the only real hang-up in this song that required explanation was the noun "Preacher." None of the tutees had come across this word yet, but a brief explanation was enough for them to grasp the concept.
Soufiane had another song prepared by Aloe Blacc, but we didn't have time for it. He wants to work on it at a later date, during break perhaps. That cat is so eager to learn. Gotta love it!
No comments:
Post a Comment