Discover “Murphy’s Law” with your ESL students with this song, Ironic, by Alanis Morissette. The lyrics of this song contain eleven different examples of situations which we could define as “Murphy’s Law”. There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, which includes practising the first conditional with your…
Practise reported speech and especially different reporting verbs in the ESL classroom with this hard-core song, Talked until dawn by Alan Smith Robertson. The lyrics of this song include 11 different examples of reported speech with 10 different reporting verbs: said, asked, told (x2), apologised for, agreed to, promised that, admit, confessed, begged me to…
Practice the modal verb “would rather” with this classic song, El Condor Pasa by Simon & Garfunkel. There are 5 examples of “would rather” in these song lyrics. There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here. Lyrics I’d rather be a sparrow…
Practice the first conditional in your ESL class with this song, Count on me by Bruno Mars. There are 7 different examples of the 1st conditional in these song lyrics, with both if and when as the connectors. There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for…
Practice defining relative clauses in your ESL class with this song, You’re still the one by Shania Twain. The 6 defining relative clauses in these song lyrics follow the pattern “You are the one (who) I…”. There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here. Lyrics…
“Then Again” is a song written for English teachers to use in the ESL classroom to practise the structure “I wish…” and it comes with an easy-to-use worksheet! The lyrics of this song contains 11 different examples of the use of the verb WISH, 7 of which express a hypothetical present desire with “I WISH…
“In love with a fool” is a beautiful song written for English teachers to use in the ESL classroom to practise so and neither/nor. The lyrics of this song include the following 10 examples of so & nor: so was I, so had you, so did I, so did you, so do I, so have…
How many examples of inversion can you fit into one song? This one has 9 examples of inversion with non-limiting adverbials as well as one inverted conditional, because advanced-level students also need to have fun in the ESL classroom from time to time! This song comes with a worksheet and is available for download in…
Practice the expression “I wish…“ with this song, I Wish You Would by Taylor Swift. The lyrics of this song include the following 5 examples of the verb “wish”: I wish you would come back I wish I’d never hung up the phone I wish you knew I wish you were right here I wish…
Practice the second conditional in your ESL class with this song, If I Had a Hammer by Pete Seeger. To see suggestions on how to use this song in class, click here. Lyrics If I had a hammer I’d hammer in the morning I’d hammer in the evening All over this land I’d hammer out…
Practice the second conditional in your ESL class with this song, If I had a million dollars by Bare Naked Ladies. There are 14 examples of the second conditional in these song lyrics. To see suggestions on how to use this song in class, click here. Lyrics If I had a million dollars (if I had…
Practice the first and second conditional in your ESL class with this song, I’ll Sail This Ship Alone by The Beautiful South. There are 7 examples of the first conditional and four examples of the second conditional in these song lyrics. There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes…
Practice the first conditional in your ESL class with this song, If You Go Away by Frank Sinatra. There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here. Lyrics If you go awayOn this summer dayThen you might as wellTake the sun away All…
Practice the third conditional in your ESL class with this song, If it hadn’t been for love by The Steeldrivers and covered by Adele. This song’s lyrics contain 9 different examples of the 3rd conditional. There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here. Lyrics…
Practice the second conditional in your ESL class with this song, If I Were a Boy by Beyoncé, a song about gender equality. The lyrics of this song contain multiple 2nd conditional phrases describing the many ways Beyonce’s life would be different if she were a boy. There is a suggestion on how to use…
Practice the third conditional with “might have” (instead of “would have”) in your ESL class with this song, She might have been a nice girl by The Guess Who. The third conditionals with “might have” which appear in these song lyrics are: “might have been/played/had/broke(n)”. To see suggestions on how to use this song in…
Practice the construction “wish…” in your ESL class with this song about racism, I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free by Nina Simone. These song lyrics include 9 examples of “wish”, although “I wish I could…” is the most common. There is a suggestion on how to use this song in…
Practice uses of the verb “wish” in your ESL class with this song, Wishlist by Pearl Jam. These song lyrics include 14 examples of “I wish I was…”. To see suggestions on how to use this song in class, click here. Lyrics I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off I wish I was a…
Practice the interrogative and/or reported speech in your ESL class with this song, Mother by Pink Floyd. The questions that appear in these song lyrics are: do you…, should I…, will they…, is it…, will she… & did it… This song is also great for reported speech practice because the lyrics represent a conversation between…
Practice reported speech in your ESL class with this song, Always on the Run by Lenny Kravitz. The lyrics include only examples of direct speech, but they allow students to convert these direct phrases into indirect speech. Note that the lyrics of this song are in direct speech; most of the phrases don’t need any…