As you know, music is one of my big secrets for teaching. Music is great for all kinds of teaching really, but it works amazingly with ESL learners. I just wrote an article about my favorite Musical Movies for ESL Learning, however, for younger children there are some different recommendations. By younger kids, I mean any age before 9 years old. Several recommendations from the “Musical Movies For ESL Learning” article are great too. But there are definitely several more that fit better with younger children.
Recommended Video for ESL Studying:
1. Sesame Street and Elmo:
Nearly all English kids in the western world grew up with either Sesame Street or Elmo. I loved Sesame Street. It really was special. It was often filled special music videos, which I found quite touching even as a kid. Here’s one of those songs from my childhood. They are still making Sesame Street and Elmo. You can actually see a lot of the new and old Sesame Street on their website here: http://www.sesamestreet.org/home.
2. Barney:
There’s a short number of years in which your children will love Barney the purple dinosaur. Afterwards they will think it’s too childish. But they will really love it as small kids. They made some good music and put a lot of effort into creating it.
3. Looney Toons (Bugs Bunny, etc):
As a child growing up, I thought Bugs Bunny was hilarious. In Korea I had a student who watched every episode of Bugs Bunny and could speak perfect English. So that tells you something right there! Free, natural eduation!
4. Spongebob:
I’ve watched quite a few episodes with my kids. Try showing your children in English.
5. Power Rangers:
My kids loved them. So I imagine your kids will love them too!