English Song Competition #2

Wow it has been too long!

This past week was the third annual English Song Fest and for the first time there were elementary schoolers participating, YAY!  My role this year was a bit different than it was last year, as a judge.  I was responsible for finding the judges (three fellow volunteers), teaching my elementary schoolers their songs and helping the middle/high schoolers with the pronunciation of their lyrics.  With these responsibilities I learned three basic pricipals:

1. My 3rd graders love reggae.
2. Colombian middle school girls love Justin Bieber 
3. Akon’s I want to Make love right now na na is totally acceptable to sing at a school function

As each elementary school grade only has one hour of english a week I new I needed to tweak the curriculum a bit in order to start introducing the songs in advance.  So it wasn’t long until I started belted out Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds for one of my 3rd grade classes and No Woman No Cry for a 4th grade class, The Beatle’s Let it be for another 4th grade course, and Rihanna’s Diamonds for my 5th graders.  

I was honestly surprised by how quickly everyone picked up the lyrics.  By the third week we were working our way through entire songs.  Now we do plenty of singing in English class, but this is the first time we attempted songs that weren’t necessarily intended for elementary schoolers.  I have to say watching 30 3rd graders sing and dance to Bob Marley has to be one of the cutest things I have seen in Colombia thus far.  I am sad that this was the last English Song Festival that I will see, but I am confident that the competition will be around for years to come!  
  

The judges

My Elementary schoolers getting ready to sing

    

The video is of the winner (8th grader) who obviously sang Justin Bieber.