English as a Singing Language

Ece is planning a block party in her neighborhood, and she needs the perfect song for her summer playlist. Heather suggests the 1964 Motown hit, “Dancing in the Street,” by Martha and the Vandellas. It’s the perfect song for a summer party that is, or that’s, full of singin’ and dancin’!  This episode focuses on contractions and reductions. You may have noticed when talking with proficient English speakers, (people who have a very high level of English), that they do not, or don’t, pronounce every sound of every word carefully. This song provides great practice with how and where to use contractions and reductions, and it’s perfect for dancin’ in the street! YouTube Videos Martha and the Vandellas: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68Uv959QuCg⁠ David Bowie + Mick Jagger: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HasaQvHCv4w⁠  For more content, visit ⁠the ⁠⁠Singing Languages website⁠⁠. https://singinglanguages.wixsite.com/home/post/season-2-episode-2 ⁠ Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ @singinglanguages.

In this episode, Heather is feeling nervous about an upcoming project. It is something new that she hasn’t done before, and she’s working in a place she has never been before. Luckily, Ece has the perfect song for the occasion.  In this episode, we’re going to be using Shakira’s 2016 hit song, “Try Everything,” to talk about phrasal verbs. What are phrasal verbs? We encourage you to check out this episode and find out!  Official YouTube Video⁠ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TO48Cnl66w For more content, visit ⁠the ⁠Singing Languages website⁠. https://singinglanguages.wixsite.com/home/post/season-2-episode-1 Follow us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ @singinglanguages.

We always encourage our listeners to not be afraid to make mistakes. Making a mistake is a great chance to learn. But sometimes, all we can do when we make a mistake is laugh. We write scripts and practice before we record, but we still make mistakes. All we do is stop, laugh and then start again. Ece has saved her favorite mistakes, or “bloopers,” from Season One of the podcast. While we’re waiting for Season Two, we thought you might enjoy listening to our blooper reel.  For more content, visit ⁠the ⁠Singing Languages website⁠. https://singinglanguages.wixsite.com/home/post/season-1-bloopers Follow us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ @singinglanguages.

Welcome to the final episode in Season One of the English as a Singing Language podcast. When we got this crazy idea, we had no idea if we would be able to actually create even one episode. Here we are, one year later, and we’ve released a total of 17 episodes. There are songs from different artists, decades and styles. We’ve talked about pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. What makes the whole process most enjoyable for us is you, our listeners. We hope you have enjoyed the podcast and you have learned some new English skills along the way. We want to thank you for giving us the best time of our lives!! And don’t worry, we’re already hard at work on Season Two!! ⁠Official YouTube Video⁠ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TO48Cnl66w For more content, visit ⁠the ⁠Singing Languages website⁠. https://singinglanguages.wixsite.com/home/post/episode-16 Follow us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ @singinglanguages.

Ece is doing some online shopping and she’s feeling a little frustrated. This leads to a discussion about the importance of things that money just can’t buy. Can money buy you love? No, no, no, nooooooooo! In this episode, we’re listening to the Beatles 1964 hit song, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and we’re focusing on real conditionals in grammar. If you don’t love this song, we will be very surprised! ⁠Official YouTube Video - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBB_QOZNEdc⁠ For more content, visit ⁠the Singing Languages website. https://singinglanguages.wixsite.com/home/post/episode-15 Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ @singinglanguages.

It’s finally spring where we are, and we are so excited to see the bird in a nest, the nest on a branch and the green grass growing all around!! And what do all of these things have in common? They all have at least one consonant cluster. We’re going way, way back in time to the 1800s for this song! It’s a traditional folk song called, “The Green Grass Grows all Around,” and it’s great practice for those tricky consonant clusters. Join us for this episode to learn a song that you will be singing for days! Official YouTube Video of Barney Version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBB_QOZNEdc Official YouTube Video of Jewel Version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI4-230geDs For more content, visit the Singing Languages website. https://singinglanguages.wixsite.com/home/post/episode-14 Follow us on Instagram @singinglanguages.

March 8th is International Women’s Day. Ece is planning a party to celebrate with her friends and will certainly include the song for this week, Hailee Steinfeld’s 2017 hit pop song, “Most Girls,” on the playlist for the party. In this episode, we are practicing intonation used for items in a list and some useful, common reductions. We think you’ll find this episode interesting, useful, and fun. Take a listen and celebrate the smart, strong, beautiful women in your life! Official YouTube Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBB_QOZNEdc For more content, visit the Singing Languages website. https://singinglanguages.wixsite.com/home/post/episode-13 Follow us on Instagram @singinglanguages.

This week’s episode is a special edition of the podcast. Like many of you, we both felt sad and helpless after seeing the suffering caused by the devastating earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria last month. Therefore, we decided to take our feelings and put them into a podcast episode.  We are shining a bright light on an outstanding organization located in Hatay, Türkiye, called “Be the Voice of Girls.” https://bethevoiceofgirls.org/ The episode introduces the 2009 hit song, “Wavin’ Flag,” by the Somali-Canadian performer, K’naan. The grammar focus is one-syllable comparative adjectives.  Take a moment to listen to the episode and find out about this inspiring organization and the amazing woman behind it.  Official YouTube Video of the Original Version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrurenhpPxE Official YouTube Video of the FIFA World Cup Coca Cola version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTJSt4wP2ME Official YouTube Video of the Young Artists for Haiti Version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB7L1BIDELc For more content, visit the Singing Languages website. https://singinglanguages.wixsite.com/home/post/special-episode-be-the-voice-of-girls Follow us on Instagram @singinglanguages. Please consider making a donation to the relief efforts in Türkiye and Syria.  English Language Fellows with assignments in Türkiye have set up a donation site to make a direct, local impact on the affected areas. https://chuffed.org/project/96147-support-earthquake-victims-in-turkey-and-syria?fbclid=PAAaa6yxHFYJprV_F2CZqqV8ABLX5neAzuIjgp_iO6sDkrw-RaIY7-DshbmWc  In addition, our contact with Be the Voice of Girls shared two organizations making a significant impact in Gaziantep, which was 20 miles from the epicenter of the February 6 earthquake.  These foundations don't use third party sites to accept donations, so information on how to access the bank information to make a wire transfer is included below. Empati Foundation - http://www.empati.org.tr/ Empati About Us page in English - http://www.empati.org.tr/about_us-36-35-1  Link to the Instagram post for information on how to donate - https://www.instagram.com/p/Coa0mfWK-m3 Gaziantep Help Foundation - http://www.gaziantepyardimvakfi.org/ After clicking the link above, a pop-up window should appear with the bank information.

Are you a person who loves learning English? We know you must be someone who loves English grammar as much as we do. And, speaking of love, English as a Singing Language has a love song for this episode -  just in time for Valentine’s Day!💗 Episode 12 features the 1988 song, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), by the Scottish duo, The Proclaimers. We’re going to discuss love, grammar, and Scottish English. We think you’re gonna love it! Official YouTube Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ9usrpAPao  For more content, visit the Singing Languages website.  https://singinglanguages.wixsite.com/home/post/episode-12  Follow us on Instagram @singinglanguages.

Are you ready for even more winter fun? In Episode 11 of English as a Singing Language, Ece is trying to get Heather to relax and not get so upset about small, unimportant things. In other words, Ece thinks she should, “Let it Go!” This song, originally featured in the Disney animated film, “Frozen,” is full of descriptive verbs and brilliant imagery. It’s also a great song to practice some rhyming words. Join us for the first episode of 2023! Official YouTube Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk Official YouTube Video (sing-along version) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MK7qz13bU For more content, visit the Singing Languages website. https://singinglanguages.wixsite.com/home/post/episode-11  Follow us on Instagram @singinglanguages.