The Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody Activity types: vocabulary, rhyming, listening for specific words, gap fill. Grammar: Present simple. Level: Elementary Note: Written by Alex North and Hy Zaret in 1955, this is one of the most covered songs of all time – over 500 artists, including Elvis Presley and U2, have recorded it.  It […]

The Beatles – Twist And Shout Activity type: gap fill, listening for specific words. Time: 15 mins. This song was made famous by the Isley Brothers in 1962, then covered by The Beatles, who used it to end many of their early live performances. Worksheet written by Prof. Analía Massa, Buenos Aires, Argentina Download worksheet

Michael Jackson – Thriller Activity type: Listening for incorrect words. Role-playing and describing a video. Time: 20 mins. One hour with video. Note: This video was the most expensive video ever made when it was released in 1983. Directed by John Landis, and featuring the voice of legendary horror actor Vincent Price, it is almost

Amy Macdonald – This Is The Life Activity types: listening for specific words, vocabulary, speaking/writing Language: Informal English; Phonetics Level: Pre-intermediate Note: This Is The life is the title song of the Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald’s 2007 debut album. Also released as a single, it only reached n. 28 in the UK, but became a

Supertramp – The Logical Song Activity types: vocabulary, word formation, listening for specific words, discussion. Level: Intermediate Time: 30 mins. Note: Taken from Supertramps’s 1979 album Breakfast In America, this is one of their best known hits. Wikipedia explains that the song is about a man who is taken away from the unspoilt immediacy of

Christy Moore – The City of Chicago Activity types: Discussion; gap fill; Pronunciation focus on “ch” / ʃ/, /tʃ/ and /k/; Internet search Level: Intermediate/Upper-Intermediate (Song only: Pre-Intermediate) Language: summarising and reporting historical events and geographical details; comparing; making a tourist leaflet Grammar: Past Simple (regular and irregular verbs); Note: Christy Moore, one of the

Jack Johnson – The 3 R’s (The Magic Number) Activity type: gap fill. Time: 30 minutes Note: Jack Johnson recorded this song for the soundtrack of the 2006 film Curious George. It is based on the song “The Magic Number” by De La Soul. Key Word: Recycling Download worksheet Embedding disabled? Double click on the

Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder – That’s What Friends Are For Activity type: rhyming words, gap fill. Grammar: present simple,present continuous, past simple, imperative, future will, can, should, past conditional, 3rd conditional. Time: 15 mins. Note: This was written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, and first performed by Rod Stewart. It became

Dean Martin – That’s Amore Activity type: gap fill, vocabulary through pictures. Time: 20 mins. Download worksheet Embedding disabled? Double click on the video. Video removed? Please let us know!

Coldplay – Talk Activity type: gap fill, listening for specific words. Time: 20 mins. Note: This is taken from Coldplay’s 2005 album “X&Y”, and is based around the riff of the Kraftwerk song “Computer Love”. The band were initially unhappy with song, but eventually decided to include it on the album – the song was