Let the Music Lead You

With two weeks of teaching now under my belt, I've enjoyed watching each of my 18 classes take on a personality of their own. My presumption was that I would most enjoy my lower level classes, but I think my my C14 students (15 to 17 years olds) are in a pretty strong ranking for NO. 1. 

C14 is the highest level Aston offers, so these kids are sharp. Three students — Clark, Laura and Candy — comprise the class, and I enjoy the laid-back atmosphere and interesting conversations I get to share with them each Sunday morning. 

Today's topic of conversation was music. I must have been wearing my excitement on my sleeve, explaining terms like ballad, time and metre. My dad would have been ever so proud. I enjoyed watching my students get into the lesson, their eyes brightening and their minds engaged. But who isn't interested in music? It makes for a great English lesson as I would soon find.

We played all sorts of listening games, and I gladly introduced my class to a smattering of my favorite musicians, including Billy Joel, the Temptations, Ella Fitzgerald, U2 and Radiohead. 

You can't talk about music without dabbling in culture. I knew that in order for my students to enjoy the songs they were hearing they had to first understand the context from which the musicians were coming. One of their activities was to listen to the Jens Lekman song "I Saw Her at the Anti-War Demonstration" and complete a gap-fill worksheet of the printed lyrics. 

For those unfamiliar with Lekman's work, this Swedish musician is both clever and wordy. I knew that his lyrics would be over my students' Chinese heads, but I decided they were up for the challenge. As I pre-taught some of the concepts and phrases they would hear in the song, I at one point just had to chuckle out loud. I am a dreamer through and through, but I never imagined teaching a class of Chinese English students what vegan pancakes are or why people in the West go to anti-war demonstrations. Of course my class didn't catch any of the song's humor. I, on the other hand, was thoroughly entertained. With them.

But the crux of the class, the absolute climax was the mini American Idol performance we put on. I explained to the students what the word genre meant, giving them examples from my music library. They were to then choose a music genre and write the chorus to a song appropriate for that genre. 

It's Chinese modesty to assume incompetence when given certain tasks, and my students responded accordingly. They looked at me with a blank stare that communicated, "There's no way I can do that." I told them that they were completely capable of writing a few short verses, but that if they were too embarrassed to sing in front of the class, I would be content to let them merely speak their lyrics out loud. 

And the song writing began. 

I didn't think any of them would want to actually perform but was happily surprised when Clark, who had been the most quiet during class asked if he could sing first. The bar had been set. At once, they all started practicing their songs, humming out loud and trying to memorize their lyrics. I knew I was in for a performance. 

Clark's genre was pop music, which just in case you didn't know, is a BIG deal among Chinese youth. Oh, and he sang —loudly and with great passion. Just imagine Josh Groban. Except Chinese. And 17. And terrible. 

It would have been one thing had his song been about love or heartache or painful growth — some issue with a lot of emotional pull. But Clark instead decided to sing about studying, about he was going to increase his daily homework dosage. This of course made his performance all the more compelling. 

Candy came next, and after Clark's performance, I could tell she was intimidated to follow her classmate's soul-wrenching act. Candy is your quintessential Chinese teenager: conscientious and thorough. After humming for something like two minutes and trying to find the perfect melody for her lyrics, I told Candy I was sure she she would do a great job, that she should go ahead and perform. And what I received was a beautifully nasal rendition of love and loss. I could tell she was very proud of herself.

Lastly came Laura, my free sprit. I love Laura's transparency and unconventional personality (a bit of a novelty in China,) so I was surprised when she said she didn't want to sing her song. I told her she was not required to sing but that I would like for her to share her lyrics with her classmates. And she did. She also asked if she could sing another song, and the class got to listen to Laura sing Avril Lavigne's  "Complicated" — all three verses.

Throughout the activity, I kept studying my students, trying to gauge their reactions to the cheesiness in which we were partaking. I for one was having a difficult time not falling out of my chair in laughter. In fact, there were several times when I had to put my hand over my mouth in fear that my students would see me laughing and think they were being made fun of. 

Several years ago I interned at a Chinese newspaper, and one of my tasks was to help judge a writing contest for young English learners in the Xiamen area. I soon learned that the Chinese treasure all things sappy and emotional. To them cliches are beautiful and poetic. Just think about the uber cheesy greeting cards you read at the supermarket. Yeah, the Chinese eat up that kind of stuff. 

So an activity that I intended to be funny and lighthearted, my students interpreted as powerful and moving. They were inspired by their peers' creativity and soulfulness. I was mostly pleased that everyone involved had a good time and really took the activity to heart.

I wish at times that there was another American in my classes, someone I could exchange glances with when things get hilarious, someone who can see life and especially humor outside this Chinese perspective. These experiences are so rich, I feel a need to share them with others. Where's a Handy-cam when you need one?