ALL THAT JAZZ !!!

Teaching English with Jazz Chants.

I am going to devote this post to Jazz Chants and how we can use them in our classroom.
But what is a jazz chant? According to Carolyn Graham,  a jazz chant is a rhythmic expression of spoken American English. She, as a musician, a teacher and a teacher trainer, realised that the sound of spoken English reflected exactly the rhythm of traditional American Jazz. She has also experienced that a student can easily memorise any material if you present it with rhythmic patterns.
On her website, you can find examples of Jazz Chants with teacher´s notes, their scripts and the audio  MP3 files. She also gives students instructions on how to create their own jazz chants: http://jazzchants.net/

You can use jazz chants in a variety of fun ways. You can practice stress and rhythm with your class, to help your students sound more natural when they speak English. Also, because each jazz chant focuses on different vocabulary and grammar, you can use them to review important words and structures! The following link gives some ideas on how to use these jazz chants with your class. Besides you can find MP3 files and recording scripts from starter to intermediate level: http://www.onestopenglish.com/skills/listening/jazz-chants/

Finally, I will include a clip with an example of a jazz chant to practise the structure: how´s Jack/ how are you?
All jazz chants follow a similar pattern: they are short and simple, repetitive, with a rhythmic pattern, catchy and easy to memorise.