Augsburger Studien zur Englischdidaktik Edited by Engelbert Thaler (Augsburg) Editorial Board: Sabine Doff (Bremen), Michaela Sambanis (Berlin), Daniela Elsner (Frankfurt am Main), Carola Surkamp (Göttingen), Christiane Lütge (München), Petra Kirchhoff (Regensburg) Volume 2 Volume 4 Engelbert Thaler (ed.) Singer-Songwriters Music and Poetry in Language Teaching © 2018 · Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG Dischingerweg 5 · D-72070 Tübingen Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen. Internet: www.narr.de E-Mail: info@narr.de Satz: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag, Tübingen Printed in Germany ISSN 2367-3826 ISBN 978-3-8233-8238-6 Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http: / / dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. 7 13 25 49 65 83 99 113 129 143 Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. Theory Engelbert Thaler Singer-Songwriters — Poetries, Pop-try, Poe-try . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eva-Sabine Zehelein Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Dean From Sidestream to Mainstream: Protest and Popular Music in American Civilization from the US Revolution to the Trump Presidency . . . . . . . . . . . B. Methodology Laurenz Volkmann The Pet Shop Boys: Teaching Pop Lyrics in the Post-Truth Era . . . . . . . . . . Maria Eisenmann “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on …” — Shakespeare in Popular Music Max von Blanckenburg Making Music, Filling Gaps. Developing Audio Literacy with Musical Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nina Bishara The Poem Day Project - Developing Oral Fluency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claudia-Maria Hugo, Christian Schulze Where Music and Curriculum Meet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Dean, Udo Legner Tune Into Ideas: Philosophy and Bob Dylan's Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 157 167 179 187 201 C. Lessons Chantal Schratt, Rebecca Schuhwerk Scars to Your Beautiful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eva Maria Scholz Fight Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marlene Mannert, Veronika Merklinger Man in the Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ronald Kruschke, Christiane Wisnom Galway Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Theresa Singer Same Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Désirée Häckel, Sandra Katzlmayr Mama Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Contents 6 Introduction “The times they are a-changing”: Who would have expected Bob Dylan to re‐ ceive the Nobel Prize for Literature - as the first songwriter ever? The Swedish Academy pointed out that it had chosen Dylan “for having cre‐ ated new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition” (http: / / l earningenglish.voanews.com). Then U.S. President Barack Obama described him as one of his favorite poets, and some authors like Salman Rushdie also braced the decision: “From Orpheus to Faiz, song & poetry have been closely linked. Dylan is the brilliant inheritor of the bardic tradition. Great choice.” Others, however, just shook their heads in bewilderment, e.g. Trainspotting au‐ thor Irvine Welsh: “I'm a Dylan fan, but this is an ill conceived nostalgia award wrenched from the rancid prostates of senile, gibbering hippies” (Thaler 2017). Which side is right? “The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind …” This Dylan classic has frequently been dealt with in class. Another of his great songs, i.e. Like a Rolling Stone, was ranked in 2011 by Rolling Stone magazine as number one on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time - no wonder when you compare the names of song and magazine. But it is not only Dylan produc‐ tions that are worthy of literary analysis. Singer-songwriters often release lyrics which are personal and confessional, serious and profound, veiled by elaborate metaphors and vague imagery, which, against the background of the reader-re‐ sponse theory, can trigger fruitful and lively interpretation discussions. Some creative concern often is evident, the emphasis is on the song and not necessarily on the whole show-biz packaging, and the combination of music and poetry can be suitable material for promoting various foreign language competences. For these reasons, this book is dedicated to the use of songwriters in TEFL. As all edited volumes in the SELT (Studies in English Language Teaching) series, it follows a triple aim: 1. Linking TEFL with related academic disciplines 2. Balancing TEFL research and classroom practice 3. Combining theory, methodology and exemplary lessons This triple aim is reflected in the three-part structure of this volume. In Part A (Theory), the topic of songwriters is investigated from the perspectives of three academic disciplines, i.e. from the viewpoints of TEFL, literary studies and cultural studies. Part B (Methodology) assembles six contributions on selected songs and techniques. Six concrete lesson plans can be found in Part C (Class‐ room). These lessons were designed by lecturer (editor) and students at univer‐ sity, then conducted and assessed by teachers at German schools, and finally revised by the editor. Each of these six chapters is divided into introduction (brief background information on the artists and songs), procedure (source, synopsis, competences, topics, level, time, phases of the lesson), materials (texts, work‐ sheets, board sketches), solutions (expected answers), and bibliography. Part A is introduced by the TEFL perspective. Engelbert Thaler suggests ways to integrate music and poetry into English language teaching. After briefly summarizing the state of teaching poetry in TEFL, he recommends a triple opening, i.e. enlarging the canon (poetries), including music (pop-try), and varying methodology (poe-try). The perspective of literary studies is adopted by Eva-Sabine Zehelein, who deals with the national anthem of the US. She sketches the historical context of the poem, shines some spotlights on formalistic and content specifics of both poem and song, and illustrates the significance of the Star-Spangled Banner as national anthem. It becomes evident how rich this text is for the EFLand various CLIL-classrooms, as teaching it can foster intercultural understanding and ed‐ ucate global citizens. John Dean takes a very personal approach to cultural studies by turning his attention to US protest songs. First he lays the theoretical foundations by analyzing the dimensions of protest songs and advising us to keep five questions in mind. Then seven emblematic US protest songs originating in different his‐ toric periods are recommended. Part B is introduced by Laurenz Volkmann, who surprises us by focusing on the Pet Shop Boys, which at first sight seems an odd choice in the field of singer-songwriters. He firmly convinces us, however, that due to a high degree of textual ambiguity, their song texts offer an invitation to be read closely. Ten‐ nant’s employment of literary devices can sensitize students to the use of lan‐ guage as a rhetorical tool to create the appearance of reality or truth. Thus the competence to distinguish fact from fiction is promoted - which no doubt is an urgent need in the post-truth era. Introduction 8 □ □ Maria Eisenmann takes a look at various music-related approaches to Shakespeare including classic rock songs, pop, hip hop and rap with regard to their benefits for the EFL classroom. All these adaptations demonstrate that Shakespeare is an author whose topics still matter to a contemporary audience, and they all reflect on people trying to find their ways of life in modern settings, which brings about new possibilities for classroom interpretation. Max von Blanckenburg discusses various forms of making music and their potential to help learners fill ‘gaps’ in the language classroom. After the benefits of music for language learning are related to the concept of audio lit‐ eracy, he argues that classrooms may be productively filled with students’ phys‐ ical and vocal performances. Finally, songwriting, understood as conceptual‐ ising and creating soundscapes, is proposed as a form of interpretative engagement with poetic texts. Nina Bishara has gained a lot of very positive experience with her Poem Day Project. She is not interested in a formal approach to poetry, but rather in how to use poems and songs as a vehicle to develop oral fluency in the foreign language from an early stage on. Her 11-year-old learners are to experience that speaking in a foreign language is natural and that they can already communicate successfully in English. Christian Schulze und Claudia Maria Hugo have arrived at the place where music and curriculum meet. They illustrate their theoretical and methodological considerations by recommending three well-known songs and four artists: Lenka’s Everything at Once, Last Of The American Girls by Green Day, and the two Williams, i.e. Robbie Williams’ Party like a Russian and William Shakespeare. John Dean / Udo Legner tune into philosophical ideas. Three intriguing elements inspired their workshop, i.e. the work of Bob Dylan, philosophy itself, and the act of teaching. They put the three together because they have identified deep connections between them. Part C comprises six contributions, which demonstrate how music and po‐ etry can be employed in the English language classroom: Scars to Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara is a powerful song about the need to accept oneself no matter what you look like. Chantal Schratt / Rebecca Schuhwerk deal with a field of topics that is of highest relevance to teen‐ agers: self-image and personal identity, pressure from (social) media and peer groups, beauty ideals and role models. With Fight Song, Eva Maria Scholz presents a typical example of an em‐ powerment song. This musical genre comprises all songs that encourage their audience to take control of their own lives, and can be addressed to Introduction 9 □ □ □ □ oppressed women, discriminated minorities or ordinary people who are struggling to achieve their dreams. The “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson, must not be missing in a volume on music. Marlene Mannert and Veronika Merklinger present his famous song Man in the Mirror, which is a plea for greater attention towards other people. It also makes us aware that if we want change, we need to begin with ourselves. Do you want to join one of the most influential figures in modern pop cul‐ ture on a trip to the west coast of Ireland? Ed Sheeran suitably released his chart song Galway Girl on Saint Patrick’s Day 2017, and Ronald Kruschke / Christiane Wisnom show us how this mixture of Irish tra‐ ditional music and pop can be used in the classroom. Theresa Singer deals with the song Same Love (2012), recorded during the campaign for Washington Referendum 74, which legalized same sex marriage in Washington State. The song has meanwhile been adopted as an anthem by supporters of same sex marriage. Discarding the concept of the author as the single valid authority for the understanding of texts, Désirée Häckel and Sandra Katzlmayer plead for altering song texts. Techniques like changing the perspective, head‐ lining, jumbled lines, and producing an acrostic can empower students as readers, which is illustrated with the song Mama Said by Lukas Graham. Lukas Forchhammer, lead vocalist of the Danish pop-soul band Lukas Graham, grew up in Christiania, a self-governing artistic community in the middle of Copenhagen, which was also inspired by the likes of Dylan. The “British Bob Dylan”, i.e. the Scottish folk troubadour Donovan, once claimed full of confi‐ dence: „Ich bin ein Poet im Dienst der Gesellschaft … Wir haben die Musikin‐ dustrie verändert … Wir haben die Poesie, die Philosophie und Literatur, wir haben Mythen und Legenden in das Musikbusiness gebracht” (SZ 2017). Bibliography SZ (Süddeutsche Zeitung) (2017). March 22, R 16. Thaler, Engelbert (2017). Multimedia. Praxis Fremdsprachenunterricht 2, 3. Learning English. http: / / learningenglish.voanews.com/ a/ bob-dylan-nobel-prize/ 3549715 .html (last accessed: 26/ 02/ 2018). Introduction 10 A. Theory Singer-Songwriters — Poetries, Pop-try, Poe-try Engelbert Thaler “Master poet”, “voice of a generation”, “music giant”, “teenage messiah”, “guiding spirit of the counterculture movement”, “caustic social critic”, “Shakespeare of his generation” - the list of glorifying labels for Bob Dylan is as endless as his “Never Ending Tour”. In 2016, the Swedish Academy awarded him the Nobel Prize in Literature making him the first musician to have ever received this accolade. Describing Dylan’s place in literary history, Horace Engdahl, a member of the Academy, praised him as “... a singer worthy of a place beside the Greek bards, beside Ovid, beside the Romantic visionaries, beside the kings and queens of the blues, beside the forgotten masters of brilliant standards” (Co‐ scarelli 2016). When he finally submitted his Nobel lecture, after having had a tumultuous relationship with the Swedish committee for half a year, he - and the literary commentariat - wrestled with the question whether song lyrics can really be called literature (Dylan 2017a, 2017b). Can something from the dirty depths of pop music rise to the almighty pantheon of Great Lit? The following paper will not answer this question, but suggest paths to in‐ tegrate music and poetry into foreign language teaching. After briefly summa‐ rizing the state of teaching poetry in TEFL, a triple opening is recommended, i.e. enlarging the canon (poetries), including music (pop-try), and varying meth‐ odology (poe-try) - because, as H. W. Longfellow once claimed, “Music is the universal language of mankind - poetry their universal pastime and delight.” 1. Current State In classrooms, poetry has always led a Cinderella existence (Thaler 2018a, Thaler 2008). As they are syntactically and semantically rather complex, poems in gen‐ eral are hard to understand. This challenge is augmented when pupils face poems written in a foreign language. Moreover, the self-referentiality of poems creates a distance to the students’ personal spheres of life. Therefore a lot of teachers neglect lyrical texts in their classrooms to avoid demotivating the learners. Furthermore, a one-sided teaching approach, which focuses on closely analyzing the poem in order to “find the meaning”, has widened the gap between poetry and pupil. This is a deplorable fact as lyrical texts have considerable teaching potential. These benefits can be seen in the following grid, which combines a descriptive definition based on Müller-Zettelmann’s multi-component model (2000) with the resulting implications for teaching poetry in the TEFL classroom (Thaler 2018a, 2008). Fig. 1: Definition and potential of poetry To exploit this potential and overcome the Cinderella existence of poetry, a triple opening seems necessary. 2. Poetries First, the canon of lyrical texts has to be opened up. “If it ain’t fun, it ain’t poetry” (Taubenböck 2004): Taking this motto seriously, teachers have to complement traditional forms of poetry like Shakespeare sonnets by alternative genres. In‐ deed, there is a wealth of poetic forms including innovative, unconventional, humorous forms. Thus, the singular form “poetry” may be substituted by the Engelbert Thaler 14 plural “poetries”. “Mit diesem zu ‘poetries’ hin erweiterten Lyrikbegriff müsste es gelingen, die für SchülerInnen meist abschreckende Vorstellung von einem Gedicht als ehrfurchtsvoll zu bewunderndem hermeneutischen Mysterium ab‐ zubauen” (Taubenböck 2004: 5). These lyrical subgenres, which are often shorter, easier and more appealing to young learners than the canonical texts, comprise, among others, limericks, haikus, clerihews, spoonerisms, acrostics, aphorisms, ads, tongue twisters, shape poems, nonsense rhymes, oral poetry - and songs. 3. Pop-try If Bob Dylan had lived in the Elizabethan age, he might have written sonnets - and if Shakespeare lived today, he might write songs (Thaler 2015). Music and song have always had considerable motivational potential in English language classrooms. According to the A-Dekalog (Thaler 1999: 134ff.), songs are attrac‐ tive, authentic, up-to-date teaching material (Attraktivität, Authentizität, Ak‐ tualität), which provide a change from everyday routine (Abwechslung), are omnipresent (Allgegenwärtigkeit), reflect young people’s concerns (Adres‐ saten-Orientierung), are part of teenagers’ daily lives (Anwendbarkeit), work as teddy-bear-in-the-ear or ersatz-lover-mother (Affektivität), are suitable for dis‐ cursive negotiations of meaning due to their semantic ambiguity (Auslegbar‐ keit), and can foster student-centred learning (Aktivität). In addition, music meets literature in several ways. Faulstich (1978) designates pop lyrics as modern mass poetry, Lorch (1988) analyzes the music video Money for Nothing by Dire Straits as a neo-metaphysical poem, and Duxbury (1988) finds a lot of literary references in rock music, e.g. with singers (Bob Dylan & Dylan Thomas), song titles (Dire Straits’ Romeo and Juliet), lyrics (Cat Stevens’ Morning Has Broken & Farjeon’s A Morning Song), concept albums (Euryth‐ mics’ 1984 & Orwell’s 1984), and music videos (Men at Work’s Dr Heckyll and Mr Jive & Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde). The Lit-Lied or SIBL, i.e. song inspired by literature, can enrich the literature classroom in many ways (Thaler 2009). Song texts that are worthy of literary analysis have frequently been created by singer-songwriters. The following table lists a few representatives across the last six decades (Fig. 2, also cf. www.indiepedia.de). Singer-Songwriters — Poetries, Pop-try, Poe-try 15 □ □ □ □ Chronological survey of singer-songwriters Since the 60s Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Robert Wyatt, Scott Walker, Donovan … Since the 70s John Lennon, Nick Drake, Lou Reed, Jonathan Richman, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Carole King … Since the 80s Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman … Since the 90s Elliott Smith, Will Oldham, Ben Lee, Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Tori Amos, Noel Gallagher, Alanis Morissette, Tom Petty … Since the 00s Adam Green, Patrick Wolf, Josh Rouse, Brendan Benson, Bright Eyes, Jamie T, James Blunt … Since the 10s Archy Marshall, Jake Bugg, Ed Sheeran … Fig. 2: Songwriters since the 1960s But what is a singer-songwriter (e.g. Reclam/ Sony 2015)? A definition of this artist is not as easy as it seems. One may distinguish between a weak and a strong version. In the weak version, singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose, and perform their own musical material. A strong version may include a few additional features (https: / / en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Singer-songwr iter, www.laut.de/ Genres): lyrics: personal, confessional, serious, veiled by elaborate metaphors, vague imagery creative concern: emphasis on the song musical arrangement: mild performing style: understated The influential Rolling Stone music magazine has compiled a list of the 100 greatest songwriters ever (www.rollingstone.com/ music/ lists/ 100-greatestsongwriters). Knowing that rankings are always dubious, and de gustibus non est disputandum, you may compare your own favourites with Rolling Stone’s Top Ten (Fig. 3). Top ten songwriters No. 1 Bob Dylan No. 2 Paul McCartney No. 3 John Lennon Engelbert Thaler 16 □ □ □ □ □ No. 4 Chuck Berry No. 5 Smokey Robinson No. 6 Mick Jagger & Keith Richards No. 7 Carole King No. 8 Paul Simon No. 9 Joni Mitchell No. 10 Stevie Wonder Fig. 3: Top Ten songwriters 4. Poe-try Thirdly teaching methodology has to be opened up, i.e. personal, creative, ex‐ perimental and fun responses to lyrical texts should complement the more cog‐ nitive approaches - because, as Wallace Stevens put it, “the purpose of poetry is to contribute to man‘s happiness” (cf. Thaler 2018b). This is not to say that close analysis in itself is a bad thing. It illuminates the poem / song and con‐ tributes to a deeper understanding and appreciation, but it should be done in moderation and the right spirit. A balanced approach also offers up poetry for students to find their own connection to it by trying out alternative ways. Six of these paths will be delineated here: a) Distorted lyrics To avoid the omnipresent gap-fill exercise, the teacher can hand out an altered text, employing various techniques (Thaler 2008): Jumbled lines: The lyrics are cut into separate lines, and the students have to put the lines into the correct order. Alternatives: Some words of the text are given two alternatives, and the students have to choose the one they think fits best. Two in one: Two different song texts are mixed into one, and the students have to sort them out. Prose and poem: The lyrics are set like a prose text, and the students have to put them back into their lyrical form. Mondegreen version (Freudscher Verhörer, misheard words): Some words of the song are replaced by others, and the students have to underline and correct them (cf. the first stanza of John Lennon’s Imagine in Fig. 4). Singer-Songwriters — Poetries, Pop-try, Poe-try 17 □ □ □ □ John Lennon: Imagine Mondegreen version (for students) 1. Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too Imagine all the people Living life in peace Chorus: You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you will join us And the world will be as one ... 1. Imagine there’s no county It isn’t a heart to woo Nothing to kill a fly for And know religion two Imagine all the people Living like a beast Chorus: You may say I’m a dreamboat But I’m not the lonely one I hope Sunday you’ll get us a joint And the world will be as won ... Fig. 4: Imagine by John Lennon The advantages of working with such distorted text versions result from their puzzle-like nature as they prompt the learners to play the sleuth, find missing things, and reconstruct the order. During this detective work, the students grad‐ ually develop a feeling for the constituent features of poetry, dig below the sur‐ face of the written words, and may arrive at a deeper understanding of the lyrics. b) Singing and reciting Singing along usually is no problem with younger learners. Asking intermediate and advanced students to sing may be met with refusal but emphasizing the fun experience of this communal activity can overcome students’ inhibitions. The teacher, of course, has to act as a role model even if - or rather particularly if - he / she is an untalented singer. However, if singing is beyond debate, teachers should at least realize that song texts consist of sounds and rhythm, and should consequently be read aloud and recited. This can be turned into a fun experience, and make students aware that active readers impart their own meaning to a stanza. Several techniques may be tried out: choral reading: The whole class - or smaller groups - recite the text. role reading: The lyrics are read with different roles (e.g. boys and girls take turns) mood reading: The tone or volume may be changed (e.g. happy vs angry, loud vs whispering) chain reading: Each student of the class reads one line only until the whole class has participated. Engelbert Thaler 18 □ □ □ □ □ □ □ stop and go: One student starts and stops whenever he / she likes. His / her neighbour has to go on. commented reading: A student reads out and from time to time inserts asides, i.e. says what he / she likes or does not understand. c) Creative activities As poetry should not only be studied in a receptive mode, productive tasks can encourage learners to play about and experiment with it. Based on the various channels of perception, the following categories can be distinguished: written forms, e.g. adding another stanza visual forms, e.g. putting the lyrics into a collage musical forms, e.g. mixing the song text with a different melody (mash-up) audiovisual forms, e.g. producing a short video clip - and uploading it onto YouTube interactive forms, e.g. making a contribution to one of the various poetry websites d) Intermediality Modern media of communication are frequently interconnected. As instruments of expression and exchange, the various media refer to each other, both explicitly and implicitly. Intermediality as the combination and adaptation of separate material vehicles of representation and reproduction should also find its way into the TEFL classroom (e.g. Engelhart 2017, Thaler 2017a, 2014). Two examples focusing on the Bard may be suggested here. With Shakespeare sonnets, you can compare the original text, a modern translation, an audio translation and a song (e.g. Wolf Biermann’s translations and songs, 2005). Or you contrast sonnet 18 (Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day), which cele‐ brates the stability of love and its power to immortalize the subject of the poet's lines, with No. 130 (My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing like the Sun), which subverts and reverses the conventions of the Petrarchan love sequence, and Tom Lehrer’s 1950s song When You’re Old and Grey, a cynical example of stark realism, pointing out that the years ahead will almost certainly destroy every vestige of the partner’s feminine charms (excerpt see Fig. 5, audio version: www.youtube .com/ watch? v=8NOZH0y7VxE). Singer-Songwriters — Poetries, Pop-try, Poe-try 19 Tom Lehrer: When You’re Old and Grey Since I still appreciate you Let's find love while we may Because I know I'll hate you When you are old and grey … An awful debility A lessened utility A loss of mobility Is a strong possibility In all probability I'll lose my virility And you your fertility And desirability And this liability Of total sterility Will leed to hostility And a sense of futility So let's act with agility While we still have facility For we'll soon reach senility And lose the ability . . . Fig. 5: Tom Lehrer’s When You’re Old and Grey (excerpt) e) Current songwriters We teachers sometimes forget about the age gap between our students and our‐ selves, clinging to the revered songwriters that accompanied our growing up. Unfortunately, the names of these “oldies but goldies” often do not ring a bell with our young learners, who are likely to prefer contemporary artists. So it is a good idea to also give modern representatives a chance in our TEFL classrooms. For example, the popular English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran mixes Irish traditional music with pop on his single Galway Girl, reaching No. 1 on the Irish chart. The corresponding music video, which was shot from Sheeran’s perspec‐ tive, finds the singer spending a night out in Galway. All of the competences Engelbert Thaler 20 □ □ □ □ □ laid down, for example, in Germany’s National Educational Standards (KMK 2012) can be promoted with Galway Girl (Thaler 2017b, 2012, 2007): Functional communicative competences: listening to the song and viewing the music video - reading background information on Sheeran’s deplorable youth - writing a blog entry about one’s personal impressions - speaking about his incredible popularity in spite of his off-the-beaten-track looks - mediating a few lines into German - exploring lexical and grammatical items - singing the chorus (pronunciation) - studying the orthography of selected words (céili / Cèilidh) Intercultural communicative competence: explaining Irish references in the lyrics (Grafton Street, Carrickfergus, fiddles, céilis, trad tunes), and discus‐ sing whether Galway is really „quintessential Ireland”, as Sheeran put it Text and media competence: analysing the production and make-up of this video, which Sheeran himself shot on his steadycam, and the music genre, a mix between trad folk and pop, which his label did not want to have on his album Language awareness: pointing to pars-pro-toto (or metonomy) phrases like Jamie for Jameson Whiskey, Jack for Jack Daniels, Arthur for Guinness beer, Johnny for Johnny Powers whiskey, and Van for the rock singer Van Mor‐ rison - and making it clear that Sheeran does not portray a promiscuous Irish girl here … She took Jamie as a chaser, Jack for the fun She got Arthur on the table, with Johnny riding as a shotgun … Then put Van on the jukebox … Language learning competence: making students familiar with online plat‐ forms like www.songfacts.com, on which they can find out the stories be‐ hind the songs, get the lyrics and watch the music videos. A mixture between classical songwriters and contemporary artists seems to be a balanced approach (cf. Thaler 2007). When the venerated hero of your youth happens to celebrate his decadal birthday or passes on to music heaven, you can present Suzanne by Donovan or Into the Great Wide Open by Tom Petty. f) Becoming a songwriter The productive climax of working with singer-songwriters is to actually become a songwriter oneself. With a sound-editing software like Music Maker Jam Singer-Songwriters — Poetries, Pop-try, Poe-try 21 (www.chip.de), students can compose their own pieces of music. The user-friendly package can be downloaded online for free, is available for com‐ puters and mobile devices, and has a rather self-explanatory interface, which offers a range of different styles, e.g. hip-hop, house, dubstep. 5. Conclusion In his Nobel Lecture (see Introduction, 2017), Bob Dylan argues that songs both are and are not literature. “Songs are unlike literature ... they’re meant to be sung, not read.” The words in Shakespeare's plays were meant to be acted out on the stage - just as lyrics in songs are meant to be sung, not read on a page. Dylan calls upon people to face his texts the way they were intended to be heard, “in concert or on record or however people are listening to songs these days” (2017). He then refers to Homer, the grandfather of Western literature, who also was a singer and a lyric writer, and cites the archetypical scene of epic narration, i.e. his invocation of the muse: “I return once again to Homer, who says, ‘Sing in me, oh Muse, and through me tell the story.’” The muse does not speak, but sings - just like Bob. “Vielleicht sind gerade Singer-Songwriter die literarisch Geküssten” (Kedves 2017). Bibliography Biermann, Wolf (2005). Das ist die feinste Liebeskunst. 12 Shakespeare-Sonette. Berlin: Zweitausendeins. Chip. www.chip.de/ downloads/ Magix-Music-Maker-Jam-Windows-8-_-10-App_568391 15.html (last accessed: 17/ 12/ 2017). Coscarelli, Joe (2016). Bob Dylan Sends Warm Words but Skips Nobel Prize Ceremonies. The New York Times, Dec. 10. Duxbury, Janell (1988). Shakespeare Meets the Backbeat: Literary Allusions in Rock Music. Popular Music & Society, 12: 3, 19-23. Dylan, Bob (2017a). Nobel Prize Lecture (text version): www.nobelprize.org/ nobel_prize s/ literature/ laureates/ 2016/ dylan-lecture.html (last accessed: 12/ 12/ 2017). Dylan, Bob (2017b). Nobel Prize Lecture (audio version): www.nytimes.com/ 2017/ 06/ 05/ arts/ music/ bob-dylan-nobel-prize-lecture-literature.html? _r=0 (last accessed: 12/ 12/ 2017). Engelhart, Bernd (2017). Art and Music in the English Classroom. Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier: WVT. Faulstich, Werner (1978). Rock - Pop - Beat - Folk. Grundlagen der Textmusikanalyse. Tübingen: Narr. Engelbert Thaler 22 Indiepedia. Singer/ Songwriter. www.indiepedia.de/ index.php? title=Singer/ Songwriter (last accessed: 17/ 12/ 2017). Kedves, Jan (2017). Singe in mir, Muse, und sprich durch mich! Süddeutsche Zeitung, June 7, 11. KMK (2012). Bildungsstandards allgemeine Hochschulreife. www.kmk.org/ fileadmin/ ve roeffentlichungen_beschluesse/ 2012/ 2012_10_18-Bildungsstandards-Fortgef-FS-Abi. pdf (last accessed: 12/ 12/ 2017). Laut. www.laut.de/ Genres/ SingerSongwriter (last accessed: 17/ 12/ 2017). Lorch, Sue (1988). Metaphor, Metaphysics, and MTV. Journal of Popular Culture, 22: 3, 143-155. Lütge, Christiane (ed.) (2018): Literaturdidaktik. (Bd. 14 der Reihe 'Grundthemen der Li‐ teraturwissenschaft'). Berlin/ Boston: de Gruyter. Müller-Zettelmann, Eva (2000). Lyrik und Metalyrik. Theorie einer Gattung und ihrer Selbstbespiegelung anhand von Beispielen aus der englisch- und deutschsprachigen Dichtkunst. Heidelberg: Winter. Nobelprize. Bob Dylan - Nobel Lecture. www.nobelprize.org/ nobel_prizes/ literature/ lau reates/ 2016/ dylan-lecture.html (last accessed: 17/ 12/ 2017). Reclam / Sony (ed.) (2015). All About Singer/ Songwriter: Poetry In Music. Stuttgart: Reclam Musik Edition. Rolling Stone. The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. www.rollingstone.com/ music/ l ists/ 100-greatest-songwriters (last accessed: 17/ 12/ 2017). Songfacts. Galway Girl By Ed Sheeran. www.songfacts.com/ detail.php? id=42233 (last ac‐ cessed: 17/ 12/ 2017). Taubenböck, Andrea (2004). ‚If It Ain’t a Pleasure, It Ain’t a Poem’: Lyrik - eine Gattung, die begeistern kann. Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch, 67, 4-9. Thaler, Engelbert. (2018a). Lyrik im Unterricht. In: Lütge, Christiane (ed.) (2018): Litera‐ turdidaktik. Berlin/ Boston: de Gruyter, n.n.. Thaler, Engelbert (2018b). Musik & Lyrik im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Praxis Fremd‐ sprachenunterricht, 3, n.n.. Thaler, Engelbert (ed.) (2017a). Short Films in Language Teaching. Tübingen: Narr. Thaler, Engelbert (2017b). Ed Sheeran & Galway Girl - Theatrale Kleinformen im Fremd‐ sprachenunterricht. Praxis Fremdsprachenunterricht, 6, 14-15. Thaler, Engelbert (2015). Musikbasierter Fremdsprachenunterricht. Praxis Fremdspra‐ chenunterricht, 3, 11-14. Thaler, Engelbert (2014). Teaching English with Films. Paderborn: Schöningh. Thaler, Engelbert (2012). Englisch unterrichten. Berlin: Cornelsen. Thaler, Engelbert (2009). Das Lit-Lied. Literatur & Musik im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Praxis Fremdsprachenunterricht, 2, 30-34. Singer-Songwriters — Poetries, Pop-try, Poe-try 23 Thaler, Engelbert (2008). Offene Lernarrangements im Englischunterricht. Berlin: Langen‐ scheidt. Thaler, Engelbert (2007). Schulung des Hör-Seh-Verstehens. Praxis Fremdsprachenunter‐ richt, 4, 12-17. Thaler, Engelbert (1999). Musikvideoclips im Englischunterricht. München: Langenscheidt. Wikipedia. Singer-songwriter. https: / / en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Singer-songwriter (last ac‐ cessed: 17/ 12/ 2017). Youtube. Tom Lehrer - When you are Old and Grey. www.youtube.com/ watch? v=8NOZ H0y7VxE (last accessed: 17/ 12/ 2017). Engelbert Thaler 24 1 Johnny Carson to Roseanne Barr days before her “screeching her way to infamy” (as quoted in Edgers 2015). Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem Eva-Sabine Zehelein Whenever we listen to “The Star Spangled Banner”, for instance in January 2017 at the Inauguration of President Donald Trump, we can only wonder why the United States of America has chosen this extraordinary song as its national an‐ them. After all, the melody spans one and a half octaves and the text is rather complex - both these qualities explain why many public performers resort to lip-synching. Nat King Cole reportedly said: “If you do nothing else in your life, don’t ever sing the national anthem at a ballgame” (Baker 2002). And another good piece of advice: “Whatever you do, don’t start too high.” 1 Since the story of the anthem is extensive, complex and abounding with his‐ torical minutiae, it cannot be retold in its entirety within the confines of this article. The following sets out to 1) briefly sketch the poem’s historical context, 2) shine some spotlights on formalistic and content specifics of both poem and song, and 3) illustrate in somewhat broad strokes the impact and significance of the song as national anthem. I hope to show how rich this text is for the EFLand various CLIL-classrooms, and that to incorporate the national anthem into lesson plans serves our ambition to teach intercultural communicative compe‐ tence, to foster intercultural understanding as well as tolerance towards differ‐ ence and ambiguity, and to educate global citizens. Key wrote the poem at a significant historical moment: not only during the War of 1812, but also during the Early Republic, the formative years of the nation and the gradual develop‐ ment of American nationalism. The poem also lends itself to formalistic analysis, and the story of America’s national anthem and its performances echoes some discourses over America’s hegemonic identity narrative, its nationalist, excep‐ tionalist and patriotic rhetorical practices. The national anthem is surely a key 2 After his demise in January 1843, Key was eulogized as “a man of a very high order of talent, of ardent feelings, and benevolent mind” (Hughes 1843: 320). He had been a member of Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet”, and served as US attorney, arguing more than one hundred cases before the US Supreme Court. 3 Cf. the iconic, though historically slightly incorrect, pictorial representation by Edward Moran, By Dawn’s Early Light (1912, oil on canvas, Maryland Historical Society), which depicts Key (and Beanes and/ or Skinner) on a vessel positioned too close to the fort. 4 An excellent collection of primary sources and documents: Donald R. Hickey, ed. The War of 1812. Writings from America’s Second War of Independence. cultural text and icon that can be used as a window into America’s performative autobiographical narratives. The history of the “The Star Spangled Banner” begins during the War of 1812, aka the “Second War of Independence.” It was surely with trepidation that on the early morning of September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key, a successful Geor‐ getown lawyer aged 35, 2 went on deck an American sloop and flag of truce vessel anchored in Baltimore harbor. I think we can safely assume he had not slept well that rainy night. The day before, he and John Stuart Skinner had negotiated the release of the renowned physician Dr. William Beanes, who had been seized by the British and brought on board their Chesapeake campaign flagship H.M.S. Tonnant. Despite Beanes’ official release, the Americans were not granted per‐ mission to return to land that night, as the British were attacking Fort McHenry. For twenty-five hours, sixteen British war ships bombarded the fort. Anchored two miles from shore, they fired, according to Armistead’s report, between 1.500 and 1.800 shells, yet only four Americans were killed and twenty-four wounded. Key, Skinner and Beanes spent that night on their sloop, eight miles off shore and guarded by British soldiers. 3 “It seemed as though mother earth had opened and was vomiting shot and shell in a sheet of fire and brimstone”, Key wrote later (Lineberry 2007). This historical moment usually does not get much credit in the general over‐ view of America’s (auto)biography, primarily because the War of 1812 ended with the status quo ante bellum in December 1814. Donald R. Hickey even la‐ belled it in his seminal comprehensive study “a forgotten conflict.” It was pro‐ voked by internal political friction and tensions over maritime rights arising from the Napoleonic wars. 4 The Early Republic was characterized by partisan politics and the struggle between the Federalists and the Republicans. Both factions aimed to form the new nation along different ideological, philosophical and political principles, and both factions had different international loyalties - the Federalists were more pro-British, Jefferson’s Republicans rather pro-French. As far as foreign affairs were concerned, tensions between America and Great Britain were per‐ Eva-Sabine Zehelein 26 5 They impressed those they deemed to be British citizens into the service in the Royal Navy; thousands of Americans were thus impressed under the slogan “Once an Eng‐ lishman, always an Englishman” (Deeben 2012). sistent, especially in the field of trade. America had grown into the world’s largest neutral trader, practicing political neutrality - “peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none” ( Jefferson in his first Inaugural Address (Boorstin 1966: 234). In Europe, Great Britain and France were fighting for supremacy and both violated America’s right to free trade; the former decided to strangle the latter economically by blockading the continent; the Royal Navy routinely stopped American ships, searched and con‐ fiscated those carrying goods from or to Britain’s enemies and practiced im‐ pressment of American sailors. 5 Napoleon responded by authorizing his ships to confiscate neutral vessels that had undergone a British search or called at a British port. When in June 1807, the British stopped the American warship Chesapeake to look for British deserters, fired and killed or wounded two dozen crew members and carried away four sailors deemed British, public opinion in America was so inflamed that President Jefferson announced an embargo making it illegal for American merchant vessels to leave for foreign ports, thus severely harming the American economy. Jefferson wrote that he wanted to spare Americans “the desolating calamities inseparable from war, its pernicious effects on manners and morals, and the dangers it threatens to free government” (in Trautsch 2012: 643), yet à la longue, Jefferson’s “peaceable coercion” failed. Madison as Jefferson’s successor delivered his war message on June 1, 1812, and the Republican majority in both houses of Congress finally declared war on June 18, 1812. The decisive phase of this war commenced during the spring of 1814. After the defeat of Napoleon in April, the British could finally focus on the American theater of war and initiated a three-pronged campaign: they thrust South from Canada / Montreal and were halted by American troops at the Battle of Platts‐ burgh on Lake Champlain (September 6-11, 1814); in the South, from the Gulf of Mexico, they aimed at New Orleans, the gateway to the Mississippi river and the American West (November 22, 1814 to February 15, 1815), and thirdly, they targeted the mid-Atlantic states. During a surprise attack, they burnt Wash‐ ington D.C. (August 24-25, 1814); James and Dolley Madison left their dinner served on the table and fled the President’s House, Dolley insisting they rescue Stuart’s full-length portrait of George Washington (The White House Historical Association). After this British victory, humiliating the Americans by burning and destroying the symbol of their nation, their capitol, the British navy then attacked Fort McHenry (September 13-14, 1814) which shields the city of Bal‐ Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 27 6 For a concise overview of the War of 1812 suitable for classroom use cf. college textbooks such as Boyer et al. or Tindall and Shi (2017). Another standard (and wonderfully con‐ cise! ) study is Conflict for a Continent by Stagg (2012). The above brief depiction of the war represents the rather patriotic reading of events, in tune with the patriotic-nation‐ alist cultural context of the national anthem itself. Recent scholarship by historians such as Eustace (2012), Lambert (2012) and Trautsch (2012) considers the declaration of war by the US as an act of aggression caused also by land hunger (including the displacement and extinction of Indians), the war itself as an utter embarrassment for the US primarily due to a plethora of military failures and financial bankruptcy, and the outcome of the war as not an American victory, but a defeat. However, the war boosted American patriotism and is generally remembered as an American success. 7 An elaborate history of the historical flag can be found on the website of the Smithso‐ nian/ The National Museum of American History (“The Star-Spangled Banner”). 8 Andrew Jackson won a major victory in New Orleans on January 8, 1815. Since news traveled so slowly, he and all parties involved were ignorant of the fact that official peace had already come in December. timore, at the time the third largest city in America with some 50.000 inhabi‐ tants. 6 Relief must have been immense when after twenty-five hours of intensive bombardment, which certainly left no other prediction than defeat of the Amer‐ ican troops, succumbing to military superiority and intensity, Key saw through the smoke that the American flag was still flying over Fort McHenry. 7 The Americans had persevered and thus halted the British mid-Atlantic campaign. Key wrote four stanzas, titled “Defence of Fort M’Henry”, to work through his experience. Late in 1814, the Americans were close to bankruptcy and the British, fortu‐ nately, sought peace in order to focus on European affairs. On Christmas Eve 1814, the peace treaty of Ghent was signed, settling for the ante bellum status quo. But as Jefferson wrote to Lafayette on February 14, 1815: “... I consider it as an armistice only, [...] we are in hostility of mind with England” (1984: 1366). Two battles of the War of 1812 produced at least two symbols of American nationalism: the Battle of New Orleans established Andrew Jackson as a national military hero and paved the way for his Presidency, 8 and the attack on Balti‐ more’s Fort McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to write “Defence of Fort M’Henry”, soon better known under the title “The Star Spangled Banner.” The Song The public emotional response to the American victory at Fort McHenry was certainly just as intense as Key’s. Within a week, the poem-as-song was printed in Baltimore newspapers (first in the Baltimore Patriot on September 17 (Key Eva-Sabine Zehelein 28 9 “To Anacreon in Heaven” was first published in 1778/ 79 by The Vocal Magazine in London (Ruggles-Brise, Song 566). 10 Lichtenwanger, head of the Reference Section in the Music Division at the Library of Congress from 1960 to 1974, has noted that the society was noted for the quality of its musical offerings. At times up to two hundred people attended and the musical program lasted for hours (7-8). 11 Cf. also Leepson (2014) for the same argument. 12 Cf. e.g. sheet music for piano by Louis Selle (produced by Paul K. Weizel in New York in 1854) with these three songs. 1814), by the end of October 1814 it had been published as sheet music by Thomas Carr’s Music Store in Baltimore (Smithsonian), performed for the first time and reprinted in at least eighteen newspapers in cities along the East coast, as of October as “The Star Spangled Banner” (Ferris 2014: 22). The melody is that of “To Anacreon in Heaven” (Key 1814), a song first heard and performed around 1776, the year of American Independence, at a meeting of the London Anacreontic Society, an amateur gentlemen’s music club. 9 This song served as a bridge between orchestral concert and participatory group singing, and was performed solo by a tenor except for the last two lines of each stanza, which would be sung by all members together. 10 The original music was written by composer and organist John Stafford Smith from Gloucester, the lyrics by the president of the society, Ralph Tomlinson (Lichtenwanger 1977: 18) and were an ode to the 6 th century B.C. Greek court poet Anacreon, famous for his bacchanalian oeuvre (see also the detailed history by Lichtenwanger 1977). The poem’s rhythm, rhyme and meter fit the Anacreontic tune so well that it is unlikely Key did not hum it while jotting down the text. 11 Key knew this song and tune very well. Already in 1798, Thomas Paine (the son of the revo‐ lutionary hero Thomas Paine) had written “Adams and Liberty”, a pro-Federalist song to support President John Adams and his politics (Paine), and in 1805 Key himself had written “When the Warrior Returns” (“In honor of Stephen Decatur, Jr. and Charles Stewart on their return from the war with the Barbary pirates”), both using the same melody (Key 2012: 34-36; also Poem of the Week). In later years, the song was brought into play with different lyrics in various American contexts thus entering public lore together with classics such as “Hail, Columbia” and “Yankee Doodle.” 12 It served as a rallying cry for abolitionists, for instance for E.A. Atlee’s 1844 anti-slavery song “Oh Say, Do You Hear? ”, which was also published in William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator, and begins with: “Oh, say do you hear, at the dawn’s early light,/ The shrieks of those bondsmen, Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 29 13 Also: Star Spangled Music Foundation. This version was recently often cited in the “Kaepernick debate.” Colin “Kap” Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers quarterback, refused to stand for the national anthem (in August 2016, he sat down; in September, he knelt). In an August interview he explained that “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color” (Parks 2017). He triggered public debate and outcry; since March 2017, he has been unemployed (cf. e.g. Parks 2017 and Hutchinson 2017). 14 Among the points of criticism were that the song was too hard to sing, too British, and, more importantly, that the song was racist and a glorification of war. See Ferris (2014), Chapter 6, for an elaborate rendition of how America debated its collective practice of patriotism. whose blood is now streaming” (Ferris 2014: 28). 13 Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a fifth stanza in 1861, during the Civil War, with a clear abolitionist agenda and ended the stanza on “By the millions unchain’d who our birthright have gained / We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained! / And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave / While the land of the free is the home of the brave.” And the temperance advocates composed their own contrafactum starting with “Oh! Who has not seen by the dawn’s early light, Some poor bloated drunkard to his home weakly reeling” (Ferris 2014: 29). This instrumen‐ talization by the temperance movement might also be considered the reason why the Anacreontic song has to this day often been denigrated as “just a drinking song” (Stark 2014). So the melody Key used in 1814 was already well-known, and “The Star Spangled Banner” spread so quickly that it was soon not only a national patriotic favorite, but also used as a foil for diverse agendas. By the 1890s, the military had adopted “The Star Spangled Banner” for ceremonial purposes, especially for the raising and lowering of the colors. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order designating the song as national anthem for all mili‐ tary ceremonies, and on March 3, 1931, after many and long-drawn debates and also opposition, 14 President Herbert Hoover signed it into law (History, Art & Archives of the US House of Representatives). The Poem We do not want to scare students away from poetry by being too formalistic in our approach. But this historical eye-witness reaction to a battle in lyrical form is certainly no dry material; it is also closely connected to popular culture and omnipresent in American life; it is a song often performed by world renowned (pop) singers, and it is skillfully crafted. Thus it might fulfill Thaler’s “A-Deca‐ Eva-Sabine Zehelein 30 15 “Attraktivität Aktualität, Authentizität, Abwechslung, Allgegenwärtigkeit, Adressate‐ norientierung, Anwendbarkeit, Affektivität, Auslegbarkeit, Aktivität” (Thaler 2008: 169). 16 For formalistic specifics and definitions see also e.g. Thaler (2008). logue” 15 and we might practice a little structural analysis on the side: “The Star Spangled Banner” consists of four stanzas with eight lines / verses each (octaves / octets) and predominantly masculine end-stopped rhymes (one enjambment can be found in line 7-8). The rhyme scheme abab cc dd (two alternate rhymes and two couplets) runs consistently through all four stanzas, and the final couplet as the poem’s “punchline” is repeated in variation (incremental repetition). De‐ spite the occasional iambs, trochees and spondees, the prevalent meter is the anapaestic tetrameter (four anapaests to each line). The anapaest (Greek: ‘beaten back’ or ‘reversed’) as the reversed dactyl or a verse begun with a beat, is often used in warlike march hymns, but also in popular or comic verse, usually varied with other feet, and is also the classic meter of the waltz (Gray 1994: 22). 16 This regular rhythm might correspond with the poem’s content and message of moral confidence, express or mirror the belief in an ordered teleological universe where good triumphs over evil, as Key clearly depicts in stanzas two and three. The poem employs a variety of rhetorical figures as well, among them allitera‐ tion (“rockets red”, “bombs bursting”, “star-spangled; ” (sequence of repeated consonantal sounds, often at beginning of a word), onomatopoeia (“gleaming”, “bursting” (words sound like the noise they describe), elision (“o’er” (to slur a syllable or word to achieve the correct meter), synonymy (flag - banner (repe‐ tition through exchange of one word with a word of similar meaning), or epithet (“star-spangled” (adjective or adjectival phrase to add quality or attribute). Cru‐ cial are certainly the symbol of the flag and its personification (“broad stripes and bright stars were gallantly streaming”). Key, who was an eye and ear witness of the battle, does not waste his lines on a detailed rendition of the night or the war activities as such. Instead, he talks about the coming night and the following dawn, the victory over the enemy and the future of America. The poem’s lyrical “I”, a collective “we”, addresses a (pre‐ sumably collective) “you.” We might be reminded of another shorthand for the Republican ideal, namely e pluribus unum - out of the many, one. The final stanza is, although usually not sung, of special interest, because here we find a perfect illustration of “the American Creed” - cultural discourses about the concepts of life, liberty, freedom and equality. And we can easily situate Key’s text in a number of theoretical narrative concepts which serve the Americanist’s Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 31 17 The following discussion of both nationalism as well as exceptionalism must remain outrageously brief and cannot do justice to the complexities and historical develop‐ ments of both concepts. The authors mentioned provide good starting points, though, for further engagement with these topics. thinking and writing about the United States: among them and for the given context particularly pertinent are nationalism and exceptionalism. 17 According to Lloyd Kramer, who in his important book traces the emergence of American and European nationalisms in the century after 1775 (Kramer 2011: 2), nationalism is “the widely held belief that people living in particular geo‐ graphical spaces share distinctive cultural and historical traditions and have the right to live in an independent political state” (1). Nationalism constructs col‐ lective identities by emphasizing difference to other nationalisms and common‐ alities within one’s own community (Kramer 2011: 3). All nationalisms claim a homeland and/ or a specific territory, languages and narratives in order to ex‐ press and form cultural identity and community. Benedict Anderson has defined the nation as an imagined political community [...]. It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion. [...] it is imagined as a community, because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comra‐ deship. (Anderson 2016: 6, 7) From a cultural perspective, nationalism is thus socially constructed. Commun‐ ities form themselves discursively in narrative by emphasizing features that both unite them and at the same time set them apart from others. This narrative practice is one of (ethnic, racial, socio-political, cultural) inas well as exclusion, always in motion and draws on rituals, traditions, norms and values. Nation‐ alism then surfaces in cultural texts - such as anthems - and symbols - such as flags - which serve to solidify and reaffirm a nationalist consensus, the feeling of belonging to supportive social groups (Kramer 2011: 7). These texts present the national community to itself and to others by indicating core identity traits and/ or values which simultaneously differentiate the community from others. Through their analysis, we can reconstruct how national identities have been and are conveyed and learned. “Nationalbzw. Staatshymnen gehören zu den vornehmsten kulturellen Identitätselementen verfasster Gemeinwesen” (Häb‐ erle 2013: 51). The texts’ emphasis on national difference is often followed by assumptions of exceptionality which in the case of the USA crystallize in the concept of Eva-Sabine Zehelein 32 18 On Manifest Destiny see e.g. the introduction by Joy (2003). Two classics: Graebner (1968) and Merk (1995). 19 Katherine Lee Bates’ “America the Beautiful” (1910) is the inofficial second American national anthem. American Exceptionalism and the American sense of mission (Kramer 2011: 200) thus fusing religious overand undertones with the nationalist narrative. The epithet “heaven-rescued land” reverberates the Puritan sense of mission, the idea most prominently expressed by John Winthrop in his sermon “A Model of Christian Charity” that the Puritans were God’s chosen people, destined to build the city upon the hill and be the shining beacon to the world with a socio-political model for the world to emulate. According to Key, God has res‐ cued the Americans now so that they can continue to be a nation of freemen, a republic of liberty, an exemplary political entity based on that daring experiment in democracy in the future. The Americans are proud freemen and defend their liberty and their home - the line “If our cause it is just”, then “conquer we must” adds an expansionist whiff to the poem. After all, Key does not write: ‘if we are attacked, we will defend ourselves’. Key might here allude to another concept which was spelled out in the 1840’s: Manifest Destiny. If the Americans were God’s chosen people, virtuous and enlightened, with the clear biblical mission to “replenish the earth, and subdue it” (King James Bible, Genesis 1.28), then their nation would, by necessity and nature, expand further across the North American continent. Settlers on the North American continent had sought expansion since early times; after all, the Appalachian Barrier Act (1763) was one reason why the colonies formed opposition against Great Britain. So these two ideas of Ameri‐ ca’s sense of mission and transcontinental expansion fused in the term Manifest Destiny were not new, but, together with the growing nationalist discourse, gained strength and significance for America’s autobiography. 18 After the War of 1812, continental expansion “from sea to shining sea” 19 gathered speed, and the rhetorical framework of Manifest Destiny served as suitable justification narrative. Key’s line “This shall be our motto: In God is our trust” is the origin of the official national motto “In God We Trust.” In 1956, during the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law that this message, in clear opposition to Russia’s atheism, should replace e pluribus unum, which, ever since 1782, has been part of the Great Seal of the U.S. (U.S. Department of the Treasury). With “[T]he banner shall wave”, Key looks towards America’s promising fu‐ ture, in clear contrast to the final line of the first stanza, which had ended on a Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 33 20 In the introduction to American Dreams, Rubio (2015) fuses his own biography as the child of Cuban immigrants with his vision of “Restoring the American Dream.” question mark. From stanza one to four, Key has thus moved from doubt via reminders of the American Creed to reassurance of America’s promising future. According to Löfflmann (2015), exceptionalism is the “ideational construct of uniqueness and superiority.” Exceptionalism is always, by its very nature, if subjected to a “fact check”, a double standard with too many flaws and fissures: the “American Dream” personified by the likes of Benjamin Franklin or Marco Rubio 20 or Barack Obama, “the skinny kid with the funny name”, as he called himself during his Keynote at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, is cer‐ tainly not the American rule, but rather the exception. Lipset, Madsen and others have analyzed this at length. J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy is a recently much talked about memoir illustrating the struggle of today’s white working class, depicted as a culture in crisis facing the loss of the American Dream. But what we talk about here is America’s narrative of, by and for itself about what it (still) aspires to be(come). For this identity narrative, the myth of Amer‐ ican exceptionalism is certainly a key element and a quick look at recent pres‐ idential rhetoric might be appropriate since, as Toal has so pertinently observed, the U.S. president is the “bricoleur-in-chief who invents collective identities” (Toal 2009: 378). Analyses within the first two hundred days of the Trump ad‐ ministration have either augured that the new president and his “brand of na‐ tivism could be the death knell for American exceptionalism” (Drezner 2017), that American exceptionalism, understood as a constant narrative, is simply redefined now as uniqueness understood as sovereignty (Beinart 2017), or as an oscillating and unpredictable form of isolationist narcissism. Time will tell. As of now, one might claim that no other president has reverted so often to exceptionalist rhetoric than Barack Obama. Obama personified a post-modern, globalized and pragmatic exceptionalism (Toal 2009). He re-appropriated its classic and key elements: uniqueness, superiority of American values, and pre‐ eminence of American power (Löfflmann 2015: 309), and revamped and revi‐ talized it (Toal 2009: 396). One famous example is Obama’s declaration on Sep‐ tember 10, 2013 as commander in chief and “president of the world’s oldest constitutional democracy”, that he reacted to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by Assad’s regime with targeted air strikes. In a message to the nation, he explained his reasons and motivations to the American people. He said: America is not the world’s policeman. Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong. But when, with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death, and thereby make our own children Eva-Sabine Zehelein 34 21 The term “leading from behind” was used by an Obama adviser in an interview with Lizza to describe the Administration’s approach to Libya (Lizza 2011). 22 The Russian President Vladimir Putin had an op-ed in The New York Times the next day, addressing the American people: “[...] I carefully studied his address to the Nation on Tuesday. [...] It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as ex‐ ceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal” (Putin 2013). For Putin, Oba‐ ma’s was an American claim to global hegemony and a US policy of liberal interven‐ tionism. 23 Trautsch (2012) argues that the War of 1812 did not bring forth American nationalism, but should rather be “interpreted as a phase of transition in the emergence of American nationalism.” He bases his argument on the theory of the three-phase structuring of the emergence of nationalism, first suggested by Miroslav Hroch. First, intellectuals con‐ struct national qualities of cultural artefacts (“invented traditions”, according to Hobs‐ bawm and Ranger in their edited volume of the same title), second, a “bourgeois elite national movement” grows (632) and develops a political program to create a na‐ tion-state, and finally, nationalism becomes a mass phenomenon, prone to develop its own dynamic. For Trautsch (2012), America in 1812 was transitioning from phase two to three (633). A “surging wave of nationalism from below influenced the deci‐ sion-making process in the federal government before the outbreak of the war” (634). safer over the long run, I believe we should act. That’s what makes America different. That’s what makes us exceptional. With humility, but with resolve, let us never lose sight of that essential truth. (Obama 2013) And it is for Obama not or no longer America’s role or duty to act by itself, but he advocates instead cooperative efforts in a multipolar international political system combined with military restraint - a “post-American” vision of he‐ gemony (Zakaria in Löfflmann 2015: 318). For Obama, exceptionalism is “a con‐ struct of geopolitical identity that draws both from the materiality of the supe‐ rior power base of the United States - economically as well as militarily - and ideationally from the belief in the superiority of American values of freedom and liberty” (Löfflmann 2015: 311). He thus did not align with either the symbol of the passive beacon or the image of the active carrier of the torch of liberty. His interpretation is the final stage to date in the development of American exceptionalism and has been labelled “post-American exceptionalism; ” it is characterized first and foremost by “burden-sharing” (Löfflmann 2015: 321) and “leading from behind” (Lizza 21 ), implying more cooperation, less immediate military engagement (no boots on the ground) within a general strategy of en‐ gagement. 22 Francis Scott Key and the historical moment in September 1814 are part of the birth of American nationalism, 23 and “The Star Spangled Banner” as Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 35 poem-song-anthem evokes American patriotism, exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny. Despite the centripetal forces of these narratives of cohesion, the War of 1812 also contributed to growing sectional interests and resentments between North, South and West, which incessantly divided the country and by 1860 cul‐ minated in Civil War (cf. Taylor 2012). It is also remarkable that the American anthem’s first stanza, which is usually all that is sung as anthem, ends on a question mark! We might well read this as yet another manifestation of the ur-American angst and doubt that the Great Experiment might not succeed and that a constant reaffirmation of the larger goal and the socio-political / ideological cement is required in order to coun‐ termand centrifugal forces tearing at the social fabric and thus endangering the survival of the great American experiment in democracy. In the context of building intercultural competence, we should make students aware of historical moments and developments which illustrate the centrifugal forces, the rupture and conflict, the heterogeneity and difference within the unifying narratives. We should emphasize that identity is a performative nar‐ rative, constantly (re)negotiated, adapted and (re)constructed, and that national identity is replete with autostereotypes. America Made Audible Key’s poem-song, appropriated by the nation as national anthem and therewith as an element of its autobiography and national automythology, has been em‐ ployed by various individuals to voice their opinions and sentiments thus chal‐ lenging society at large to revisit its narrative of and by and for itself. The fol‐ lowing introduces in due brevity six (in)famous cases of the last fifty years which might lend themselves to classroom discussion: On October 7, 1968, the renowned blind singer from Puerto Rico, Jose Felic‐ iano, sang the anthem at the World-Series Game in Detroit (Detroit Tigers v St. Louis Cardinals). As he himself has repeatedly stated, he wanted to express his gratitude to America, to “sing an anthem of praise to a country that had given my family and me a better life than we had had before” (Feliciano 2011), by strumming his - as many would say, beautiful - soul-blues version, but it met with extraordinarily harsh criticism and was even called “un-American.” Within less than two minutes, Feliciano had seriously damaged his career, and only the by now infamous Christmas song Feliz Navidad, which he composed in 1970, reestablished him in the music business (Wolf 2006). Less than a year later, Jimi Hendrix performed his counterculture version with his electric guitar at the Woodstock festival (17 August 1969) to protest the war Eva-Sabine Zehelein 36 in Vietnam. The use of amplifier feedback and riffs might suggest onomatopoeic renditions of falling bombs and human cries, reminiscent of all wars, the pain, the destruction, the misery they cause. Hendrix himself said in a later interview that “I’m American, so I played it” (Ventre 2009). Hendrix expressed his citizen‐ ship, his protest as an American to America through his personalized perform‐ ance of the national anthem. “It was”, as Bob Hicks commented, “a chillingly contemporary work, a vision of cultural crisis, of structural breakdown and chaos, screeching to an almost unbearable tension which must, somehow, burst”. “Defiant and courageous in its ambition, deadly serious in its intent and pas‐ sionately inspired in its execution [...] it was a compelling musical allegory of a nation bloodily tearing itself apart” (as quoted in Goddard et al. 2013: 15; 16). Roseanne Barr, then famous for her TV sitcom Roseanne (1988-1997), screamed a very off-key version of the anthem at a San Diego Padres game in July 1990. Apart from her “hideous caterwauling” (Wolf), she also grabbed her crotch (allegedly imitating a baseball player’s adjustment of his protective cup) and spitted on the pitcher’s mound. With this performance, which President George W. Bush called “disgraceful” (Edgers 2015), Barr became a national per‐ sona non grata. Washington Post reporter Edgers asked her in 2015 whether she regretted showing up that day. Her answer illustrates how severe the reactions had been, and it is therefore quoted here in full length: Do I regret that the next day all my projects were cancelled and I had to have a LAPD stand on my roof and protect my life and my kids for two years? [...] Do I regret not being able to go out in public for about one full year without being spit on - in res‐ taurants, 7-Eleven? Do I regret Rolling Stone selling T-shirts with my picture in the middle of a gun target during Desert Storm? Do I regret that every ‘feminist’ in Hol‐ lywood ran the other way when they saw me at Hollywood functions, to avoid taking a picture with me? Do I regret my cartoon, “Little Rosey”, the only female protagonist for children being cancelled despite good ratings and replaced with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”? Do I regret President George Bush 1 calling me disgraceful on televi‐ sion as he unleashed Desert Storm? Do I regret not one person in Hollywood defending me? Do I regret becoming aware of the toxic anti-Semitism in this country thu [sic! ] the dozens of death threats I received? Actually, no, I don’t regret any of it. (Edgers 2015) It required someone like Whitney Houston to successfully fuse race, class, gender and patriotism into one homogenous “feel-good-moment.” But even she, at the Super Bowl XXV in Tampa in 1991 (Buffalo Bills v NY Giants), resorted to lip-synching. Her crystal-clear voice, her positive and effortless, emotional performance, watched by nearly eighty million people in the stadium and on Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 37 24 Written by poet James Weldon Johnson in 1900, to celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s 100 th birthday ( Johnson 2000: 109-110), declared the “Negro National Anthem” by the NAACP in 1919. television, struck a patriotic chord during the Persian Gulf War, and the re‐ cording became the fastest selling single ever (Arista Records). In July 2008 at the Denver State of the City address by Mayor John Hick‐ enlooper, Jazz singer Rene Marie, to “red glares from some angry and offended politicians” present (Goldman 2008), sang a different text - the African Amer‐ ican National Anthem “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” 24 The governor of Colorado Bill Ritter called her performance “inappropriate” and “disrespectful” (Osher 2008), others even went so far as to call it “disgraceful” (Goldman 2008). Ac‐ cording to “A Statement from Rene Marie”, the arrangement is part of a larger suite named “Voice of My Beautiful Country”, incorporating various patriotic songs. “It is a love song to my country” (Contreras 2009). “This is a personal expression about how I feel living in this country” (The Denver Channel 2008). It shall remain a moot point here whether or not there is any possibility not to be political with a performance like this - as Marie afterwards claimed (Goldman 2008). Marie caused a chorus of outcry and a mediated racialized debate (Correll 2008, Morley 2008). During the election year 2008, when the black senator from Indiana was preparing his candidacy, Marie could have harmed presidential candidate Senator Obama’s campaign by questioning African Americans pa‐ triotism and propagating a form of separatism by acting so subversively as to pull “a switcheroonie” (Marie as quoted in Correll 2008). She might also have had attempted a form of racial healing by singing Johnson’s text and implicitly referencing back to the fact that Francis Scott Key was a slaveholder and opposed the abolition of slavery (Morley 2008; Wilson 2016). She certainly prompted an official comment by Obama. Countermanding ongoing doubts about his own patriotism, he emphasized once more, also in this context, American unity by saying: “We only have one national anthem. And so, if she was asked to sing the national anthem, she should have sung that. ‘Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing’ is a beautiful song, but we only have one national anthem” (as qoted in Correll 2008). In clear contrast to Beyoncé’s publically praised hymn-like (lip-synched) ren‐ dition at Obama’s second inauguration (2013), Jackie Evancho, the 2010 Amer‐ ica’s Got Talent runner-up (then age ten), delivered an iconic not to say angelic live (! ) performance at the Inauguration of President Trump in January 2017. Sixteen years old, dressed in a white coat and with blondish hair somewhat reminiscent of Columbia herself, she sang a crystal-clear classical version of the anthem, suggesting with her performance a moment of authenticity, innocence and purity. Admitted, as news reports have claimed, many artists had declined Eva-Sabine Zehelein 38 25 Pence is on record for a number of anti-gay statements (cf. e.g. Campbell 2015). The new law in effect means that businesses can, on the grounds of religious beliefs, deny homosexuals their services. One famous example here is Memories Pizza in Indiana, who decided not to cater for gay weddings (cf. e.g. Wong 2016). to perform at President Trump’s Inauguration. But this choice served, in the end, highly symbolic means. During his Inaugural Address, President Trump reiterated his “America First” program. He emphasized again what he had based his entire presidential cam‐ paign on: his determination to “make America great again.” Evancho’s purity may have stood in for an alleged purity of the new administration that aimed to bring government back to the people and away from the corrupt political mêlée allegedly so characteristic of Washington D.C. and personified by people such as “Crooked Hillary Clinton” (Trump tweet August 18, 2017, 1.33 pm). In his Inaugural Address he said: “For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. [...] This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country. What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people” (Trump 2017). At the same time Evancho’s symbolic performance had a highly controversial context. Her sister Juliet is transgender (Rogers 2017), and Jackie’s decision to sing for Trump met with criticism by LGBTQI advocates who pointed out Vice-President Mike Pence’s decision as then governor of Indiana to sign the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, which allows discrimination against gay people. 25 In March 2017, President Trump signed an executive order that rolled back the protection of trans youth and eliminated an Obama directive from May 2016 that public schools should allow students the use of the bath‐ rooms of their choice ( Joseph 2017). This “bathroom issue” had reached the Supreme Court in October 2016, when the court agreed to take up the case of the transgender male student Gavin Grimm from Virginia. Grimm had sued the School Board of Gloucester County alleging that its policy that all students had to use bathrooms according to their “biological sex” was discriminatory and in violation of civil rights. He had won before the U.S. Court of Appeals (Barnes and Balingit 2016) and the School Board then petitioned to the Supreme Court, which voted to stay the ruling. Jackie Evancho released Together We Stand, her version of the famous patriotic triple “The Star-Spangled Banner”, “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America.” She commented this release on Twitter: “Because I love my country and ALL America I have recorded 3 songs that have Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 39 26 Proceeds go to charity “in support of my sister Juliet” (Evancho 2017). 27 As, for instance, the Turkish anthem is. The Turkish constitution states that the “na‐ tional anthem is the ‘Independence March’” (Article III of the Turkish Constitution). 28 Nat King Cole said this after his mishap at the opening game of the 1959 World Series Game in Chicago, where he sang “O’er the land and the sea” (Baker 2002, Mergner 2003). Some other mishaps are legendary, too. Johnny Paycheck sang at an Atlanta Falcons game: “Oh, say can you see, it’s cloudy at night / What so loudly we sang, as the day‐ light’s last cleaning” (Carlson 1990). Christina Aguilera at the Superbowl 2011 (Greenbay Packers v Pittsburgh Steelers) was off-key and fluffed a line - instead of line four she sang a mixture of lines four and two. brought us together as Americans throughout our history. My hope is that they will continue to do so” (Evancho 2017). 26 What all six examples illustrate is that “The Star Spangled Banner” is “America made audible.” Americans give voice to their citizenship, in patriotic affirmation as well as in protest and criticism, and we can trace (major) moments and de‐ velopments in American history in its echoes. America’s national anthem is not “carved in stone; ” 27 many American per‐ formers have presented their individual artistic appropriation of the melody or taken liberties - voluntarily or involuntarily 28 - with the text. Others have en‐ tered the Hall of Infamy for being very off-key or for a performance which provocatively commented on America, its politics and its official rhetoric. The national anthem is constantly slightly transformed and adapted, always a process, a continuous performance, and it can be a dynamic exercise in con‐ fronting and dealing with imperfections, insecurities and conflicts, just as citi‐ zenship, identity and democracy are dynamic exercises. And we should never forget that the first stanza, usually sung pars pro toto the entire song, ends on a question mark. No matter our personal stands towards patriotism and its various expressions, no matter whether we share Isaac Asimov’s deep feelings for “All Four Stanzas” (Asimov 1991) - a significant part of the official American nar‐ rative is suffused with or nurtured by patriotic sentiment coupled with inse‐ curity, doubt and the strife for improvement. President Obama provided an ex‐ cellent example for this amalgamation with his “Bloody Sunday” speech in Selma (March 7, 2015). He, the first African-American president, commemorated the Civil Rights struggle, and in yet another rhetorically brilliant and chiseled speech, he once more articulated America’s promise and exceptionalism: What greater expression of faith in the American experiment than this; what greater form of patriotism is there; than the belief that America is not yet finished; that we are strong enough to be self-critical, that each successive generation can look upon its imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake this nation to more Eva-Sabine Zehelein 40 29 Next to standard studies on specific topics, I have also included a number of open access online sources to facilitate the reader’s quick information access. closely align with our highest ideals? [...] If Selma taught us anything, it’s that our work is never done - the American experiment in self-government gives work and purpose to each generation. [...] Because the single most powerful word in our de‐ mocracy is the word “We.” We The People. We Shall Overcome. Yes We Can. It is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given, to continually try to improve this great nation of ours [...] Two hundred and thirty-nine years after the nation’s founding, our union is not yet perfect. But we are getting closer. (Rhodan 2015) “O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, / O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ” Bibliography 29 Anderson, Benedict (2016). Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Revised Edition. London: Verso. Anon. (1779). The Vocal Magazine or, Compleat British Songster. London: Harrison and Co. Available on googlebooks. Armistead, George (1814). Official Account of the Bombardment of Fort McHenry to the Secretary of War. Niles Weekly Register, October 1, 40. https: / / babel.hathitrust.org/ cgi / pt? id=njp.32101064076894; view=1up; seq=50 (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Asimov, Isaac (1991). All Four Stanzas. www.purewatergazette.net/ asimov.htm (last ac‐ cessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Baker, Bob (2002). Oh, say can you sing? Los Angeles Times, November 4. http: / / articles.l atimes.com/ 2002/ nov/ 04/ entertainment/ et-baker4/ 2 (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Barnes, Robert/ Balingit, Moriah (2016). Supreme Court takes up school bathroom rules for transgender students. The Washington Post, October 28. https: / / www.washingtonp ost.com/ politics/ courts_law/ supreme-court-takes-up-school-bathroom-rules-for-tra nsgender-students/ 2016/ 10/ 28/ 0eece4ea-917f-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html? ut m_term=.73d9ed9db (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Beinart, Peter (2017). How Trump Wants to Make America Exceptional Again. The At‐ lantic, February 2. https: / / www.theatlantic.com/ politics/ archive/ 2017/ 02/ how-trump -wants-to-make-america-exceptional-again/ 515406/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Bellah, Robert N./ Madsen, Richard/ Sullivan, William M./ Swidler, Ann/ Tipton, Steven M. (1986). Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. New York: Harper and Row. Biddle, Ian/ Knights, Vanessa (ed.) (2007). Music, National Identity and the Politics of Lo‐ cation: Between the Global and the Local. Aldershot: Ashgate. Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 41 Blell, Gabriele/ Kupetz, Rita (ed.) (2010). Der Einsatz von Musik und die Entwicklung von audio literacy im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. Boorstin, Daniel J. (1966). An American Primer. Chicago: U of Chicago P. Borneman, Walter R. (2004). 1812: The War That Forged a Nation. New York: Harper Col‐ lins. Boyer, Paul S./ Clark, Clifford E./ Halttunen, Karen/ Kett, Joseph/ Salisbury, Neal/ Sitkoff, Harvard/ Woloch, Nancy/ Rieser, Andrew (2017). The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. 9 th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. Campbell, Colin (2015). Indiana’s governor seems to have a long history of opposing gay rights. Businessinsider.com, March 31. http: / / www.businessinsider.com/ mike-pence-se ems-to-have-history-of-opposing-gay-rights-2015-3? IR=T (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Carlson, Margaret (1990). Oh Say, Can You Sing It? Time, February 12. http: / / content.tim e.com/ time/ subscriber/ article/ 0,33009,969375-1,00.html (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Clarke, Eric F. (2005). Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Star Spangled Banner.’ In: ibid. (2005). Ways of listening: an ecological approach to the perception of musical meaning. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 48-61. Contreras, Felix (2009). The Many Sides of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’. npr music, January 20. https: / / www.npr.org/ templates/ story/ story.php? storyId=99505099 (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Correll, DeeDee (2008). A critical chorus over song. LA Times, July 4. http: / / articles.latim es.com/ 2008/ jul/ 04/ nation/ na-anthem4 (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Deeben, John P. (2012). The War of 1812: Stoking the Fires. Prologue Magazine 44.2. http s: / / www.archives.gov/ publications/ prologue/ 2012/ summer/ 1812-impressment.html (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Drezner, Daniel W. (2017). America the unexceptional. Washington Post, February 1. http s: / / www.washingtonpost.com/ posteverything/ wp/ 2017/ 02/ 01/ america-the-unexcept ional/ ? utm_term=.5402c667bf8e (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Edgers, Geoff (2015). Roseanne on the day she shrieked ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’, grabbed her crotch and earned a rebuke from President Bush. The Washington Post, July 23. https: / / www.washingtonpost.com/ news/ arts-and-entertainment/ wp/ 2015/ 07 / 23/ roseanne-on-the-day-she-shrieked-the-star-spangled-banner-grabbed-her-crotc h-and-earned-a-rebuke-from-president-bush/ ? utm_term=.575f0ed40a4d (last ac‐ cessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Eustace, Nicole (2012). 1812: War and the Passions of Patriotism. Philadelphia: U of Penn‐ sylvania P. Evancho, Jackie (2017). Officialjackieevancho. Twitter, January 19. Feliciano, Jose (2011). The 1968 EXHIBIT: Singing the National Anthem at the World Series. The 1968 EXHIBIT. (travelling exhibition, 2011-2015). www.the1968exhibit.org (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Eva-Sabine Zehelein 42 Ferris, Marc (2014). Star-Spangled Banner. The Unlikely Story of America’s National An‐ them. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Goddard, Michael/ Halligan, Benjamin/ Spelman, Nicola (eds.) (2013). Resonances: Noise and Contemporary Music. New York: Bloomsbury. Goldman, Russell (2008). Singer Subs Black Lyrics in National Anthem. abc news, June 2. http: / / abcnews.go.com/ US/ story? id=5296033 (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Graebner, Norman A. (ed.) (1968). Manifest Destiny. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. Gray, Martin (1994). A Dictionary of Literary Terms. Harlow: York P. Häberle, Peter (2013). Nationalhymnen als kulturelle Identitätselemente des Verfassungs‐ staates. 2. durchgesehene und erweiterte Auflage. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. Hickey, Donald R. (1989). The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict. Urbana: U of Illinois P [updated and expanded 2012]. Hickey, Donald R. (ed.) (2013). The War of 1812. Writings from America’s Second War of Independence. New York: The Library of America. History, Art & Archives of the US House of Representatives (2017). The Designation of the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’. http: / / history.house.gov/ HistoricalHighlight/ Detail/ 35621 (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Hutchinson, Earl Ofari (2017). Here’s The Real Reason Kaepernick Can’t Get A Job in The NFL. Huffington Post, August 1. https: / / www.huffingtonpost.com/ entry/ heres-rea lly-why-kaepernick-cant-get-a-job-in-the_us_5980d2e8e4b02be325be01c2 (last ac‐ cessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Hobsbawm, Eric J./ Ranger, Terence (ed.) (1983). The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hughes, Jeremiah (ed.) (1843). Niles’ National Register, January 14. Baltimore: Exchange Place, 320. Googlebooks. (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Jefferson, Thomas (1984). Writings. New York: The Library of America. Johnson, James Weldon (2000). Complete Poems. New York: Penguin. Joseph, Cameron (2017). Trump administration ends directive that public schools let transgender students use bathrooms of choice. New York Daily News, February 22. ht tp: / / www.nydailynews.com/ news/ politics/ white-house-moves-revoke-directive-tran sgender-bathroom-article-1.2979720 (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Joy, Mark S. (2003). American Expansionism, 1783-1860: A Manifest Destiny? London: Routledge. Key, Francis Scott (2012). Poems of the Late Francis S. Key, ESQ. London: Forgotten Books [New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1857]. — (1814). Defence of Fort M’Henry. [Baltimore, MD, Sept 17]. https: / / www.loc.gov/ item/ i has.100010457/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Kramer, Lloyd S. (2011). Nationalism in Europe and America: politics, culture, and identities since 1775. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P. Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 43 Lambert, Andrew (2012). The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812. London: faber & faber. Leepson, Marc (2014). What So Proudly We Hailed. Francis Scott Key, A Life. New York: St. Martin’s P. Lichtenwanger, William (1977). The Music of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’: From Ludgate Hill to Capitol Hill. Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress. https: / / www.loc.gov / item/ 77017183/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Lieven, Antonio (2004). America Right or Wrong. New York: Oxford University Press. Lineberry, Cate (2007). The Story Behind the Star Spangled Banner. http: / / www.smithsoni anmag.com/ history/ the-story-behind-the-star-spangled-banner-149220970/ (last ac‐ cessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Lipset, Seymour Martin (1997). American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword. New York: W.W. Norton [revised ed.]. Lizza, Ryan (2011). Leading from Behind. New Yorker, April 26. http: / / www.newyorker.c om/ online/ blogs/ newsdesk/ 2011/ 04/ leading-from-behind-obama-clinton.html (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Löfflmann, Georg (2015). Leading from Behind - American Exceptionalism and President Obama’s Post-American Vision of Hegemony. Geopolitics 20.2, 308-332. Madsen, Deborah (1998). American Exceptionalism. Jackson: University Press of Missis‐ sippi. Marie, Rene (2008). A Statement from Rene Marie - July 2008. https: / / renemarie.com/ q-a nd-a/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Mergner, Lee (2003). O Say Can You Play? : Star-Spangled Jazz Musicians. JazzTimes, January, 3. https: / / jazztimes.com/ columns/ tangents/ o-say-can-you-play-star-spangle d-jazz-musicians/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Merk, Frederick (1995). Manifest Destiny and Mission in American History. Cambridge: Harvard University Press [reprint; 1963]. Morley, Jefferson (2008). Rene Marie. The Colorado Independent, July 3. http: / / www.color adoindependent.com/ 3972/ rene-marieaos-patriotic-lesson (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). — (2012). Snow-Storm in August: The Struggle for American Freedom and Washington’s Race Riot of 1835. New York: Doubleday. Nivola, Pietro S./ Kastor, Peter J. (eds.) (2012). What So Proudly We Hailed: Essays on the Contemporary Meaning of the War of 1812. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. Obama, Barack (2013). Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on Syria. https: / / obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/ the-press-office/ 2013/ 09/ 10/ remarks-president-add ress-nation-syria (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Eva-Sabine Zehelein 44 Osher, Christopher N. (2008). ‘Anthem’ singer draws sharp notes. The Denver Post, July 2. http: / / www.denverpost.com/ 2008/ 07/ 02/ anthem-singer-draws-sharp-notes/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Paine Jr., Robert Treat (1799). Boston Patriotic song [Adams and liberty]. [ J. Bioren for H. & P. Rice, Philadelphia PA]. https: / / www.loc.gov/ item/ ihas.100010462/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017) Parks, Gregory S. (2017). Why Do People Hate Colin Kaepernick So Much? Huffington Post, August 15. http: / / www.huffingtonpost.com/ entry/ the-psychology-of-hostility-t oward-colin-kaepernick_us_59935828e4b0a88ac1bc37b8 (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Poem of the Week (1996). www.potw.org/ archive/ potw340.html (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Putin, Vladimir V. (2013). A Plea for Caution from Russia. The New York Times, September 12, A31. Rhodan, Mary (2015). Transcript: Read Full Text of President Barack Obama’s Speech in Selma. Time, March 7. http: / / time.com/ 3736357/ barack-obama-selma-speech-transcri pt/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Rogers, Katie (2017). Caught in Media Frenzy, Family Sticks Together. The New York Times, January 11, A1. Rubio, Marco (2015). American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone. New York: Sentinel. Ruggles-Brise, Dorothea, Lady (1784). The vocal magazine: or, compleat British songster. Consisting of such English, Scotch, and Irish songs, catches, glees, cantatas, airs, ballads, &c. as are deemed most worthy of being transmitted to posterity. London: Printed for Harrison and Co. https: / / archive.org/ details/ vocalmagazineorc00rugg (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Selle, Louis (1854). The Star Spangled Banner. P.K. Weizel, Brooklyn, New York, mono‐ graphic. Notated Music. https: / / www.loc.gov/ item/ sm1854.721230/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Stagg, J.C.A. (2012). The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Star Spangled Music Foundation (2016). Abolitionist Star Spangled Banner - ‘Oh Say, Do You Hear? ’. http: / / starspangledmusic.org/ abolitionist-star-spangled-banner-oh-say-d o-you-hear-1844/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Stark, Florian (2014). Amerikas Hymne - im Kern ein britisches Sauflied. September 13. h ttps: / / www.welt.de/ geschichte/ article132199840/ Amerikas-Hymne-im-Kern-ein-brit isches-Sauflied.html (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Taylor, Alan (2012). Dual Nationalisms: Legacies of the War of 1812. In: Nivola, Pietro S./ Kastor, Peter J. (eds.), What So Proudly We Hailed: Essays on the Contemporary Meaning of the War of 1812. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 67-96. Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 45 Thaler, Engelbert (1999). Musikvideoclips im Englischunterricht. Phänomenologie, Legiti‐ mität, Didaktik und Methodik eines neuen Mediums. München: Langen‐ scheidt-Longman. — (2008). Teaching English Literature. Paderborn: Schöningh. The Denver Channel (2008). Obama: Singer Shouldn’t Have Sung Black National Anthem. July 3. http: / / www.thedenverchannel.com/ news/ obama-singer-shouldn-t-have-sung -black-national-anthem (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). The National Museum of American History (no year). The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag That Inspired the National Anthem. http: / / americanhistory.si.edu/ exhibitions/ star-sp angled-banner (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). The White House Historical Association (no year). Saving History: Dolley Madison, the White House & the War of 1812. https: / / www.whitehousehistory.org/ teacher-resourc es/ saving-history-dolley-madison-the-white-house-and-the-war-of-1812 (last ac‐ cessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Tindall, George B./ Shi, David E. (2006). America. A Narrative History. 10 th ed. New York: W.W. Norton. Toal, Gerard (2009). ‘In No Other Country on Earth’: The Presidential Campaign of Barack Obama. Geopolitics 14.2, 376-401. Trautsch, Jasper M. (2012). ‘Mr. Madison’s War’ or the Dynamic of Early American Na‐ tionalism? Early American Studies Fall 2012, 630-670. — (2013). The Causes of the War of 1812: 200 Years of Debate. The Journal of Military History 77, 273-293. — (2016). The origins and nature of American nationalism. National Identities 18.3, 289- 312. Trump, Donald (2017). Remarks of President Donald J. Trump - As Prepared for Delivery. Inaugural Address. January 20. https: / / www.whitehouse.gov/ inaugural-address (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). U.S. Department of the Treasury (2011). History of ‘In God We Trust.’ https: / / www.treasu ry.gov/ about/ education/ Pages/ in-god-we-trust.aspx (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Vance, J.D. (2016). Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. New York: HarperCollins. Ventre, Michael (2009). Hendrix created banner moment at Woodstock. Today.com, Au‐ gust 10. https: / / www.today.com/ popculture/ hendrix-created-banner-moment-woods tock-2D80555766 (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Volkmann, Laurenz (2010). Fachdidaktik Englisch: Kultur und Sprache. Tübingen: Narr. Whiteley, Sheila (2013). ‘Kick Out the Jams’: Creative Anarchy and Noise in 1960s Rock. In: Goddard, Michael/ Halligan, Benjamin/ Spelman, Nicola (eds.), Resonances: Noise and Contemporary Music. New York, London: Bloomsbury, 13-23. Eva-Sabine Zehelein 46 Wilson, Christopher (2016). Where’s the Debate on Francis Scott Key’s Slave-Holding Legacy? Smithsonian Magazine, July 1. https: / / www.smithsonianmag.com/ smithsonia n-institution/ wheres-debate-francis-scott-keys-slave-holding-legacy-180959550/ (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Wolf, Buck (2006). Oh Say, Can’t You Sing: Celebs Who Tortured the National Anthem. abc news, May 2. www.abcnews.go.com/ Entertainment/ WolfFiles/ story? id=1941484 (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Wong, Curtis M. (2016). Indiana’s Memories Pizza Reportedly Becomes First Business To Reject Catering Gay Weddings. Huffington Post, February 2 (update). http: / / www.huf fingtonpost.com/ 2015/ 04/ 01indiana-pizza-gay-couples_n_6985208.html (last ac‐ cessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Zakaria, Fareed (2008). The Post-American World. New York: W.W. Norton. Anacreon in Baltimore: the “Star-Spangled Banner” as Poem, Song and National Anthem 47 From Sidestream to Mainstream: Protest and Popular Music in American Civilization from the US Revolution to the Trump Presidency John Dean 1. Text in Context 1.1. What It Is What is a protest song? In any culture or language? Basically it is a song that involves remonstrating against anything the singer wants to harp on and sing about - and that the audience wants to hear about. One speaks. The other listens. It is a shared enterprise, communal and communitarian at its best. It is a process of sender, receiver and the time or institution of its performance. It is an age-old human process that is probably as ancient as the human pictorial creations on the walls of the Chauvet caves of Southern France. If not earlier. What is the sound of one hand clapping? Asks the old Zen koan. I have always thought the answer was pretty direct. Silence. Nothing. Since sacred nothing‐ ness is the Zen sound. But not so with music. It has got “a whole lotta shakin' goin’ on” (as Jerry Lee Lewis once sang). Music is shared. It is charismatic. What is the sound of one song singing to itself ? Music evokes an aura; at best it superbly, supremely relates to others; enhances the personal status of the singer and the understanding of the audi‐ ence. At least for the length and memory of the song. Have you ever walked along somewhere and suddenly recalled a song, a tune? Why does this happen? It is an experience that relates to you and yet often overrides your own alone repertoire. With that song, that tune, you are tempo‐ rarily brought in touch with something bigger than yourself - the how, what and who of the singer and song you hear and hum. Moreover, all song, like drama, has its time, its moment, and its just-right audience. That audience provides creative fuel. Shakespeare's audience, for ex‐ ample, was as important to the creation of Shakespearean drama as were his actors, his patrons, his London, his Renaissance era in the history of the English theater. The audience did the theater make. As was American jazz music given birth in New Orleans’ Congo Square in the 18th century or Woody Guthrie was energized by the struggles of the Great Depression. Note about singer and audience, story and listening, what the 20th century Italian writer Primo Levi wrote (1987: 14f.): Just as there is an art of story-telling ... so there is also an art of listening ... every narrator is aware from experience that to every narration the listening makes a deci‐ sive contribution: a distracted or hostile audience can unnerve any teacher or lecturer; a friendly public sustains. But the individual listener also shares responsibility for that work of art that every narration is: you realize this when you tell something over the telephone, and you freeze, because you miss the visible reactions of the listeners, who in this case can only express his interest through an occasional monosyllable or grunt. This is also the chief reason why writers, those who must narrate to a disembodied public, are few. 1.2. Song (more than Music) No one is charismatic alone. Music is an act of theater; a good song is a script. A drama is unfinished unless it has an audience. A singer alone is never enough. If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, sorry, I regret to say that it does not fall. Witness is all. Hence the communal and communitarian power of song. But wait. Are we all hearing the same sounds here? We are discussing the action of listening to what and how. One needs to make another distinction: between song and music. Our emphasis is on song: a brief composition that is written or adapted for singing, the human act or art of singing. Not music alone - an art that is fine or crude of arranging sounds in time in order to produce a continuous, unified, evocative composition through the use of voice and musical instruments trav‐ eling down the highway of melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre. Song is packed with logos, that force which makes cosmos out of chaos. It needs and uses words. Which are what? The mallet and chisel, the carving knife, gouge and saw that altogether carve concepts out of the live wood of experience and the magical substance of music to make the song. Words alone are not enough. As Theodore Dreiser wrote in Sister Carrie (1982: 327): “Words are but the vague shadows of the volumes we mean. Little audible links, they are, chaining together great inaudible feelings and purposes.” Song is a twofer - a single thing by virtue of two desirable attributes, a couple that offers additional benefits, and then some; it is two for one. John Dean 50 1.3. Other Dimensions Which suggests - analytically - a primary element that teacher and student should keep in mind when dealing with song (any song) is that songs are per‐ formed lyrics. Just try to speak a great song’s lyrics without its musical accom‐ paniment and, in most cases, you will hear this distinction. A song’s words are discharged orally, aurally and by giving access to an altered state. When John Keats longed for “a draught of vintage! that hath been / Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth, / Tasting of Flora and the country green, / Dance, and Provençal song ...” in his Ode to a Nightingale (1820), he heard a peculiar voice. Keats picked up a dear noise that transmitted an ideal to him, transmitted to the reader through the eldritch wave-length of Ode to a Nightin‐ gale. There is a witchery there of sound heard in silence. 1.4. It Comes in many Versions Is a song one version or many, a single form or prismatic? Take a simple lyrical melody like the traditional, 20th century American folk‐ song You Are my Sunshine. Listen at YouTube to the various ways this sunshine song glows, to the many ways it can be sung. Why is that? This phenomenon is by no means special to song. Think of common phrases spoken in English, and other languages, such as “Good Day” or “Good Morning”, or “Good-bye” and “Good Night”. Speak them out. Experiment with how they can be said differently. How they need to be said differently and yet form a common formula for understanding basic communicative needs. How a grumpy “Good morning! ” differs from a happy “Good morning! ” like shadow from sun‐ shine. As with song, how these phrases can be said differently is how they can be sung differently. Singing is another way of saying — with that unique instrument known as the individual human voice. A Stradivarius violin offers an inimitable sound. But it is in no ways as matchless as a great human voice, which will exist but once; it is infinitely more susceptible to the fragile decay of time. Thus the power of song is enhanced by the unmatched voice. Little Richard belting out Good Golly Miss Molly! or the Kitty Wells’ version of her own song It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels are each one of a kind. 1.5. What It Is: America Song Any nation worth its salt is exceptional in its own right, offers indigenous forms of expression. So it is with the songs and music of any culture, nation, people. I am designating American “exceptionalism” for American song not in its tiresome old chauvinistic sense, but exceptionalism as identity. Identity is con‐ From Sidestream to Mainstream 51 tinuity over time. And each distinct group of people has a special set of inter‐ active characteristics, a special accumulation of meanings, social relations, and cultural forces which shape a nation's particular use of universals. “These qual‐ ities set one nation apart from others”, as Hans Morgenthau argued in Politics Among Nations (1985: 147), and are the contested but incontestable “qualities of intellect and character ... which show a high degree of resiliency to change.” 2. Circumambulating Protest Songs: Five Questions to Keep in Mind First, what follows are sign-posts for each song. Questions the teacher might use. Directions that might be pursued with your students. Not obligations but suggestions; offered not in their necessary and absolute order of importance, but as a suggestive whole. Pick and choose as needed. These questions and probings omit what is probably the most important set of proposals: the questions which you - the teacher - will think up and use independently in some bright Tuesday morning classroom; the question some student will ask you one day that will surprise and delight you. Most definitely. No one denies that research enriches. Do please note that there is a small library available about some of these songs, especially the older ones. Google each creation and you can discover and secure an embarrassment of cultural, social, historical riches. (Books are even better.) These songs have not gathered moss as they have aged. Yes. Each song has its historical significance. But it is not my intention here - even though I'm writing to an audience of teachers - to emphasize or decode their place in the overall warp and weft of American history. Because I contend that they first have to work as an act of subversive music - that there is "some‐ thing in the way she moves" as the Beatles once sang - that gets under your skin and into your memory with their tune and music first, if they are worth their salt - before the historical facts and figures kick in. My intention here is to get the cake on the table and begin to slice it up, not to distribute each and every morsel. In other words, and to mix metaphors, to put the ball in your court to get this wonderful game going. As the referee says seconds before a US baseball game starts: Play ball. Pedagogically but not pedantically yet hopefully didactically, I think that most of these songs will work at all levels. It is an important point that any, if not most, of these songs (but probably not the one about D. J.Trump! ) can work with humans from seven to seventy. Because these songs are more than intellectually muscular or have been proved of worth through generations of singing and John Dean 52 respectful listening. Somehow they are universal. And there is that diamond, the moon glow - universal: relates to all members of the human race - that one tries to get to in order to get the song to shine among your particular group of students when teaching. Second, to deepen and repeat, what do you, the audience, hear in each song? Aside from the history-history part, what - in each brief composition written or adapted for singing and musical instrumentation - what is its essential song-ness? What is the spirit of the song in its particular blend of music, word and instruments? Is it lively, torpid, depressed, happy, consoling, mocking or ________ ? (Please fill in the empty space with your suggestion.) And how does this essential spirit make a difference for understanding the song? By “spirit” one means the life and breath of the thing, its body and soul; the song’s sense of essential being or inner self. For isn’t there something of a soul in a good song? This spirit or soul can be in the song’s ardor and mettle or in its spiritlessness, its apathy or numbness. Consider, for example, the glorious apathy expressed in the overriding disgust in the raucous numbness of Kurt Cobain's great teen angst Nirvana protest song Smells Like Teen Spirit (1992). Now there is a soul in hell. Third, how do you wrap up the song pedagogically? What kind of classroom box do you put this sparkling gift in? Seems to me that this material can be done very briefly in one fifty-minute section with one song, or a connected series of songs over a few class meetings, or a silver and golden link done over a whole semester. The longer one spends, the more parts one has to break up the mean‐ ings of protest song into; parts that will fit to create an overall mosiac of meaning. These parts can be chronological, or can be sectioned by themes of various kinds of contention, objection and expostulation. Such as songs against unfair working conditions, against imprisonment, protest songs for women’s, blacks’, Hispanics’ or immigrants’ civil rights. The list is embarrassingly long. Politically it covers the whole left, middle, right spectrum. Remember, one force that held extreme reactionary groups in the USA together, ranging from the early 19th century Know Nothings through today’s Ku Klux Klan, has been their protest songs. One has a mighty two-edged sword here. Fourth, does genre matter when you consider protest songs? I would argue “yes”, since classification helps to deepen meanings, to divulge an essential common element. With American protest songs it is striking how US musicol‐ ogists generally classify protest songs as “folk” or “folk song music”. From Sidestream to Mainstream 53 One outstanding example of this classifying was done in the American Roots Music collection created in collaboration between the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and others, in 2001. Using “folk” American Roots Music neatly linked protest music to the idea and the reality of the will of The People. As in “We The People of the United States in order to form a more perfect Union ...” of the US Constitution. American Roots Music evoked both the populist vein in the popular culture of The People and the American demand for civil liberties - such as freedom from government inter‐ ference that violates the law, such as the right to one's personal security, a US citizen’s right to hold property and to vote, the right to have children or not. And many other civil liberties. Fifth, these songs are all expressions of American popular culture. Which is what? Some people have argued that US popular culture only began in the USA’s 20th century industrial times, with US mass production culture and economy of scale. From which point it has permeated the nation wide and deep, from Henry Ford’s Model T through the latest issue of People Magazine and its buzzing bee hive of today’s celebrities. Some argue that the popular culture is essentially contemporary “street culture”; it is the common vernacular of the day that comes and goes quick as a New England snowstorm in early April. As such US popular culture is the temporary yet lasting property of a young generation that has spawned this popular culture into existence. Another argument is that American popular culture stretches back to the customs of the nation’s early land lords, yeomen, indentured servants, slaves and excoriated Indians who together (and not) developed a new culture that was blended and modified by its new world circumstances; an old world plant in a new world soil. Which common, vernacular, now-harlequin and now-grotesque culture by the early-20th century became the popular culture we now know, the folklore of industrial mankind. This turbulent development has been full of glorious aspirations, blessed and plagued with diversity and disorder in a clear area (America) but with unclear boundaries (the Frontier). While the popular culture developed in fits and starts through its additional stages of Jacksonian Democracy, the US Civil War, West‐ ward Expansion and the great turn-of-the-century European immigrant wave into America’s fetid cities and across its fertile prairies. This expansive experi‐ ence has been marked and enriched by the creative witness of a folk, a popular culture - there in the art of early tavern signs that celebrated Indian princesses even while the Native Americans were being wiped off the face of US earth, or on the Zippo lighters that Vietnam soldiers carried with them in battle and were John Dean 54 inscribed with sayings such as “We the unwilling led by the unqualified to kill the unfortunate die for the ungrateful” (Daily Mail 2012). There is truth in all of these claims about the essential nature of American popular culture, but I would also link the nation’s popular culture to its politics. That is, American popular culture is primarily a statement of principles rather than a statement of laws. The popular culture is America’s grassroots Declara‐ tion of Independence, which oddly has little or no legal effect. But it is a beacon. For a principle is a funny thing. It is a guiding light that you can’t exactly cook with. That is, the popular culture provides a forum of values, but not rules. The popular culture is too whimsical, too rich and contradictory to say it is made up of any single kind of principles. It depends on taste, style and public opinion, that hypothetical result of an imaginary plebiscite that somehow is supposed to hold, is somehow supposed to be a fixed ruler, but whose measurements change. Thus it is fair to identify American popular culture as a bundle of ideals, often quite axiomatic, that shows a strong and variegated sense of moral principles. Hence American popular culture is fertile ground for protest songs. 3. Protest Songs: a Selection 3.1. Choice of Protest Songs Now we get to the part you have all been waiting for, the songs themselves. The picture at the center of this frame. I suggest the following seven versions of key emblematic US songs. They share certain characteristics of a musical, linguistic, social and cultural nature of resistance to what the song feels is wrong. They are generally progressive and “liberal” in the sense of favoring progressive reform. The songs do not nec‐ essarily point to the right doer or the wrong doer. They are generally not J'ac‐ cuse ...! songs. But they resist. With song they take action in opposition to an event, a way of life or even a person who the song tries to reduce in force or eliminate - almost in an act of secular exorcism; certainly in an act of group solidarity felt by the singers of this song. I am sure you can think of other songs along these tuneful lines. 3.2. Songs Performed 3.2.1. Yankee Doodle (Version No. 1) Please start by listening to the Pete Seeger version. His instrument is a banjo: a plucky, bouncy kind of thing. It is tight but loose, with Seeger in his time one of From Sidestream to Mainstream 55 the world’s greatest players of this instrument along with Earl Scruggs and Harry Roser. It is a very American instrument, as, say, the 16th to 18th century clavichord was a very German instrument. What is the spirit of the song? Don’t you hear a remarkably sprightly tune? Not formal or classical, but as ordinary as an old bar room or a country farm‐ house. The words are in perfectly brisk, perky harmony with Seeger’s instru‐ ment, the five-string banjo. And Seeger’s voice? Isn’t it happy, up-tone - given a friendly push along by his simple whistle (that echoes the Revolutionary War's fife original? ). As Seeger sings it, the whole song is easy, easy as falling down the stairs or clapping to a foot-stomping melody. The very ease of Yankee Doodle is the feeling of freedom - not freedom from effort or hardship - but the freedom of release, readiness (think of the American Minutemen! ), and of dexterity. 3.2.2. Yankee Doodle (Version No. 2) This children’s version takes the song to another level. This filmed version is clearly intended to be used for young children or at home, to teach them by involving them in the spirit of the American Revolution. It is a version to be taken seriously as play, as a ludic activity. Play evoking the young and childish here. But play that also evokes engagement, participa‐ tion, and contention. Does this version trivialize the song or does it - prism-like - open up “Yankee Doodle” and offer a whole new angle? One of young education, of course. But also broaches Yankee Doddle to a theme of innocence, new beginnings, young promise. Finally, both versions help to illuminate the different ways one can resist, protest, can say “no”. The word “doodle” echoes “noodle” - as in the old slang word for a “weak, foolish, or stupid person” - as also with the stupid loser char‐ acter of David ‘Noodles’ Aaronson in Sergio Leone’s movie Once Upon A Time in America (1984). The Americans used, and use, this song with mockery turned into a badge of honor. That is, saying to their colonial British rulers: “Right, I’m a noodle head. A Yankee Doodle. But let’s see who wins America? ” 3.2.3. John Brown’s Body (Version No. 1) Now we fast-forward to the American Civil War (1861-1865), to this song that was the war’s single best known and most widely sung. It was sung by both sides in various versions, as Cash claims here in his spoken introduction. But it was mainly sung by the victors of that war who opposed slavery, by the forces of the Union, the North, the United States of America. John Dean 56 Johnny Cash’s version evokes a gospel music quality, part of the rich Southern heritage of John Brown's Body. This helps to make it a song of both South and North. It is striking how Cash links America with a religious “Glory Hallelujah! ” mission - as a sacred Christ-like place of holy vocation and rhythm - for human rights. Research Cash himself and you will see how this was emblematic of much of his musical, social and philanthropic endeavors. Cash’s bass-baritone voice with its round, rich US Southern accent is inim‐ itable. How appropriate for a man from an area known for its “black belt”, the dark fertile soil of the American South. Cash makes this song his with this ver‐ sion. While the song stays very much itself, alone, independent, strong and cru‐ sading. 3.2.4. John Brown's Body (Version No. 2) Seeger’s raspy, reedy, tenor voice sings John Brown's Body in contrast with Cash’s version. It is a contrast that goes deeper than voice alone. In comparison, what do you hear here? I find: isn’t it odd how the banjo and the voice go together here. The banjo has a sound to it that is like feet marching - strident, angry, driven, fleeting, thumping. Seeger’s voice adds to this with a sharp, pointed tone that makes the moral point of his strident version. So unlike that of Johnny Cash. Finally, what about the sacred, the element of God and religion in this song as sung in the Seeger version? Seems to me that in this Seeger version there is much more of people, of mankind, and much less of God. Listen to “His soul goes marching on.” Who is this “His”? As Seeger emphasizes the word and mu‐ sical note, strikes me that it is the soul of man - man in liberty, man who needs must give liberty and freedom to others. 3.2.5. Jesse James This song takes off with a more delicate introductory banjo. Then a few voices enter in with human musical harmony. Men working together for a common good. Plucked along by that spunky banjo sound, unflinching and penetrating. “Oh Jesse had a wife who mourned for his life ...! ” This chorus evokes not the killer, the robber, not even the Southerner, but the family man first of all. In US popular culture complement note how this viewpoint was brought out bril‐ liantly in the 2007 movie The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford directed by Andrew Dominik. What does the musical beak in the middle of this version of “Jesse James” do? Yes, it allows a moment for the singers to catch their breath and marshal their full force again. It is a kind of step back before another step forward. But is it From Sidestream to Mainstream 57 also a pause for reflection? Reflection for and from the audience. It is instru‐ mental, but there is also a silence - no words. Finally, the song tells a story. Of assassination. Of courage and cowardice. Of death, strength and evil (“The devil will be upon his knee! ”). And of the American outcast: “... and came from a solitary race.” Now what does that mean? Note that this is one of the few US protest songs (at least that this writer knows of) that is aurally signed within the song by the author. “This song was made up by ...” Why is the songwriter trying to share some of the outlaw’s glory? How can an outlaw be a hero? Is the songwriter throwing in his lot with Jesse James? Saying, in effect “He’s my truth, my ideal” or something else? Lastly, note again the flip in the song “Jesse James” with how a negative is turned into a positive. Actually it is both a flip and a fillip. The loser becomes a winner. And so Jesse James continues in the American tradition. 3.2.6. Fortunate Son Let us move into the 20th century now. We are in the era of the US-Vietnam War (1965-1975). Fortunate Son was first released by the group Creedence Clearwater Revival in fall 1969, sung by its lead singer John Fogerty, and swiftly became an anti-Vietnam War anthem in the USA and abroad. While the US-Vietnam War raged on. At its 1960s height - not counting MIAs (Missing in Action) and civilian casualties - this meant about 1,483,000 dead or wounded for South Vietnam; about 914,018 for North Vietnam; roughly 361,864 lumped together for the USA; and additional casualties for South Korea (16,061 total), China (5,300), Australia (3,650), Thailand (1,708) and others. If you add the estimated, Vietnamese civilian dead and wounded, this would boost the overall number for Vietnam dead and wounded by about one-half million. A very bad, very modern, war. In which America’s young men were drafted to go to an obligatory war. Hence “Fortunate Son”. The song starts with drums in a vacuum, then overlaid and pounced upon with electric guitar lines, then shoots into Fogerty’s first angry words - about others - overlaid with all this power. Fortuntae Son’s lyrics declare sides: “And when the band plays ‘Hail to the chief ’, / They point the cannon right at you.” It is an Us versus Them situation. They declared the war. They are all red, white and blue patriots. But we are the cannon fodder sent off to be devoured by the beast. Resist. “It ain't me! ... It ain't me! ...” not for this war, you and I are not the fortunate little rich boy who can get out of being drafted for this war, neither are we a “military so and so” - or is it “son and son”? So and so would strike better with the anger of the song, since it is a common abbreviation for “SOB” John Dean 58 or the common swear “Son of a Bitch”. Either way you take it, there is a heap load of rejection. The song continues with its music and words, rhythm and harmony in a shouting celebration of accusation. There is no two ways about it. Singer and song lay the charge against the rich and privileged, who live off the fat of the land and do not even pay taxes. We, the underprivileged, are the ones who get put upon, we are the ones imposed to pay with our young lives and limbs. We is the audience. First all young Americans and others of this time and place who are forced to fight in this war (and, by extension, are forced into any war? ). The in-pulling power of this song is phenomenal; listen to this song and you have no choice. Swim in the waters of Fortunate Son and you are ripped along in its rapids. The song’s mid-way riff heightens it force. Exactly halfway comes a pause, a moaning guitar twang, carried on in an explosion of Fogerty’s “Yaahh! ” and continued with “How much should we give? Oh, they’ll only answer more and more ...”. This is No! in thunder. You got the wrong boy, mister; it ain’t me. Why should it be me? There is no room for an answer. There can be no opposing side. The opposi‐ tion - in favor of the Vietnam War - is silenced by the song Fortunate Son. Part of the power of the song’s ending is in repetition. The singer explodes the exclamatory word No! in righteous anger - noting the Lord - and with the song’s use of repetition provides unity, a binding force of sound and sense. There is not a helter-skelter variety of purpose here, as one finds, for example, in the late 1960s in the late Beatles’ White Album (released fall 1968). “Fortunate Son” is altogether purposeful. Totally. What can one add? 3.2.7. Obama Sings Amazing Grace during Pinckney Eulogy This is more than just a song. It is music plus song plus a performance, a con‐ gregation, politics, religion, national identity, socio-cultural tragedy, the open wounds of a people and more. It takes place on Friday June 26, 2015. Note the dignity and formality of the setting. The lead figure’s tie and suit, the elders in purple ecclesiastical robes behind him. Here is a traditional Amer‐ ican Presidential speech given from an exalted church podium. President Obama was there to speak about the tragedy of the Charleston, South Carolina church massacre of June 17, 2015, there to offer a tribute to the dead; a mass shooting, a slaughter of nine African-Americans by a white su‐ premacist. This church’s senior pastor and South Carolina state senator Clem‐ From Sidestream to Mainstream 59 enta C. Pinckney was among the victims. The 2015 Charleston church massacre was the largest mass shooting at an American house of worship to date. Obama is a seasoned speaker who speaks from well-prepared and rehearsed scripts. He is not an off-the-cuff kind of guy. This is a very neat man, who generally always dresses in black and white colors to keep it simple and to save time. Everything in order as in his neatly and methodically arranged eulogy. He pauses, allows his words to be digested, speaks clearly, slowly. As he starts one can hear that his words and cadence are important, but they are not quite hitting the right notes. It is an awkward situation. He is building up mild audience response. The audience is following. His tempo then changes slightly as he holds to the phrase “... if we can find that grace”. And he gets more audience response - call and response from po‐ dium to audience and back again to podium and ever onward being the inhale an exhale of a black US religious service. Then comes an unusually long pause and the drama it entails. Without warning, Obama sings. He sings and sounds off script, off tune, in his ordinary, off key, ordinary man voice, sings the opening line to Amazing Grace. The effect is total. The congregation rises as one. Everyone joins in. As they sing together, the song brackets President Obama's list of the dead and slaughtered. The casualties’ names are punctuated by the audience’s “Yahh! ” in agreement. By the church organ’s trills and warbles that articulate a harmony of sympathy. The president extols how each person killed in this church mas‐ sacre “found that grace! ” Obama's words are immeasurably opened and enriched by the congregation’s sensation of belief. The President’s piece ends and is completed as it is opened up with prayer. Not answer. A reverent petition is made to their God, to the congregation and to the American nation. “May we find ourselves worthy ... May God continue to shed his grace on the United States of America.” You can hear that precious word United is unquestionably italicized. President Obama underscores a petition, a call and a supplication in a time of profound loss for the individual families, to the church congregation, for the city, state and nation. There are no guarantees that this supplication will be answered in his voice or in the nervous response of the congregation. Help is needed. This is a united performance of a classic Christian hymn, which dates back to the 1700s. It is old, it is new. A lead singer combines a group into a single, larger entity. They are in harmony, they agree. It is a protest song not of accu‐ sation, but of resistance. It is an attempt to solve, but cannot resolve, an un‐ bearable problem. Together they seek an answer. They have a beacon. They know their way. In their weakness they seek strength. John Dean 60 □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ What more can a protest song do? Bibliography Daily Mail (2012). Shedding a Light on the Psyche of War. 10 July 2012. www.dailymail.c o.uk/ news/ article-2171404/ Zippo-lighters-U-S-troops-fighting-Vietnam-unique-insi ght-war-life.html. Dreiser, Theodore (1982). Sister Carrie. New York: Bantam Books. Levi, Primo (1987). The Monkey’s Wrench. In: Jackson, Bruce. The Story Is True: The Art and Meaning of Telling Stories, 14-15. Morgenthau, Hans / Thompson, Kenneth (1985). Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. New York: Knopf-Random House. Appendix: US Protest Songs Revolutionary War Era (1776-1783): Yankee Doodle Kids’ version: www.youtube.com/ watch? v=ca8va-5JL5U Pete Seeger’s version: www.youtube.com/ watch? v=jyxN1cwFkgw US Civil War Era (1860-1865): John Brown's Body Johnny Cash: www.youtube.com/ watch? v=xQhyWv-PeVE Pete Seeger: www.youtube.com/ watch? v=jso1YRQnpCI The West: Jesse James: Pete Seeger & The Badmen www.youtube.com/ watch? v=eVIr e2h4tdQ John Henry: Bruce Springsteen & www.youtube.com/ watch? v=0rNLxW6g n_s Post-War (post-WW2) US Protest Songs [50s] Chuck Berry: Roll Over Beethoven: www.youtube.com/ watch? v=zD80CostTV0 [60s] Country Joe McDonald: I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag www.youtube.co m/ watch? v=3W7-ngmO_p8 Creedence Clearwater Revival: Fortunate Son www.youtube.com/ watch? v= ec0XKhAHR5I The Golden Gospel Singers: Oh Freedom! www.youtube.com/ watch? v=veiJ LhXdwn8 Malvina Reynolds: Little Boxes www.youtube.com/ watch? v=2_2lGkEU4Xs From Sidestream to Mainstream 61 □ □ [1980s-90s: Grunge] Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit www.youtube.com/ watch? v=hTWKbfoikeg Obama Years (2009-2017) Obama Sings Amazing Grace during Pinckney Eulogy (2015) www.youtube.com / watch? v=S58k3ZXRJJc Anti-Trump Songs Bruce Springsteen & Joe Grushecky: That's What Makes Us Great www.yo utube.com/ watch? v=YtkVkbVxpjc YG feat. G-Eazy & Macklemore: “FDT (Fuck Donald Trump) Part 2” www.y outube.com/ watch? v=j9ja3i9u2Og John Dean 62 B. Methodology The Pet Shop Boys: Teaching Pop Lyrics in the Post-Truth Era Laurenz Volkmann 1. The Pet Shop Boys’s Hits: Floating like a Butterfly, Stinging like a Bee The Pet Shop Boys may appear like an odd choice for an article focusing on pop lyrics in a volume dedicated to the use of singer-songwriters in the EFL class‐ room. In the history of pop music, the British pop duo Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant hold a well-established position as constant providers of extremely danceable synthpop hits. Arguably like no other British pop act, they have been churning out hit after hit for decades, from their first chart-topping single “West End Girls” (1984) to their most recent offerings from the albums Super (2016) and TBA (2018). Like other bands of the post-punk 1980s era, they started with synthesizer pop and experimented with disco music and techno, seguing occa‐ sionally into hip hop and ethno beat, yet always keeping their catchy melodious sound. In Germany, while old classics like “West End Girl” still get airplay, their possibly best-known song is “Go West” (1993), which in modified renditions has become a fan song sung on match day in football stadiums. It is exactly the reception of the Pet Shop Boys as a group offering feel-good, melodious pop tunes which may have prevented many a listener from lending a closer ear to the rhetorically interesting lines of their songs. To use the example of “Go West”, do the fans singing in football arenas note the hint of irony in lines like “life is peaceful there”? Do they notice the over-the-top operatic style of a song originally recorded by the gay disco group The Village People in 1979? Like their famous hit “Y.M.C.A.” (1978), it has been interpreted as carrying a hidden homosexual subtext. Many Pet Shop Boys’ songs allow for ambivalent readings of their lyrics, where audiences are invited to understand in the subtext of songs that “There is more to love than boy meets girl”, to use the title of a 1986 song by the outspoken gay performer Jimmy Summerville of Bronski Beat. However, it is not only the added layer of homosexual connotations which makes the Pet Shop Boys’ lyrics interesting in the sense that apart from the apparent textual meaning there is frequently a second, more hidden and oblique appeal to the recipient. What is particularly appealing given our context is the fact that in quite an array of lyricist Neil Tennant’s songwriting there is - in the terms of literary criticism - a high degree of textual ambiguity. Thus, they offer an invitation to be read closely to discover their different messages and appeals. To my knowledge, while critics have lauded Neil Tennant’s quality as a writer of idiosyncratic, whimsical and “very British” pop lyrics, there has not yet been a focus on Tennant’s lyrics for their outstanding employment of certain literary devices. It is exactly Tennant’s use of these literary devices that makes a number of his songs ideal teaching and learning material for the EFL classroom. The teaching suggestions in this contribution recommend a nuanced look at Ten‐ nant’s lyrics as a method to sensitize students to the use of language as a rhet‐ orical tool to create the appearance of reality or truth. The teaching and learning goal is therefore first and foremost what could be called the competence to dis‐ tinguish fact from fiction. More precisely, it is the development of critical media competence through becoming aware how the appearance of truth is created in and through language. This teaching and learning goal seems a necessary ob‐ jective considering recent political and public discussions about how news is presented, how facts are chosen or withheld, how the truth is distorted or al‐ tered. 2. Post-truth: Teaching the Representation of “Truth” In 2016, both in Germany and the UK, words revealing the manipulative nature of language and media representation were chosen as “words of the year”. In Germany it was “post-faktisch”, in Great Britain the term “post-truth”. The im‐ plied sense of ontological insecurity has been heightened through the promi‐ nence of similar phrases in the Brexit and Trump era. Interestingly, terms such as “alternative facts” or “fake news” have become common use in all political quarters. While the independent press and state-supported television channels have disclosed many instances of apolitically motivated bending of the truth or plain lying in right-wing circles, populist parties like the German AfD or the current President of the United States have fervently attacked their opponents, lambasting them as the “lying press” and deriding journalistic reports as “fake news”. While the phenomenon of “post-truth” clearly indicates the power of the media, be it in traditional journalism or in social media presentations, a strong and urgent pedagogic need emerges. It is the need to deal responsibly with “post-truth” phenomena as an integral part of developing media competence (see Volkmann 2012). This may appear like an easy task at first glance. We all take it for granted that there is a clear-cut distinction between truth, facts and reality on the one Laurenz Volkmann 66 hand and lies and fiction on the other. However, this epistemological truism has been questioned at least since the late Victorian age. For instance, writers of Modernism such as Virginia Woolf or James Joyce rejected the concept of a simple reality “out there” or a universal or transcendent “truth” (see the intro‐ duction to theories of Modernism in Zapf 1991). Instead, they pointed out in multi-perspectival novels that reality is what an individual makes it out to be. Later, postmodern and poststructuralist critics propagated a radical form of skepticism with regard to truth and reality, culminating in the claim that reality may only be accessed via representation (see Hall 1997). In its most influential form of the “linguistic turn”, reality is defined as being accessible merely through linguistic representations. What decades of theoretical discussions essentially boil down to can be summed up for teaching purposes in the following insight: the simplistic assumption that the difference between fact and fiction, reality and non-reality can be taught and learned without any problem has to be seen as a fallacy. Rather, especially in the age of New Media, the Internet and infor‐ mation overload, it seems necessary to teach what representational elements make something appear as true, fact-based, real and authentic (Hall 1997). In a nutshell, the guiding question is the following: what makes a text or medium appear to be authentic and true? It is at this point of my argument that the genre of literature comes in. For it is exactly literature which by definition is fictional. Literature is an invention, or, as Plato would have called it, an elaborate lie. As I will argue, a focus on how literature creates the appearance of reality or truth can sensitize students to the rhetorical mechanisms used to falsely represent reality or truth. This entails developing a competence that is easily applicable to other media, which use similar techniques of representing reality or the truth. 3. Focus on Language and Language Awareness: the “Deviant” Nature of Poetry Stressing the importance of close reading in the context of a focus on lyrics does not chime well with recent trends in EFL publications. On the contrary, “fast” reading techniques such as skimming and scanning or reading for gist have been prioritized. Likewise, pop or rock songs are usually recommended as multi-channel, multimodal sources for visual, visual-auditory or other skills, rarely for a closer, analytical look at their lyrics. It is the focus on language, though, that matters here especially with regard to the objective of raising awareness of how language manipulates readers or recipients. Of course, such The Pet Shop Boys: Teaching Pop Lyrics in the Post-Truth Era 67 a focus on language can be easily supplemented with the inclusion of musical elements and the visuals of music videos clips (see Thaler 2008, 2011). The “mainly lyrics approach” favoured here ties in with theoretical ground‐ work laid out by researchers in the field of “Deutsch als Fremdsprache” (see Ewert, Riedner, Schiedermair 2011). These scholars counter the traditional cri‐ tique by pragmatic foreign language approaches that poetic language differs from everyday language, that it deviates from the norms of communicative lan‐ guage and is therefore unsuitable for foreign language learning. This is described as a misleading assumption by stressing, on the contrary, that a focus on poetry and its unusual, patterned and “deviant” language makes learners aware of how language works. As has been suggested in recent publications advocating the use of poetry in foreign language classes, it is exactly the “de-familiarizing” nature of poetic language which invites readers to probe into the “otherness” of poetic utterances. In the case of a poem in the foreign tongue, the “distancing” effect appears to be an even greater effect and arguably therefore even more enticing and inviting. It has been suggested that certain rhetorical devices are specifically fore‐ grounded in readings of poems (ibid.). These are devices indicating that poetic language is “different” from the alleged norm of everyday language, for example because of its rhyme scheme, poetic imagery and patterned language. As is well known, however, analytical approaches, even in a new guise, can result in te‐ dious “over-interpretations” and prove to be counterproductive with regard to students’ motivation and attitude towards literature. Rather, I would suggest that students are invited to learn how a few, select and rhetorically most effective devices function in certain literary texts. The following box offers a list of teaching goals in this context: Students gain insights into … 1. How literary and stylistic devices work to create the appearance of authenticity / how they manipulate the reader (traditional text analysis with an emphasis on certain rhetorical devices). 2. How different “texts” create different representations of “truth“ (genre competence) and how different perspectives create multiperspectival truths. 3. How a choice of text equals a choice of representation. 4. How feelings like empathy are triggered and manipulated through “truthful accounts”. Laurenz Volkmann 68 4. Four Pet Shop Boys Songs: Focus on Ambiguity, Persona, Unreliable Narration When working with the songs chosen here, we presume that our main objective is that our students gain insights into how the appearance of “true accounts” is created in texts such as songs. There are many literary and media devices which can be used to create this appearance of authenticity or truth: direct reader apostrophe, the use of authentic sources which are interspersed, or the use of references, detailed circumstantial descriptions and other devices aimed at cre‐ ating the appearance of “verisimilitude”. However, given the goal of familiar‐ izing students with the most prominent, “teachable” and possibly most effective devices, I suggest that only three literary devices are taken into consideration (all devices are discussed following the standard introduction by Meyer 2011). (1) The first literary device to be singled out reflects the quintessential nature of poetry and its dense, complex language. It is the device of “ambiguity”, fa‐ mously illustrated by William Empson (1973) in his interpretation of the uses of ambiguity in poetry such as Shakespeare’s sonnets. As to ambiguity in pop songs, it is implied that readers can come to at least two different, sometimes conflicting readings of a song’s words, certain passages and / or the whole song. The most famous example in rock history is arguably Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” (1984) (for details, see Volkmann 2006). For many fans it appears to be a nationalistic anthem; for others, like the artist himself, it comprises an angry protest song, chanted by a Vietnam veteran who has been let down by society. In “Born in the USA”, Springsteen slips into the role of this anti-hero, using what is usually referred to as a “first-person narrator” or “lyrical I” in literary analysis. (2) More specifically, this narrator here can be called a “persona”. The term, stemming partly from the Latin expression for a mask worn on stage, seems to be particularly applicable here - Springsteen, the wealthy superstar and per‐ former of the song, uses the “persona” of a poor blue-collar worker. By degrees, “persona” as a technical term indicates a greater distance from the actual author or a text than the term “first-person narrator”. In other words, the use of the term “persona” stresses the hiatus between author and narrator - learning about this difference could be seen as a crucial objective in literature classes at school. Interestingly, the use of a persona occasionally makes it rather difficult for stu‐ dents to make the distinction between author and narrator, as the persona tends to use all sorts of persuasive strategies to endear himor herself to the recipients. One of the most frequently named rhetorical techniques is that of unreliable narration, employed by the narrator in a manner that his narrative appears to be real or like a truthful account. (3) The literary device of “unreliable narration” The Pet Shop Boys: Teaching Pop Lyrics in the Post-Truth Era 69 was first discussed at length by Wayne C. Booth (1961). An unreliable narrator intends to make his or her readers believe that what he or she says is the truth. He or she wants us to take their side and empathize with them. Most strikingly, this is exemplified in narratives by mentally ill characters, who pretend that they are normal or psychologically sound. A classic of the EFL classroom belongs to this category, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe (1843). This is a brief first-person narrative where students can be asked to closely analyze the mad narrator’s rhetorical strategies of feigning to be normal - most prominently by apostrophizing the readers and fervently insisting that he is “not mad”. Technically speaking, the songs I have chosen in the following not only use linguistic ambiguities, personas (or personae; both plural forms are possible) and unreliable narration, but are, in the tradition of Victorian poetry, “dramatic monologues”. An archetypal example is the poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning (1842), in which a highly sophisticated and eloquent, yet maniacal Renaissance duke unwittingly reveals that he had his last wife murdered. Sim‐ ilarly, the lyrics of the four pop songs under discussion below all share the fea‐ ture that they are performed by a persona. They represent an unreliable narra‐ tion addressed to a fictive audience in a dramatic manner. It is up to the readers, here the students, to read between the lines, to detect the lies and self-defeating utterances in the singer’s argument. Students can become aware of how they know more than the protagonist, which in literary terms can be described as dramatic irony or discrepant awareness. Such a use of the dramatic monologue can be found in a bevy of other songs by the Pet Shop Boys. To name just a couple of songs, “Try It (I’m in love with a married man)” (2003) carries a self-explanatory title, as does “It’s a Sin” (1987), both hinting at non-conventional forms of sexuality or sexual affairs. 5. Awareness-Raising Activites: Wordle and Sting To raise students’ awareness for a sequence about the Pet Shop Boys or as an introduction to one of the songs under discussion below, two activities suggest themselves. They may be used together or on their own. The first activity in‐ troduces a number of buzzwords currently circling around with regard to the age of “post-truth” and can trigger a discussion about the students’ own media use. The second activity uses lines from a pop song, which can be shown on a transparency or played to the students. It serves as stimulus to become aware of how song lyrics or, in general, texts can have two completely opposite mean‐ ings. Here the semantic ambiguity of texts is highlighted. Laurenz Volkmann 70 Activity 1: Discussing a “wordle” Teachers can easily raise a word cloud or “wordle” containing the word field of post-truth catch-phrases. This can also be done with a simple mind map. The aim of this activity is for the students to detect - with the help of the teacher - useful abstract phrases. They can be defined, illustrated and related to the stu‐ dents’ media uses. They could, for example, be used for a discussion about the difference between fact and fiction, reality and media-presented reality. Rather than evoking a theoretical discussion, terms such as “augmented reality” and “scripted reality” have the potential to trigger a debate about media use. How do certain TV formats, which are usually shown on low-brow commercial TV channels in the afternoon, create the appearance of telling “real stories”? Devices which could be named are, e.g., casting characters which do not appear as pro‐ fessional actors, normal settings, documentary-style camera techniques, addi‐ tional comments by an off-camera narrator, interviews with protagonists in which they reveal their “true” feelings. Moreover, teachers could make their students aware of the fact that the “textbook family” they have become used to over the years may actually exist in reality, yet that the protagonists’ reality, too, was adapted to fit into the format of textbook representation. The friendly faces of youngsters on many a textbook cover are, as can be pointed out, clearly an instance of an ethnically balanced and gender-oriented representation. In the wordle above I have included two phrases which could be detected and discussed: First, the timeless aphorism by Oscar Wilde: “Life imitates art” - which in the school context can be discussed with reference to how students The Pet Shop Boys: Teaching Pop Lyrics in the Post-Truth Era 71 emulate the style, look and appearance of (teenage) pop stars. The other phrase, “Last night in Sweden”, refers to a tweet sent by the incumbent US-President commenting on an alleged refugee outrage in Sweden, which he claimed he saw on television, but which never actually happened. Obviously, students are in‐ vited to comment on the topic of “fake news” and discuss why it is spread by politicians or by irate citizens protesting against insufficient media coverage of politically controversial issues. The question setting the stage for what follows would be the following: How do I find out whether something is “fake news” or not? It may all have to do with my ability to understand how an impression of reality is created. Activity 2: Lines from “Every Breath You Take” (Sting, The Police) To create an awareness of how texts can have two different meanings to the audience, a pop song can be used which still gets a lot of airplay and is known to today’s student generation. Partly because it was covered by hip hop star Puff Daddy, “Every breath you take” (1983) became a megahit by the British trio pop band The Police. It was penned by singer and bass-player Sting, who, inciden‐ tally, went on to write a number of pop songs which are useful for the EFL classroom such as “Englishman in New York” (1987) or “Russians” (1985). To most people “Every breath you take” appears to be a song about desire, passion and love - which could be the reason why it has become a choice for wedding ceremonies around the world. If students read a couple of lines from the song or listen to it, they will understand the vocabulary easily (apart from expressions like “bond you break”) (The Police 1983). Every breath you take Every move you make Every bond you break Every step you take I'll be watching you Every single day Every word you say Every game you play Every night you stay I'll be watching you Students can be asked to describe the scenario for such a declaration of love and speculate about the lover’s feelings etc. It will come as a surprise to them to learn, as Sting has been at pains to explain, that this song was meant to have a dark, even sinister meaning. It can be understood as being about a person ob‐ Laurenz Volkmann 72 sessed with an amour fou. In today’s parlance, the persona of the speaker might appear as a creepy stalker, or as a Peeping Tom. How does this interpretation hold true when compared to the lines of the song? Students may find that the words are highly ambivalent and can be read in both ways. An additional task could be to focus on the music and discuss how its features support certain “readings” of the lyrics. If there is time, they could watch the music video, shot in black and white in a darkened hall, redolent with the imagery of peeping and watching. With the use of “Every breath you take”, the heuristic terms “persona” and “unreliable” as well as “ambivalent” or “ambiguous” can be introduced and illustrated. This serves as an introduction to a both more intensive and extensive focus on a song or songs by the Pet Shop Boys. The following suggestions represent a choice of thematically very different songs. I will first discuss possible teaching contexts for each song, present a short classroom-oriented “subject analysis” and a select number of pertinent teaching goals (“competences”). Then I will proceed with short suggestions for pre-, while- / duringand post-activities in the areas of listening to the songs, reading the lyrics and viewing music videos. 6. “Opportunity (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” “Opportunity (Let’s make Lots of money)” (1986) with the memorable, fre‐ quently repeated chorus “Let’s make lots of money” was one of the early hits by the Pet Shop Boys. Although the lyrics display linguistic markers of hyperbole and irony, the song was partly received as an anthem to the money-grubbing, free-market era of the Thatcher years. This materialistic image is enhanced by the luxurious urban setting of the video with its now dated look of yuppies splashing out, very much dressed in the fashion of the 1980s. The singer-persona advocates the unabashed pursuit of lucre, intimating that he could have been a mathematics professor (“don”) and inviting his audience to join him in his mindless pursuit. He suggests that they be his companion(s) for all sorts of en‐ terprises (including, as he insinuates in one of the few give-away signals, a “crime” of whatever nature). The stock market of London’s City or the then newly developed financial district in the Docklands seem to be his adequate roaming ground. It almost seems as if the terms “yuppie” (young urban profes‐ sional) or “dinky” (double income, no kids) have been coined for the protagonist. Ultimately, however, the song appeals to its audience to make a choice - whether to follow the invitation to lead a life dedicated to the pursuit of material goods or to choose a path with different priorities. Here are a few lines from the song (The Pet Shop Boys 1986): The Pet Shop Boys: Teaching Pop Lyrics in the Post-Truth Era 73 I’ve got the brains You’ve got the looks Let’s make lots of money You’ve got the brawn I’ve got the brains Let’s make lots of money […] I’m looking for a partner Someone who gets things fixed Ask yourself this question Do you want to be rich? Like Madonna’s analogous “Material girl” (1984), the song can elicit different reactions. Moreover, it can be seen as putting up for discussion the character of the money-loving materialist, a character worth discussing in our neoliberal age. One can also read the yuppie protagonist as the personification of the Thatcher and Reagan years. In other words, the song can serve as an emphatic introduc‐ tion to Thatcherism as a historical era and / or as a discussion point about ma‐ terialism and neoliberalism, about choices in private and professional life. Since the song’s lyrics are linguistically not too demanding, only a few key phrases (“don”, “studied at the Sorbonne”: what does these imply? ) need to be introduced before or while students are exposed to the lyrics. Alternatively, important terms can be explained afterwards. A pre-listening activity could consist of introducing students to the acronym “yuppie”, which from my expe‐ rience is often no longer known to the younger generation. What would we call such a person today? What job would he or she have? What car would he or she drive? What are their hobbies? A similar and additional activity could be to develop a mind-map about money, possibly introducing some synonyms for money and / or terms related to it. The song per se does not need much prior knowledge. It can be listened to even without the lyrics on a sheet or transpar‐ ency. A gap filling activity, although a somewhat dated exercise, could be used here as well. A logical first step would be to establish a basic understanding of the lyrics before the lyrics are scrutinized in order to ascertain whether the singer is serious. Students are to answer this question with reference to the things the singer suggests as part and parcel of the material life, but also with reference to text passages which could indicate “a chink in the armour”, that is signals that this is all just bombastic self-promotion. There are, as I explained, only few markers of irony in the text. Significantly, there is a hint at a different meaning of the song in the last lines. It suggests that there is more to life than just the pursuit of material gains: Laurenz Volkmann 74 All the love that we had And the love that we hide Who will bury us When we die? Follow-up activities could entail an Internet search for reactions to the song and its historical context. The results could be presented by students in class. In any case, a lesson could aim at revealing the ambiguity of the song’s message in the eyes of its recipients, brought about by the Pet Shop Boys’s use of a persona. 7. “Rent” A song that truly floats musically like a butterfly and stings in its lyrics like a bee is “Rent” (1987). It could be perused for a discussion of the unbounded ma‐ terialism of the Thatcher years. Like similar, less suitable texts for the classroom (such as the drama “Shopping and Fucking” by Mark Ravenhill, 1996) it thema‐ tizes the issue of the human body as yet just another marketable commodity in the era of boundless neoliberalism. “Rent” is, frankly speaking, a song about a rent-boy, in other words a male prostitute. In a more or less oblique manner he describes how he met the man (or could it be a woman? ) who supports him financially - “to pay the rent” is an English idiom implying the need to “make ends meet” or to “to bring home the bacon”. Details of this mutually consensual relationship are related in a very matter-of-fact manner (The Pet Shop Boys 1987): You phoned me in the evening on hearsay And bought me caviar You took me to a restaurant off Broadway To tell me who you are We never, ever argue, we never calculate The currency we’ve spent I love you, you pay my rent You dress me up I’m your puppet You buy me things I love it It is a commodified relationship, nevertheless, and students can be invited to discuss whether the singer just conceals possible psychological problems in his somehow muted narrative - expressions like “I’m your puppet” hint at a darker side of sexual exploitation (as again thematized in the snappy “Master and The Pet Shop Boys: Teaching Pop Lyrics in the Post-Truth Era 75 Servant” by Depeche Mode of the same decade, 1984). As to teaching objectives, students are meant to find out that the singer uses a persona and that this per‐ sona may hide darker elements of this relationship. Discussing different sex‐ ualities - in this case homosexuality and prostitution - could also be on the agenda of a lesson based on the song. Again, the song would not need much introduction and could be a lesson in the need to read texts carefully or to listen to songs carefully to notice how form (even in an easy-listening pop piece with seemingly simple lyrics) does not tally with content at times. In a pre-listening activity the teacher could, for instance, ask students whether they know of a website called mysuggardaddy. More or less openly it invites young females to have their lifestyles financed by an older sugar daddy. What do they think about this thorny issue? Such or similar in‐ troductions tend to give away some of the lyrics’ message, however. A less ob‐ vious pre-listening activity would try to avoid hints at the controversial topic of the song and leave it to the students slowly to discover the partly concealed allusions to the nature of the relationship described in the song. Working with the song’s lyrics, students are therefore asked to fill in the gaps of what the singer hints at and describe how this relationship came into being, what the partners do and what is said about the scenario in general. Questions could be raised such as the following: Is this a homosexual or heterosexual relationship? Are we meant to condemn or condone such a relationship? On a more general level, students can be asked to discuss how financial backgrounds influence the choice of partners. Or they could be asked to relate to the feminist dictum that “every marriage is a legalized form of prostitution”. 8. “The Dictator Decides” Thematically completely different, “The dictator decides” (2016) may well be the song best suited for the EFL classroom. It is a masterfully presented study of the psyche of a dictator who pretends to be great and completely in control. Yet he knows that his firm appearance is just a façade. He reveals his feelings of in‐ competence and his strong wish to step down or even be removed from power. The song has a universal appeal and can be used in the context of dystopian literary texts such as Orwell’s 1984 or Animal Farm. It can also be linked to more recent political dictatorial leaders or demagogues. As various video renditions on the Internet suggest, dictators like Hitler, Mao, Stalin or Assad and Kim Jong-un can be closely linked to the deliberations of the world-weary dictator of the song. Yet, also Trump, or likewise Hillary Clinton, are used in images illustrating the song’s words in home-made videos posted on YouTube. The Laurenz Volkmann 76 lyrics are a prime example of the dramatic dialogue, with the dictator admitting his weaknesses and his desperate efforts to keep up appearances (The Pet Shop Boys 2016). Will someone please say the unsayable? Will someone please tell me I’m wrong? In a crescendoing manner, the dictator-persona, accompanied by marching disco rhythms and drum beats, admits his various shortcomings, all of which could be described by the students and related to living dictators. The joke is I’m not even a demagogue Have you heard me giving a speech? My facts are invented I sound quite demented The song ends with a last gesture of incompetence: Oh please will somebody put me Out of my misery? This sad old dictator Must sooner or later Flee so that you can be free If you get rid of me We can all be free As stated above, the song can be used in various teaching contexts, with or without media support. What goes on in the mind of a dictator? This could be an initial question, possibly supported by pictures of dictators, dead or living. Then the teacher introduces the song with the words that now, finally, we have a chance to listen to what is usually withheld from us. A dictator will reveal his innermost feelings to us. Another initial question could be: what could the title of the song “The dictator decides” imply? (The song will contradict most spec‐ ulations.). Language scaffolding should be provided during the first listening activity in the form of printed out lyrics and some annotations, or dictionary skills can be honed during a later, closer reading of the text. Post-reading activ‐ ities should center on the various shortcomings the dictator admits to and on how he tries to hide them from the public. Additional tasks could be to tackle questions such as the following: how does the music support the lyrics of the song? Which dictators or politicians come to mind when listening to the song or reading the lyrics? Finally, students could be invited to view some of the The Pet Shop Boys: Teaching Pop Lyrics in the Post-Truth Era 77 home-made videos to the song and discuss which political attitudes the producer of the video in question reveals. 9. “Love is a Bourgeois Construct” From a literary point of view, of the four songs under discussion “Love is a bourgeois construct” (2013) is the most interesting one. However, it is linguis‐ tically and thematically the most challenging one and therefore seems only suitable for advanced students. Learners need to be able to tackle the complex layers of meaning of the song and its colloquialisms and cultural references. In this song, the singer takes on the role of a university graduate, who could be in his late 20s. Unfortunately and for unknown reasons, he has been ditched by his girlfriend. He is hurt and spends his time doing nothing, pretending to himself that he does not really care. He finds solace in a lesson he learnt in a university seminar, which is that “Love is a bourgeois construct”. The academic outlook on an emotional state of mind offers temporary comfort; he whips himself up into believing in it, repeating the phrase over and over. He also explains that he indulges in meaningless pastimes, basically whiling away time (The Pet Shop Boys 2013). When you walked out you did me a favour You made me see reality That love is a bourgeois construct It’s a blatant fallacy You won’t see me with a bunch of roses Promising fidelity Love doesn’t mean a thing to me It is only in a single line that he gives up his pretence and admits that he is actually waiting for his girlfriend to return to him. Only then will he, as he states in a witty twist, stop believing in the soothing rationalization he enjoys through his adopted academic perspective. Love is just a bourgeois construct So I’m giving up the bourgeoisie Until you come back to me The sophisticated explanation that love is a “cultural construct” is clearly making fun of the discrepancy between theorizing about love in academic circles and the true feelings of an individual. The hyperbolic repetition of the academic phrase jars with the singer’s enumeration of meaningless activities he engages Laurenz Volkmann 78 in to numb his feelings and to get over his separation. The academic outlook on life stands in stark contrast to the mantra-like repetition of a pompous, but actually empty phrase. As stated above, the song’s lyrics are difficult to grasp. The use of idiomatic and class-related colloquialisms is coupled with references to a postmodern slogan, which will usually be unfamiliar to students at school. Yet the song as a prime example of the use of a persona, unreliable narration and ambiguities offers most fascinating teaching material. This is all the more the case as it presents a brief introduction to theories of cultural studies - and simultaneously and ironically displays how academic insights seem to be prone to malfunction in real life. Didactically, it presents several challenges. First, the theoretical con‐ cept of “love as a cultural concept” - or rather, as one intellectual fan wisecracked on the Internet: “romantic love as a cultural concept” - needs to be understood by students. This could be achieved in a pre-reading activity where students are asked to name different “concepts of love” (romantic, physical, hedonistic, pla‐ tonic, etc.) to understand that various “concepts” of love exist - and to grasp the meaning of the concept of a “cultural construct”. Cartoons, pictures and other visuals could be used here. It is also possible to deduce the meaning of the phrase - including the issue of what constitutes the “bourgeoisie” - through its context in the song. Second, the scenario of the song needs to be understood. It is possible to develop a timeline, starting with the separation, going back to university days, focusing on the idle existence of the singer now and including the possible future perspective of making up with his former girlfriend again. Establishing the sce‐ nario of the song is vital for an understanding of how the singer indulges in comforting strategies of self-delusion (“until you come back to me”). Whom does he speak to? , could be another question in this context. Third, the idiomatic colloquialisms in the song appear as very topical and could be used to hone dictionary skills and / or for online research on the use of a number of typical expressions and spoken-language “chunks” in the following stanza: While the bankers all get their bonuses I’ll just get along with what I've got Watching the weeds in the garden Putting my feet up a lot I’ll explore the outer limits of boredom Moaning periodically Just a full-time, lonely layabout That’s me The Pet Shop Boys: Teaching Pop Lyrics in the Post-Truth Era 79 Apart from asking students to write down typical phrases indicating that the singer actually does nothing but wait for his girlfriend to come back, it could be helpful to use Internet videos produced by Pet Shop Boys fans. Notably, an ex‐ tremely witty video by “robmacca” offers an amateurish, yet very suitable slap‐ stick acting out of the various activities the singer indulges in, with song lyrics in the subtitle (Fig. 1). Fig. 1: Still from unofficial video by robmacca: https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=OMk Q2PPUE6E Given the song’s and the video’s complexity and the length of almost seven minutes, and keeping in mind the various teaching and learning opportunities and challenges, it seems worth taking more than the usual single lesson of 45 minutes to allow students to probe into the meaning and language of the song. A possible activity could aim at students being able to show that they really understood the mechanisms of make-believe displayed in the song. A creative activity could be to compose a similar narrative about someone who lies to himself or herself about their true feelings. 10. Conclusion Using Pet Shop Boys songs in class can create an awareness of how rhetorical devices such as ambiguities, the use of a persona and unreliable narration are integrated most effectively in dance music hits. Students can learn that it pays Laurenz Volkmann 80 to pay attention to pop lyrics. In the case of the Pet Shop Boys, they do not only learn to appreciate the finesse of Neil Tennant’s song writing, they also learn about strategies of manipulation through and in language. Bibliography Primary sources (www.songtexte.com, last accessed: 10/ 02/ 18) Pet Shop Boys, The. 2013. “Love is a bourgeois construct.” Pet Shop Boys, The. 1986. “Opportunities (Let’s make lots of money).” Pet Shop Boys, The. 1987. “Rent.” Pet Shop Boys, The. 2016. “The dictator decides.” Police, The. 1983. “Every breath you take.” Secondary sources Booth, Wayne (1961). Rhetoric of Fiction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Empson, William (1973). Seven Types of Ambiguity. A Study of Its Effects in English Verse. London: Chatto & Windus [1930]. Ewert, Michael/ Riedner, Renate/ Schiedermair, Simone (eds.) (2011). Deutsch als Fremd‐ sprache und Literaturwissenschaft. Zugriffe, Themenfelder, Perspektiven. München: Iu‐ dicium. Hall, Stuart (ed.) (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Prac‐ tices. London: Sage. Meyer, Michael (2011). Introduction to English and American Literature. 4 th ed. Tübingen: Narr. Songtexte. The Pet Shop Boys. 2013. “Love is a bourgeois construct”. www.songtexte.com (last accessed: 10/ 02/ 18). Songtexte. The Pet Shop Boys. 1986. “Opportunities (Let’s make lots of money)”. www.so ngtexte.com (last accessed: 10/ 02/ 18). Songtexte. The Pet Shop Boys. 1987. “Rent”. www.songtexte.com (last accessed: 10/ 02/ 18). Songtexte. The Pet Shop Boys. 2016. “The dictator decides”. www.songtexte.com (last accessed: 10/ 02/ 18). Songtexte. The Police. 1983. “Every breath you take”. www.songtexte.com (last accessed: 10/ 02/ 18). Thaler, Engelbert (2008). “Internet-Videos: Fremdsprachenlernen für die Youtube-Gene‐ ration.” Praxis Fremdsprachenunterricht 1: 14-18. Thaler, Engelbert (2010). “Musikvideoclips - Kunst, Kitsch, Kommerz, Kommunikation.” In: Blell, Gabriele/ Kupetz, Rita (eds.). Der Einsatz von Musik und die Entwicklung von ‚audio literacy‘ im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Frankfurt am Main: Lang, 241-250. The Pet Shop Boys: Teaching Pop Lyrics in the Post-Truth Era 81 Volkmann, Laurenz (2006). “Teaching Music Video Clips / Teaching via Music Video Clips.” In: Linke, Gabriele (ed.). New Media - New Teaching Options ? ! (= anglistik & englischunterricht). Heidelberg: Winter, 37-77. Volkmann, Laurenz (2012). “Förderung von Medienkompetenzen.” Fremdsprachen Lehren und Lernen 1, 25-39. Zapf, Hubert (1991). Kurze Geschichte der anglo-amerikanischen Literaturtheorie. Mün‐ chen: Fink. Laurenz Volkmann 82 “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on …” — Shakespeare in Popular Music Maria Eisenmann For hundreds of years William Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets have been a rich source of inspiration for all kinds of music, not only classical music, opera adap‐ tations or musicals but also for all genres of popular music. In the last decades direct quotes, themes, characters or references to the Bard himself have been cropping up in song lyrics from The Beatles to Taylor Swift, Eminem or MC Lars. This contribution will take a look at various music-related approaches to Shakespeare including classic rock songs, pop, hip hop and rap with regard to their benefits for the EFL classroom. 1. Introduction: the Role of Music in Shakespeare’s Work William Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets have inspired all kinds of art forms for over four hundred years, rock and pop music being no exception - which per‐ haps is no surprise as music occurs quite frequently in the Bard’s own work (see e.g. Hansen 2010; Gavin 2013). In fact, not only the sonnets but the majority of Shakespeare’s plays call for song, sometimes as part of the action, sometimes seemingly springing out of nowhere. Even though the musical notes for those lyrics have been lost over the years, the words to the songs remain and live on forever. Some examples are listed here, in no specific order: Shakespeare Quotations on Music - a Choice Maria Eisenmann 84 Fig. 1: Shakespeare quotations on music - a choice One of the most-quoted lines are those by Duke Orsino, when he declares in his opening speech in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: “If music be the food of love, play on” (Orsinso in Twelfth Night, 1.1.1). Since Twelfth Night was written in 1601 many musicians from classical composers to rock stars have seemingly taken that line to heart and run with it. 2. Music in the EFL Classroom Songs have always played a signifcant role in many aspects of human life and we are all familiar with the phenomenon of a catchy song stuck in our head. Music plays a central role in students’ lives and songs are an integral part of their language experience. Used in coordination with a language lesson songs can have enormous potential for the EFL classroom. Fortunately, with the con‐ tinually increasing prevalence of the Internet and specifically the World Wide Web in both the classrooms and lives of students, access to music and lyrics has been made easier. From a theoretical perspective, there is evidence from research in cognitive psychology and SLA that the incorporation of music into EFL teaching contributes to the development of a range of foreign language com‐ petences (cf. Krashen 1983; Kreyer / Mukherjee 2007; Werner / Lehl 2015; Summer 2011: 349ff.). Language teachers can and should use songs as part of their classroom teaching repertoire. They can provide valuable speaking, lis‐ tening and language practice in and out of the classroom. But what are the pedagogic potentials and methodological options of music in EFL teaching? The effectiveness of songs as a learning tool is most probably attributable to two processes involved in listening, both of which can be utilized when songs are used in the classroom. The first is bottom-up processing where the listener “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on …” — Shakespeare in Popular Music 85 □ □ □ □ □ builds up the sounds into words, sentences and meaning. The second is top-down processing where the listener uses background knowledge to under‐ stand the meaning of a message. Practicing both of these processes is essential for developing listening comprehension and gaining audio literacy. Some of the key reasons (affective, cognitive and linguistic) why songs can work exceedingly well in the foreign language classroom include the following (based on Heidrich/ Haß 2014; Summer 2015): Fig. 2: Songs in the foreign language classroom Authenticity: Songs contain authentic, natural language because they are written for an audience rather than for teaching purposes. Accessibility: Songs are easily obtainable via the Internet. Brevity: The time length of songs can easily be controlled. A song can be used in the course of one planned lesson. Thus the use of songs is very flexible. Students’ interests: Songs can be selected which not only relate to the students’ world but also suit their needs and interests. There are many songs available, especially in English, and teachers thus have a huge choice to select suitable songs according to themes, levels and complexity. Competencies: Steady improvement of almost all important (foreign) lan‐ guage competencies such as listening (audio literacy) and reading, speaking and writing is possible. Listening comprehension (listening to and watching music videos) is most important. However, students are also taught to read (in parallel or consecutive use of the lyrics), to speak (e.g. singing or dis‐ Maria Eisenmann 86 □ □ □ cussing the song, performers, music and possibly cinematic realization) and to write (e.g. writing an alternative song text). Vocabulary and grammar: Vocabulary, grammar and intonation can be practiced and consolidated through songs, which usually contain contem‐ porary vocabulary, idioms and expressions and thus provide a good variety of new words and grammar usage. Additionally, students can experience a wide range of accents. Cultural aspects / intercultural learning: As songs frequently address current issues and song lyrics often relate to situations of the world around us, they can arouse interest in other cultures and thus make an important contribution to intercultural competence. Motivation and fun: Last but not least, students usually enjoy working with songs in the EFL classroom because they provide a great alternative to other listening tasks, are more entertaining and can be used in playful ways. These are only some of the many affective, cognitive and linguistic reasons why songs are useful in the language learning classroom. Music, lyrics, and activities have become easily accessible due to the Internet, which has in turn facilitated the effective use of songs in the classroom. Children and teenagers today are able to listen to their favourite tunes at any time and at any place on their smartphones, so in effect, they are increasingly exposed to the English language via music, pop music being a widely available and pervasive form of music. The particular advantage of popular songs lies in the interaction of everyday words and music. In fact, pop songs have been the subject of research by linguists in the last few decades (e.g. Murphey 1990; Kreyer & Mukherjee 2007; Summer 2011; Werner 2012), because their lyrics comprise a “special’ register” (Werner 2012: 43). All these aspects make pop songs extremely effective for foreign lan‐ guage learning. 3. Why Shakespeare’s Musical Adaptations in the EFL Classrom? Shakespeare has always been a major topic in the EFL classroom in Germany; however, the question must be asked why 16th century literature should be taught to 21st century students. I am neither the first one to ask nor the first to answer this question. Already in the 1990s Rex Gibson was asked “Why teach Shakespeare? ” - a complex question indeed - which he in his handbook Teaching Shakespeare simply answered with “Why not? ” (Gibson 1998: 1). Harold Bloom, one of the most important American academic in literary studies, was asked the very same question and he said: “The answer to the question ‘Why Shakes‐ “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on …” — Shakespeare in Popular Music 87 peare? ’ must be ‘Who else is there? ’” (Bloom 1998: 1). These two answers dem‐ onstrate Shakespeare’s cult status, and show him as a cultural phenomenon as well as an author whose work is still of utmost importance today, also with regard to EFL teaching (Petersohn / Volkmann 2006: 7; Eisenmann / Lütge: 2014: 7). In fact, there are many reasons why Shakespeare should still be dealt with in schools. Not only is he world-famous and part of world literature, but his plays entertain millions of people every year all over the world, being most frequently staged in German-speaking theatre-houses in Austria, Germany, and Switzer‐ land. Most important, however, is the timelessness of his topics. One reason for the immense popularity of Shakespeare’s plays in the school curri‐ culum may be their infinite capacity for adaptation. For hundreds of years his work has been interpreted and performed in various ways. Similarly, the teaching of and learning about Shakespearean texts has provided various impulses concerning the role of literature in English language teaching. (Eisenmann / Lütge 2014: 9) For centuries, his work has probably been the most adapted, interpreted and transformed one, leaving us with much material for EFL teaching purposes. It is no wonder lyricists have been drawn to the work of Shakespeare, given his gift for a turn of phrase and his mastery of meter. 4. From Classical Music, Opera Adaptations and Musicals to Current Songs Very often William Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets have been a rich source of inspiration to all kinds of music, many of which have been used for classroom purposes over the last decades, such as classical music and opera adaptations, e.g. Guiseppe Verdi’s Macbeth (1847/ 65) and Otelo (1887), Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night's Dream (1960) or Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (1867). Musical adaptations have also found their way into the EFL classroom, such as Cole Porter’s The Boys from Syracuse (1938) based on The Comedy of Errors, Cole Porter’s Kiss me Kate (1948), a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew, Leo‐ nard Bernstein’s West Side Story (1957) based on Romeo and Juliet, and not so much adapted from Shakespeare but particularly inspired by Hamlet, Elton John’s musical The Lion King (1997). A further classic but modern songwriter and composer whose songs lend themselves to EFL purposes is the American-Canadian singer Rufus Wain‐ wright, who put some of Shakespeare’s sonnets to song when he worked with the Berlin Ensemble and their director Robert Wilson. His album Take All My Maria Eisenmann 88 1 http: / / rufuswainwright.com 2 https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=ngk4sRQ2C-Y 3 e.g. http: / / www.bbc.co.uk/ programmes/ articles/ 4nwSNRbP6DhyV79KgT94LTp/ pop-g oes-shakespeare-the-bard-in-modern-music or http: / / www.songfacts.com/ category-so ngs_inspired_by_the_works_of_shakespeare.php □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Loves - 9 Shakespeare Sonnets, released in 2016 one day prior to the 400th anni‐ versary of Shakespeare's death, features nine adaptations of Shakespeare’s sonnets and commemorates the author’s death. It is a combination of classical music with pop music, and three of the sonnets (Sonnet 10, 20 & 43) already appeared on Wainwright's 2010 studio album All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu. 1 This is modern classical music which can easily be used for classroom puposes because Wainwright has put Shakespeare’s songs into music without changing the lyrics, e.g. Sonnet 29. 2 Interesting websites can be found on the Internet with a choice of songs in‐ spired by Shakespeare’s work, 3 but some of the titles are quite outdated and might long have ceased to excite people. Thus the time is ripe for an overdue revision of these lists, and here, in chronological order, is an admittedly subjec‐ tive list of Shakespeare’s work which has been adapted: Metallica: “King Nothing” (1996) Eminem ft. Jay-Z: “Renegade“ (2001) Regina Spektor: “Pound of Flesh” (2005) The Decemberists: “The Island: Come and See / The Landlord’s Daughter / You’ll Not Feel the Drowning” (2006) 2Pac: “Something Wicked” (2007) Akala: “Shakespeare” (2008) Akala: “Comedy Tragedy History“ (2008) Taylor Swift: “Love Story“ (2008) MC Lars: “Hey There Ophelia” (2009) Mumford & Sons: “Sigh No More” (2009) Q-Brothers: “Othello: The Remix” (2012-1014) 5. Songs Inspired by Shakespeare - Examples for Teaching Before choosing examples for teaching from the list above, let me share some thoughts on creative learning methods and on how songs and also music videos can be treated in EFL teaching. In order to integrate song tasks into the EFL classroom, general aspects of lesson planning need to be considered and suitable task operations, in terms of a specific learner group and song, should be selected. “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on …” — Shakespeare in Popular Music 89 The following serves as a guideline for incorporating songs in competence-based EFL teaching and designing suitable tasks (adapted from Summer 2015; Schocker 2016): Song tasks Fig. 3: Song tasks: Songs in competence-based EFL teaching In fact, there are many methodological possibilities how to deal with songs or music video clips such as content-focused pre-listening / viewing activities, in which students discuss a particular topic, and / or music-focused listening / watching / reading tasks, in which students either listen to the song or watch the video clip and / or complete meaning-based tasks. Teachers can also deal with grammar discovery exercises and tasks, in which students discover grammatical structures in the lyrics through a sequence of activities. Interactive tasks can also be inserted, where students exchange opinions and / or conduct a role play. Students can also become singer-songwriters by writing a new verse or sing the song in class (cf. Bertoli-Dutra 2014; Summer 2009: 226; Summer 2011: 236). Being spoilt for choice, it is not easy to choose an appropiate adaptation to suit the specific individual EFL classroom. Both in terms of language as well as of personal development and class structure, songs have to be chosen accord‐ ingly. There are wonderful musical adaptations which today are counted among the classics such as Dire Strait’s Romeo and Juliet (1981), which deals with a Juliet who abandons Romeo after finding fame and moving on from the rough Maria Eisenmann 90 4 For more details on country musicians finding inspiration in Shakespeare see this web‐ site: http: / / www.borrowers.uga.edu/ 781423/ display 5 http: / / www.songtexte.com/ songtext/ metallica/ king-nothing-63df6ac7.html neighborhood where they first met. Lou Reed’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the most straightforward adaptations featuring the two lovers, Romeo Rodriguez and Juliette Bell drawn apart by families living on the East and West sides of New York City. Probably less appealing to most students nowadays are the many country musical adaptations which allude to the love affair between Romeo and Juliet. The best-known singer-songwriters are Diamond Rio with his song “This Romeo Ain't Got Julie Yet” (1992), Dolly Parton et al. with the song “Romeo” (1993), and John Montgomery’s “Ain't Got Nothin' on Us” (1996) or “I Can Love You Like that” (1995). 4 Of course, teachers are faced with heterogeneous student populations whose tastes can vary widely making differentiation necessary. This is why in the fol‐ lowing a variety of different modern examples are chosen, including methodo‐ logical options. Metallica: “King Nothing” (1996) Metallica is an American heavy metal band, whose song “King Nothing” 5 was released in 1996. It is is filled with indirect and subtle nods to Shakespeare's King Lear and Macbeth. The song strongly spreads the message of being careful what people wish for and where their limits are. It suggests a strong sense of an unhealthy greed and a relentless desire to seek power and status, with an in‐ evitable fall from grace as a repercussion of a lethal obsession. The lyrics describe a man who plays the king, does not care about anything or anybody else and seems to be very obsessed by a relentless desire to seek power and status. In order to work with the song, the students first read the lyrics and then analyse the text by answering the following questions: 1. Outline what the reader learns about the speaker and the addressee of the text. 2. Collect all the symbols of power in the text in order to find its underlying message. 3. In this context try to explain the meaning of the sentence: “All the wants you waste, all the things you’ve chased, then it all crashes down, and you break your crown.” 4. In groups, create a storyboard in order to produce a video clip on the basis of this text. Which pictures and music correspond to the text? “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on …” — Shakespeare in Popular Music 91 6 https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=Xz9DX_VMXdI 7 http: / / www.songtexte.com/ songtext/ taylor-swift/ love-story-bccd59e.html 8 https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=8xg3vE8Ie_E After discussing the students’ findings, the class should watch the music video and respond to its combination of lyrics, music and moving pictures. 6 In the music video a man playing the king, “King Nothing”, can be seen wandering around a snowy wasteland, repeatedly throwing away his crown and putting a new one onto his head. At the very end of the clip, hundreds of other men wearing a crown, more and more “King Nothings”, menacingly surround him. Dealing with this adaptation can very well serve as an introduction to reading either Shakespeare's King Lear or Macbeth, particularly when it comes to dealing with topics such as power and ambition. Taylor Swift: “Love Story” (2008) Something softer and possibly closer to the taste of some students is Taylor Swift’s “Love Story”. 7 Taylor Swift is an American singer-songwriter, one of the most popular contemporary female recording artists, and is well-known for her narrative songs. This song is a love story unmistakably based on Shakespeare’s most famous tale of teenage love, namely Romeo and Juliet. In the music video there are balconies, a strict father, star-crossed lovers, tension and hostility be‐ tween the families etc. 8 However, in this adaptation Taylor Swift decides for a happy ending. In the classroom, Taylor Swift’s adaptation can either be used as a pre-reading or a post-reading task for Shakespeare’s original text. If it is used for preparation purposes, the teacher could just show the video, but without music and lyrics, in order to draw students’ attention to the viewing comprehension only, in this case to the story plot. The students carry out the following tasks accordingly: 1. While watching the music video note down ideas about plot, structure, setting, characters, point of view and style. 2. What do the characters / their clothes look like? 3. What is the overall atmosphere of the clip? What emotions do the pictures evoke? 4. Which scene / picture strikes you most? Why? 5. Make up speech bubbles and / or dialogues for the characters. However, if the musical adaptation is used after having read Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet students can be asked to carry out the following tasks in two groups: Maria Eisenmann 92 9 https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=DSbtkLA3GrY 10 http: / / www.songtexte.com/ songtext/ eminem-feat-jay-z/ renegade-63b72a0b.html 11 http: / / www.dailymail.co.uk/ sciencetech/ article-2949186/ Are-rappers-better-linguists -SHAKESPEARE-Complex-rhymes-second-nature-hip-hop-artists.html □ 1. Make a modern love story out of the play and put it into a short text that could be the lyrics of a pop song. 2. Imagine a modern setting in which a story of ‘star-crossed lovers’ could take place and write a story-line for a music video. The music video should be watched in its complete form (music, lyrics and moving pictures). In a follow-up step, similarities as well as differences to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet could be outlined. Shakespeare in Hip Hop and Rap After touching on the fields of heavy metal and pop music, it is also worthwhile looking at some hip hop and rap adaptations. As many students are probably familiar with the sound of hip hop and rap, they could be asked the simple introductory question: Can you imagine what hip hop and rap music have got to do with Shakes‐ peare? To introduce the students to how amazingly close modern rappers and hip hop‐ pers like Akala or Eminem are to Shakespeare the students can watch a TED talk by Akala from the Shakespeare Hip Hop Company, where in an introductory quiz he makes the audience decide whether the quoted lines are from hip hoppers or Shakespeare. This is not at all easy since the similarities are striking. 9 In this talk, Akala compares rappers such as Eminem to Shakespeare, and, in a song together with Jay-Z, Eminem himself refers to the Bard. 10 Furthermore, in the press, in magazine and newspaper articles, Eminem is often compared with Shakespeare, e.g. in the Daily Mail headline on 11 February 2015, where the provocative question is raised: “Are rappers better linguists than Shakespeare? ” The article produces the following interesting results: 11 Linguists from Manchester found that rappers, such as Eminem, are more adept at creating lyrics and prose than 16th century poets. By studying rap lyrics, the experts said that traditional and complex rhyming comes so easy to hip-hop artists and their success lies in their ability to rhyme ‘subconsciously’ [...] The study said that while Shakespeare may have had a better style when it came to rhyming couplets and more traditional verse, modern rappers (like Akala) excel at “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on …” — Shakespeare in Popular Music 93 12 https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=niuzbyLgIq0 13 https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=BiKWQ-T47mE 14 http: / / www.broadway.com/ shows/ othello-remix/ rearranging sentences to make them fit. This includes pairing half rhymes, which are typically much harder to create. This explains the proximity between Shakespeare and hip hop lyrics and rhyming schemes, i.e. the similarity in words, but there is also a close connection within the rhythm. One of the main parallels, particularly between Shakes‐ peare’s sonnets and hip hop, is in fact the use of iambic pentameter. This verse metre seems to be the most natural rhythm of speech because it imitates the human heartbeat. A standard line of iambic pentameter is five iambic feet in a row and goes as follows: daDum - daDum - daDum - daDum - daDum. And because hearts beat in sets of two this rhythm seems to be imitating the rhythm of life, i.e. the sound of life, and thus is something very intrinsic. This rhythm can help students to understand the lyrics much better as well as to remember the text. Furthermore, in hip hop, the way something is said is as important as what is actually said. There are many other hip hoppers and rappers apart from Eminem and Jay-Z who find inspiration in Shakespeare, such as singers like MC Lars with his rap song “Hey There Ophelia” (2009), which is a fast-paced retelling of Hamlet referring to all the main characters, but centres on the play's tragic heroine Ophelia. 12 Another band proving the Bard to be the original maker of rhythm and rhyme are the Q Brothers with a very recent production called Othello: The Remix (2012-2014), 13 which uses the writing of Shakespeare to original hip hop beats. The Q Brothers translate classic works into modern contexts while staying true to the original stories. In this way they play tribute to the original works and make their timeless stories more accessible to modern day audiences. Othello: The Remix had its world premiere at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London for the 2012 Globe to Globe Festival. It toured all around the world, became the winner of Best Lyrics and Best New Musical at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and is currently in performances off Broadway at the Westside Theatre in NYC. 14 Maria Eisenmann 94 Fig. 4: The Q Brothers’ Othello: The Remix at Chicago’s Yearlong Shakespeare Festival 2016 (Photo: Michael Brosilow; Source: http: / / www.chicagomag.com/ arts-culture/ Janua ry-2016/ Six-Things-to-See-at-Chicagos-Yearlong-Shakespeare-Festival/ ) It is certainly a great pleasure for students to compare Shakespeare’s lyrics and rhythms with current musical pieces and, of course, they can always be asked to make up their own hip hop or rap songs accordingly or similar to those com‐ posed by Akala and the Shakespeare Hip Hop Company. However, teachers should avoid a cold start when dealing e.g. with Shakespearean sonnets in the EFL classroom. As a warm-up, students should first be introduced to the sonnets’ rhythm and metre, i.e. the Shakespearean iambic pentameter. This can be done with the help of the following steps: 1. Place your hands over your hearts and feel the daDum of your own heart‐ beats. 2. Practice beating out this rhythm on your desks - this rhythm is called ‘iambic’. 3. Stand up and gather in a big circle. Now face right and start marching around the room to an iambic beat. Start with a softly placed left foot followed by a sharply stomped right. Now circle the room twice, marching to the beat. “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on …” — Shakespeare in Popular Music 95 4. Then try to keep the beat while listening to the sonnet a few times and go on walking in the same way. 5. Reflection: Were you able to get a good sense of Shakespeare's metre and rhythm? After having been introduced to the iambic rhythm, students can start to make up their own hip hop versions of either a Shakespearen sonnet or a creation of their own. 6. Conclusion No matter what the singer-songwriters’ and their musical adaptations’ inten‐ tions are, they all serve to modernize Shakespeare’s original works, demon‐ strating that Shakespeare is an author whose topics and contents still matter to a contemporary audience, whose characters still have identification potential for 21st century students, and whose plays and sonnets can be adapted to depict a variety of current situations. Whether adapted as classical music, opera adap‐ tations, musicals or popular music, the works of art do not step further away from the source but reveal each songwriter’s individual reading of the text. In a way, all adaptations reflect on people trying to find their ways of life in modern settings, which brings about new possibilities for interpretation. Songs in particular can greatly contribute to developing different foreign language competences and to fulfilling educational and linguistic goals. How‐ ever, a careful song selection as well as the development of a clear task design is required to fully exploit the learning potentials of music in the EFL classroom. Bibliography Bertoli-Dutra, Patricia (2014). Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Pop Songs. In: Sardinha, Tony B./ Pinto, Marcia V. (eds.). Multi-Dimensional Analysis, 25 Years on: A Tribute to Douglas Biber. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 149-176. Bloom, Harold (1998). Shakespeare: the Invention of the Human. New York: Riverhead Books. Eisenmann, Maria/ Lütge, Christiane (eds.) (2014). Shakespeare in the EFL Classroom. Hei‐ delberg: Winter. Gavin, Alexander (2013). Song in Shakespeare. In: Post, Jonathan (ed.). The Oxford Hand‐ book of Shakespeare’s Poetry. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gibson, Rex (1998). Teaching Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hansen, Adam (2010). Shakespeare and Popular Music. London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. Maria Eisenmann 96 Heidrich, Nicole/ Haß, Frank (2014). Das Potenzial von Songs nutzen. Englisch 5: 10, 27, 28-31. Krashen, Stephen D. (1983). The Din in the Head, Input, and the Language Acquisition Device. Foreign Language Annals 16: 1, 41-44. Kreyer, Rolf/ Mukherjee, Joybrato (2007). The style of pop song lyrics: a corpus-linguistic pilot study. Anglia 125: 1, 31-58. Murphey, Tim (1990). Song and Music in Language Teaching. An Analysis of Pop Song Lyrics and the Use of Song and Music in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Bern: Peter Lang. Petersohn, Roland/ Volkmann, Laurenz (eds.) (2006). Shakespeare didaktisch I. Neue Per‐ spektiven für den Unterricht. Tübingen: Stauffenburg. Schocker, Marita (2016). Lernerorientierte Aufgabeneinstiege. Der Fremdsprachliche Un‐ terricht Englisch 143, 8-9. Summer, Theresa (2009). Teaching Grammar through Songs: Theoretical Claims and Practical Implications. VIEWS: Conference Proceedings: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice, February 26-28, 18/ 3, 2009, 226. Summer, Theresa (2011). An Evaluation of Methodological Options for Grammar Instruction in EFL Textbooks: Are Methods Dead? Heidelberg: Winter. Summer, Theresa (2015). Music and CLIL: Potentiale für inhaltsorientiertes Englisch‐ lernen mit Musik. English 5: 10, 31, 30-33. Werner, Valentin (2012). Love is all around: a corpus-based study of pop music lyrics. Corpora 7: 1, 19-50. Werner, Valentin/ Lehl, Maria (2015). Pop lyrics and language pedagogy: a corpus-lin‐ guistic approach. In: Formato, Federica/ Hardie, Andrew (eds.). Corpus Linguistics 2015 Abstract Book. Lancaster: UCREL, 341-343. “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on …” — Shakespeare in Popular Music 97 Making Music, Filling Gaps. Developing Audio Literacy with Musical Activities Max von Blanckenburg This chapter discusses various forms of making music and their potential to help learners fill ‘gaps’ in the language classroom. First, as a theoretical foundation, benefits of music for language learning are delineated and related to the concept of audio literacy. Second, it is argued that classrooms may be thought of as spaces to be productively and creatively filled with students’ physical and vocal per‐ formances. Third, songwriting, understood as conceptualising and creating soundscapes, is proposed as a form of interpretative and imaginative engage‐ ment with poetic texts allowing learners to fill literary gaps while deepening their understanding of how music makes meaning. 1. Audio Literacy and (Making) Music In considering the text types proposed for and used in language learning, there is wide consensus to include audio and musical genres that may be linked to achieving goals such as developing audio literacy as well as performative or literary competences (cf. Blell 2009; Kalantzis et al. 2016: 401ff; Lütge 2010; Nünning & Surkamp 2008: 43, 87ff). As regards the rich learning and teaching potential of music, the following features can be highlighted: I. Music bears structural and functional similarities to language. Vitally, it is communicative. That is to say, music transmits information and - al‐ though not in a denotative way, as with language - generates structures that individuals make sense of and attribute meaning to (cf. de la Motte-Haber 2002: 12, 80ff). Hence, learning with and about music can encourage an analytical and productive involvement with the principles and modes of a meaning-making system that is relevant to learners’ life‐ worlds and operates alongside, yet differently from, language. In addition, □ □ □ whenever musical pieces include lyrics, the relationship between text and music lends itself to exploration, as will be suggested in the following. II. Music both communicates and triggers emotions. Through its elements (e.g. key, rhythm, melody, dynamics), music expresses affective values that listeners can decode. Therefore, we tend to understand a minor chord to be less happy than a major chord. Music reception and experience, however, cannot be accounted for via generic stimulus-response-patterns. Rather, listening to music evidently evokes individual reactions, de‐ pending on factors including socialisation, preferences, and the context or situation in which a musical piece is consumed (cf. Grewe 2010: 32; Kraemer 2007: 62). For the language classroom, this suggests that teachers harness analytical as well as reader-response-oriented approaches to re‐ veal, verbalise and negotiate the inherent and attributed emotional di‐ mensions of musical works. III. Music can be understood and explored as a cultural expression. Pop songs, anthems, chants, to name only a few, play a crucial part in processes of identification, group forming, community building, or creating distinc‐ tions from others. Thus, the various facets of musical composition, per‐ formance, promotion and reception represent cultural and discursive practices which can be investigated with language learners. Linking audio literacy and music, Blell (2009; 2017) has provided a strong the‐ oretical foundation for various receptive and productive applications of music in language classrooms. In light of the features introduced above, I would argue that music is particularly promising to foster the following dimensions from Blell’s definition of audio literacy: a sensitivity and awareness for different kinds of listening contexts the ability and readiness to listen closely, listen for understanding, and to reflect on one’s own listening experience a tolerance for ambiguity, and for differing interpretations of and experi‐ ences with audio texts (cf. Blell 2017: 8) In a broader sense, when taking into account that literacies are “understood as tools for meaning” (Kalantzis et al. 2016: 8), language education should arguably contribute to helping learners understand and experience how music constructs and unfolds semiotic, aesthetic and cultural meanings. This includes knowledge of musical elements, their interconnections with the foreign language, i.e. through lyrics and discourses surrounding musical works, as well as the ability to reflect on functions that music fulfils on an individual or sociocultural level. Max von Blanckenburg 100 In terms of methodology, actionand product-oriented teaching approaches can be enriched and expanded by including forms of making music to foster audio literacy. In this context, Schatt’s notion of thinking about and thinking in music serves as a guiding principle (cf. Schatt 2007: 32f). The former term relates to analytical or reception-oriented forms of using music in education, while the latter stresses the potential of reflecting on music and linking experiences through active participation in musical activities. This second dimension is of central interest here as it has not been explored widely in language learning research. Therefore, affordances and practical considerations central to making music in the classroom will be pointed out in the following discussion. Prior to discussing concrete teaching applications it is, however, important to define what exactly the notions of ‘music’ and ‘making music’ are meant to encompass. Following Blell (2009), a definition of music suitable for teaching and learning purposes should include various genres and forms of songs, vocal and instrumental performances, sounds and rhythm. This way, one can avoid a narrow focus and canon that privileges certain types of composition over others and, in addition, may require expert knowledge on the part of teachers. Fur‐ thermore, it is sensible to expand such a wide definition to ‘making music’ as well, as this opens up a variety of methods and puts into perspective the potential demands for both teachers and learners. As will be shown, playing instruments and singing, but also humming, using rhythmic activities and writing music, can count as forms of productive and creative musical expression with the potential to target different dimensions of audio literacy. Therefore, teachers do not need a high level of musicianship in terms of theoretical and practical expertise. Rather, it is beneficial if they show curiosity, willingness and a basic under‐ standing of the musical forms they are going to employ. 2. Physical and Vocal Performances — Filling Spatial and Oral Gaps The following section introduces and discusses a selection of musical activities that are promising for fostering audio literacy. As will become clear, musical language learning invites alternative interaction patterns, where learners are enabled to fill the space of the classroom with both musical performances and their individual responses to music. 2.1 Using Body & Rhythm Encouraging learners’ physical activity serves various purposes in pedagogical settings. Motion supports learning processes, contributes a variety of teaching methods and fosters motivation (cf. Sambanis 2013: 90ff). Moreover, through Making Music, Filling Gaps. Developing Audio Literacy with Musical Activities 101 1 For inspiration, lots of body percussion materials and videos can be found online. Both activities are also shown in this video: https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=lNbZLgq5Oy0 rhythmic activities teachers can target cognitive, affective, psychoand senso‐ motorical dimensions of learning (cf. Steffen-Wittek 2012: 226), hence opting for a holistic approach to language teaching. For instance, call & response activities present an easy start into using body and rhythm in the classroom: 2.1.1 Loud & Silent Counting The teacher counts one bar of four beats („One, two, three, four“) at a certain tempo while the students listen. Keeping the rhythm, this is followed by one bar where everyone counts silently - not making any sound or movement. Entering the third bar, the whole group comes back in on the first beat, pronouncing that number („One“). The aim is for all to stay in time while counting so that the group members are speaking in sync. If the group is successful in doing so, teachers may go on to vary the metre (using e.g. 3/ 4, 6/ 8), tempo or beat that is to be pronounced („Let’s all come back in on three in the third bar! “). 2.1.2 Body Percussion The teacher demonstrates a rhythmic pattern, which is repeated by the group. To give a rhythmic sense of orientation, it is helpful to have everyone step on the spot at a particular tempo to begin with. Then the teacher introduces a pattern that lasts for one bar (for example four beats) by clapping their hands. In the next bar, the group repeats the exact rhythm - again while trying to be synchronous. Variations may then include snapping fingers, tapping one’s chest or upper legs, or using vocal sounds. 1 These two activities help learners (re-)gain focus, support group cohesion, and also constitute forms of musical expression. Body percussion is advanta‐ geous for exploring how rhythm carries meaning (e.g. being groovy, peaceful, driving …) and it allows learners to experience those meanings through their participation. Moreover, students themselves can lead both activities and bring in their musical ideas and preferences. While the goal here is for the group to reconstruct musical elements and produce the same output, rhythmic activities can likewise aim to evoke and showcase personal reactions. This builds on the insight that, when consuming music, learners create individual listener responses and engage in imaginative experiences, all of which can then surface in performative activities (cf. Lütge 2010: 101f). In this sense, reacting to music becomes learner-oriented when mu‐ Max von Blanckenburg 102 □ □ □ sical activities do not revolve around learner contributions being right or wrong, but encourage forms of expression that mirror their individual takes on a musical piece. Such performances can be embedded in larger task settings and may en‐ compass talking about musical experiences as well. This, in turn, requires the introduction of vocabulary and phrases (cf. Schocker 2016: 9). As examples of performative musical activities, the following variations of room walks may prove useful: 2.1.3 Room Walks A piece of music is played. Everyone moves through the classroom according to one of the following instructions: Listen to the song and move through the room in a way that you think fits the music. Listen to the song and move through the room in a way that shows your personal reaction to the music. Imagine you are a movie character and this is the background music in a film scene. What are you doing? These three activities aim at different dimensions of audio literacy. The first activity prompts an aesthetic reaction representing student interpretations of a musical piece, and thus, as has been argued for learning with literary texts (cf. Surkamp 2007), merges analytical and action-oriented aspects. Depending on the song choice, various aspects can be addressed here: A musical work that (more or less) immediately suggests a certain interpretation, for example the soundtrack to a horror movie, tends to evoke rather similar performative reac‐ tions. Here, one can pin down with the learner group what exactly the mean‐ ingful elements and patterns were that prompted the observed movements. In comparison, it might be worthwhile to opt for a song that allows a more open interpretation and resists closure. This way, discussions about potentially dif‐ fering understandings and reactions may be sparked. By contrast, the second activity is oriented towards the individual reception of a musical piece. When used with the same song as in the previous instruction, it can serve to highlight the interesting nuances of music communicating vs. music’s triggering of emotions. For instance, learners may understand a song in similar ways while their personal reactions differ quite substantially. Again, such an activity lends itself to a subsequent reflection and verbalisation stage where students explicate and negotiate cognitive, affective or attitudinal mean‐ ings, and discuss their performances. Making Music, Filling Gaps. Developing Audio Literacy with Musical Activities 103 As a further variation, the third activity aims to generate narrative, dramatic and cinematic imaginings based on a listening experience. This again moves classroom action in a more learner-orientated direction by drawing on indi‐ vidual understandings and creative thinking. To summarise, while the activities presented in this section do not conceive of teachers and learners as musicians in a traditional sense, they certainly do involve forms of making music in terms of producing and performing verbal and nonverbal reactions in response to musical stimuli. 2.2 Singing in the Classroom Moving beyond using body and rhythm as illustrated above, language teaching may include vocal performances and hence encourage learners to fill ‘oral gaps’. Singing in the classroom can support group atmosphere, help with pronuncia‐ tion and constitute a communicative and cultural expression. Nevertheless, singing is not commonly practiced (anymore) (cf. Klippel & Doff 2009: 282). One reason may be that learners and teachers alike are reluctant or insecure to sing in front of other people, often because they are in doubt about their own com‐ petences. Therefore, activities that involve the whole group should aim to allow for sanction-free participation and place only moderate musical demands on all group members. A promising concept in this respect revolves around using live-arrangements (cf. Terhag 2012: 169ff). Live-arrangements are forms of musical expression that activate the whole class by building on a polyphony of voices or sounds, using repetitive patterns and allow room for flexibility and improvisation. The fol‐ lowing two examples illustrate this: 2.2.1 Live-Arrangements with Sounds, Melodies and Harmonies Fig. 1: Sheet music for a live arrangement Max von Blanckenburg 104 2 The vocal arrangement and chord progression serve as an illustration of and musical material for this activity. The sheet music was written by myself and has been used repeatedly with various groups. Teachers who play an instrument can use the chords to accompany themselves and their learners in class. However, the activity does not necessarily require instrumental skills. Looking for ‚instrumental‘ + a certain genre on Youtube brings up manifold possible background tracks for singing. □ □ □ □ □ The teacher plays a short musical pattern. This can consist of an easy chord progression, such as Dmin - C - A. The pattern is repeated and forms the basis for a variety of potential musical activities. 2 In a call & response fashion, the teacher introduces short sound patterns or vocal melody lines that the group repeats - similar to the body percussion activity described above. In addition, the group can be taught a specific melody line, such as one of those transcribed in the sheet music below. All learners sing along while the teacher may vary the tempo, dynamics or style of the accompaniment. The task for everyone is to adapt their singing to the (mp3/ guitar/ piano) playing. In a further step, it is possible to introduce all three melody lines, naming them 1, 2 and 3, and make the group sing the very melody that is being called out. Moreover, the sheet music example can be used as a choral arrangement where learners are split into three groups and each group is assigned one of the melodies. In this way, one can create a choir singing in harmonies within a very short time. What is characteristic for the activities described here is that they do not yet involve the foreign language. All melody phrases can be hummed or sung on single vowels or syllables („Uhhs“ / „Ahhs“ / „Doo-bi-doo“), in legato or staccato. Thus, it is possible to focus attention on musical elements, such as phrasing or expression, before having to think about pronunciation. What is more, singing activities can shift from a teacher-centred mode to including learners as co-creators of music and lyrics: 2.2.2 Co-Writing Melodies and Song Lines in Live-Arrangements The teacher plays an easy to grasp chord progression, for example a II-V-I se‐ quence as in Emin - A - D, or uses an online (loop-based) instrumental track. First, a brainstorm is initiated and the teacher collects topical and musical ideas concerning the track played. That is, learners are asked what images Making Music, Filling Gaps. Developing Audio Literacy with Musical Activities 105 □ □ or themes the music evokes, to begin with. Then, the group jointly develops a melody phrase to be sung over the chords - using just vowels and syllables. In a next step, someone suggests a sentence that becomes the first song line. It may be helpful for the teacher to start with a first idea and then let the group take over, adding line by line. This way, a whole verse or chorus can be written and performed on the spot. Alternatively, learners can work with (a recording of) the chord progression in groups. They either start with the same first sentence or are offered free choice, and write their own lyrics, which are then presented and compared in class. Such activities serve, for example, as a ritual with which to start a lesson. Once a live-arrangement has been introduced, it can be drawn upon again anytime. As with attending a choir, singing in class constitutes a social experience and can have a profound impact on a group. All singers need to listen to one another and contribute with their voices in creating a larger soundscape and aesthetic product. Likewise, these activities help ease the way into the foreign language as a form of aural training and of experimentation with one’s vocal expressive‐ ness. The products and performances created and presented here may then be‐ come objects of further study, be reflected upon and used for follow-up tasks. By gradually including the foreign language into musical activities - be it in terms of singing lyrics or verbalising musical experiences - learners can explore the interrelatedness of auditive / musical and linguistic meanings. That is, they learn to describe and assess relevant musical elements and their subsequent individual impressions, and to make creative decisions in writing and per‐ forming text and melodies. Relevant expressions and phrases for these commu‐ nicative activities can be collected in class, or learners can research them indi‐ vidually / in groups depending on the musical genres they are engaging with. As is the case with other playful and performative formats, musical activities benefit from and may need to be framed by preand post-stages (for examples, see: Elis/ von Blanckenburg/ Haack 2016). If learners are meant to play musically with body and voice in class, they should be given a chance to warm up as well as to cool down. A pre-stage serves to reduce inhibitions and to create an at‐ mosphere that encourages participation. Here, activities that generate energy and excitement, loosen up body parts, and activate the vocal chords come in useful. Verbal or performative post-activities, in turn, support learners in leaving the ‘musical world’ and re-entering the classroom reality. This way, post-stages form a transition to follow-up activities and help learners to focus, for example, on cognitive tasks. Max von Blanckenburg 106 □ □ □ Regarding teachers, the activities introduced above aim to exemplify how performative musical task formats can be harnessed with a basic understanding of musical theory and practice. Generally, chord progressions in live-arrange‐ ments may be kept very simple, instrumental live playing is not required, and neither are music reading skills. Furthermore, it is conceivable to hand over some responsibility to the learner group and make use of their musical compe‐ tences. As such, activities can become more motivating and meaningful for learners when they are given an opportunity to bring in their own interests and talents. 3. Songwriting as Making Music — Filling Literary Gaps This section discusses a product-oriented approach to illustrate how song‐ writing can … support learners’ understandings of poetic texts, encourage creative re-designings, and develop analytical and productive dimensions of audio literacy in the con‐ text of popular music as a communicative and cultural expression. The central idea is that learners conceptualise (and if possible produce or per‐ form) a pop song based on a given poem. While songwriting can be part of a larger project (cf. Seitz 2010), the task presented here is less demanding and time-consuming. It centres on exploring the possible relationships between mu‐ sical and lyrical elements in a song, i.e. investigates paraphrasing, polarising or counteracting functions of music. As such, this follows Schatt’s rationale for fostering musical understanding through active musical interpretation (cf. Schatt 2007: 47). The two text examples that will be referred to are Jackie Kay’s In my Country (Kay 1993: online) and Carol Ann Duffy’s The Crown (Duffy 2012: online), which are available in written and audio formats. Both poems are relatively short, dense in language and each have a specific context they stem from: Kay’s text is based on her experience as a black Scottish woman, whereas Duffy wrote her poem in the role of British poet laureate for Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee and read it in the service of celebration in Westminster Abbey. These details could inform and enrich working with the poems in class, but arguably may be given at a later stage in the process to maintain the texts’ interpretative openness. For learners to be able to turn a poem into a song, they need conceptual knowledge regarding how music - in this case popular music - makes meaning. Fig. 2 depicts central aspects in this context and draws loosely on models of Making Music, Filling Gaps. Developing Audio Literacy with Musical Activities 107 literary communication (cf. Nünning & Surkamp 2008: 18). In considering who or what contributes to any meaning or effect a pop song may have, factors include: The composer / producer / performer(s) as the person or group of people responsible for the creation, sound and presentation of a song. Likewise, they are members of a culture with particular affiliations to groups / institutions / industries, which can be significant. The song itself that becomes available through a performance or audio(visual) recording. On a textual and language-related level, pop lyrics draw on a number of genre conventions, such as certain themes and stylistic features known e.g. from poetry. The register may be elaborate or colloquial, more or less standardised, dialectal or sociolectal. Furthermore, songs can tell stories and / or provide a collection of associative impressions. On a musical level, there is a likewise complex interplay of meaning-making aspects including melody, harmony, the use of vocals, instruments, sounds as well as their arrangement and dynamics in and throughout the song. Taking the musical and lyrical parts together, popular music is usually structured into se‐ quential elements, which fulfil certain functions in a song: The verses lay out a scenario or bring the narrative forward (if there is one), the chorus illustrates the core idea, the bridge often introduces a further new aspect, an interlude can bring suspense or emphasise an idea, and the intro and outro serve to frame the whole song. The audience as the person or group of people listening to a musical act or artefact individually or jointly, and bringing their backgrounds / stories / pref‐ erences to a song. The situation and context of both creation and reception of a musical piece. For example, a song may be written out of and into a specific and meaningful context, as was the case with Duffy’s poem described above. Max von Blanckenburg 108 □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Fig. 2: Meaning-making features of popular music Applied to a teaching scenario, each of these aspects can be of particular rele‐ vance and lead to questions or tasks, depending on the song as well as on the theoretical framework that is being drawn on (e.g. reader-response theory, new criticism). In this case, the task is to turn a poem into a song, for which students make use of the musical means of expression depicted in the model above. The dif‐ ferent steps presented in Fig. 3 lead groups of learners through an interpretative and creative process resulting in a final product. Task: Turn this poem into a song by following the steps below. 1. Read the poem in your group and discuss the questions: What impressions and feelings does the text evoke in you? What lines do you find particularly important / interesting? How do you understand the poem as a whole? 2. To turn this poem into a song, first decide what the music should add to the given text: paraphrase: the music supports meanings that you found in the lyrics polarise: the music adds a new layer of meaning (e.g. creates a friendly or angry mood) counteract: music and lyrics have different / opposing functions 3. Find a genre / style: What kind of song could this poem be? Why? Making Music, Filling Gaps. Developing Audio Literacy with Musical Activities 109 □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Do you have songs in mind that can serve as an inspiration? Who do you want to address with your music? 4. Structure your song by defining different parts, such as: Chorus / Verse / Bridge / Interlude / Intro / Outro 5. Work on dynamics and arrangement: How does the song sound at different points as it progresses? Does it get louder, fuller, change its style? What instruments and vocals suit your composition? Think about harmonies and melodies: What are they like in the different parts of the song? Are there reoccurring instrumental themes? Fig. 3: Songwriting task steps The final products created in this task can take different shapes. One option is for students to develop a written song sketch where they annotate the poem printed on a large sheet of paper with their ideas. This way, the task can be completed within a single lesson. Another possibility is to have learners produce and present a song in audio format. Here, students could … perform a song live with instruments and singing, record their composition using computers or mobile phones with pro‐ grammes such as Audacity, Garage Band, Cubase, or search for instrumental tracks online that serve as background music to an expressive reading of the poem, or use the authors’ readings (see references) as vocals for their song. 4. Conclusion In sum, audio literacy can be fostered through engaging learners in various musical activities - be they based on rhythm, vocals or a literary text. ‘Filling’ classrooms with student performances contributes to joyful and motivating les‐ sons, and supports holistic and aesthetic language learning. What is more, mu‐ sically redesigning poetic texts is a promising approach to foster literary un‐ derstanding and responses, and render visible stylistic devices prominent in modern popular music. Max von Blanckenburg 110 Bibliography Blell, Gabriele (2009). Musik im Fremdsprachenunterricht und die Entwicklung von audio literacy. In: Jung, Udo (ed.). Praktische Handreichung für Fremdsprachenlehrer. 5th edi‐ tion. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 112-119. Blell, Gabriele (2017). Audio Literacy. In: Surkamp, Carola (ed.). Metzler Lexikon Fremd‐ sprachendidaktik. Ansätze - Methoden - Grundbegriffe. 2nd edition. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 7-8. De la Motte-Haber, Helga (2002). Handbuch der Musikpsychologie. 3rd edition. Laaber: Laaber-Verlag. Duffy, Carol Ann (2012). The Crown. Retrieved from: https: / / www.theguardian.com/ boo ks/ 2013/ jun/ 04/ carol-ann-duffy-the-crown-poem (Text version) & https: / / vimeo.com/ 102934529 (Audio version) (last accessed: 19/ 11/ 2017). Elis, Franziska/ von Blanckenburg, Max/ Haack, Adrian (2016). In die dramapädagogische Arbeit ein- und aussteigen. Der fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch 142, 24 + teaching cards. Grewe, Oliver (2010). Musik und Emotion. Warum kreatives Handeln glücklich macht. Essay. In: Blell, Gabriele/ Kupetz, Rita (eds.). Der Einsatz von Musik und die Entwicklung von audio literacy im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 29-35. Kalantzis, Mary/ Cope, Bill/ Chan, Eveline/ Dalley-Trim, Leanne (2016). Literacies. 2nd ed‐ ition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kay, Jackie (1993). In my country. Retrieved from: https: / / www.poetryarchive.org/ poem / my-country (last accessed: 19/ 11/ 2017). Klippel, Friederike/ Doff, Sabine (2009). Englisch Didaktik. Praxishandbuch für die Sekun‐ darstufe I und II. 2nd edition. Berlin: Cornelsen-Scriptor. Kraemer, Rudolf-Dieter (2007). Musikpädagogik - Eine Einführung in das Studium. 2nd edition. Augsburg: Wißner-Verlag. Lütge, Christiane (2010). Play it again. Schüleraktivierung durch musikalische Hörer‐ fahrungen im Fremdsprachenunterricht. In: Blell, Gabriele/ Kupetz, Rita (eds.). Der Einsatz von Musik und die Entwicklung von audio literacy im Fremdsprachenunter‐ richt. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 99-108. Nünning, Ansgar/ Surkamp, Carola (2008). Englische Literatur Unterrichten I. Grundlagen und Methoden. 2nd edition. Seelze-Velber: Klett/ Kallmeyer. Sambanis, Michaela (2013). Fremdsprachenunterricht und Neurowissenschaften. Tübingen: Narr. Schatt, Peter W. (2007). Einführung in die Musikpädagogik. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Schocker, Marita (2016). Lernerorientierte Aufgabeneinstiege. Der fremdsprachliche Un‐ terricht Englisch 143, 8-10. Making Music, Filling Gaps. Developing Audio Literacy with Musical Activities 111 Seitz, Carolin (2010). Songwriting im bilingualen Musikunterricht. In: Blell, Gabriele/ Kupetz, Rita (eds.). Der Einsatz von Musik und die Entwicklung von audio literacy im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 179-190. Steffen-Wittek, Marianne (2012). Musik-Bewegung-Tanz. In: Jank, Werner (ed.). Musik-Didaktik. Praxishandbuch für die Sekundarstufe I und II. 4th edition. Berlin: Cornelsen, 223-232. Surkamp, Carola (2007). Handlungs- und Produktionsorientierung im fremdsprachlichen Literaturunterricht. In: Hallet, Wolfgang/ Nünning, Ansgar (eds.). Neue Ansätze und Konzepte der Literatur- und Kulturdidaktik. Trier: WVT, 89-106. Terhag, Jürgen (2012). Live-Arrangement. In: Jank, Werner (ed.). Musik-Didaktik. Praxis‐ handbuch für die Sekundarstufe I und II. 4th edition. Berlin: Cornelsen, 167-176. Max von Blanckenburg 112 1 Class 6 is the point at which students at a German Gymnasium have already journeyed through the first half of their school career, the other half - often requiring an oral exam in order to obtain the Abitur (secondary school qualification obtained after 12 or 13 years of school education) - still lying ahead of them. The Poem Day Project - Developing Oral Fluency Nina Bishara 1. Poetry in the EFL Classroom and the Goal of the Poem Day Project A strong cultural and pedagogical case can be made for implementing poetry, verse and song in the foreign language classroom: these are all content-rich forms of writing, which address an extensive range of themes, give opportunity for self-expression and creativity and are particularly good at evoking imagery and feelings. From a linguistic point of view and from the perspective of the language teacher, they provide learners with authentic language material, can serve as a model for stylistic, grammatical and lexical features of the target language, and their rhythm, rhyme and meter can help to improve learners’ phonological competence. The Poem Day Project presented here is not interested in a formal approach to poetry, in how to dissect and analyse it to reveal its meanings, but rather in how to use poetry as a vehicle to foster and develop oral fluency in the foreign language from an early stage on - specifically with learners in their second year of learning at German high schools (i.e. Gymnasium, class 6). 1 These 11-year-old learners are to experience that speaking in a foreign language is natural and that they can already communicate successfully in English. They are to use the lan‐ guage playfully and without fear and inhibitions. 2 For more information, refer to the DESI-Study (Deutsch Englisch Schülerleistungen International), for example in Klieme (2006) or Helmke/ Helmke/ Schrader et al. (2008). 2. Oral Communication in the EFL Classroom: Past, Present (And Future? ) Most commonly, however, it is the language teacher who does all the talking (or at least most of the talking) in the English class. In 2003/ 04 students’ oral per‐ formance was examined in 9 th grade English classes across Germany. 2 It was found that during an English lesson, English teachers spoke more than twice as long as all of the students put together. Moreover, the length of time during which there was no language production at all was slightly higher than that when the students were speaking (see Fig. 1). Fig. 1: Language of instruction and spoken in- / output of teachers and students in English lessons (Helmke/ Helmke/ Schrader et al. 2008: 350) There was a little ray of hope: the study showed that 84% of what the teacher said was expressed in the target language English (see top bar in figure 1), while as the middle bar shows, he or she was speaking for 51% of the time, in contrast to students, who contributed 23% of spoken engagement in the classroom. Whenever students did speak, 76% of their interaction was in English too (see bottom bar). Nevertheless, a closer look at students’ oral performance reveals that about half of their spoken interaction consisted of reading out loud and repeating or re-echoing what had been said. The other half of their oral per‐ formance mostly consisted of small units of language such as one-word-sen‐ tences, sentence fragments or incomplete sentences (see Fig. 2). To cut a long story short, it was discovered that EFL students were more or less silent in the English classroom. Nina Bishara 114 3 Originally: “… eine Verstehens- und Mitteilungsfähigkeit, die inhaltlich zielführend, sprachlich sensibel und differenziert, adressatengerecht und pragmatisch angemessen ist. Sie umfasst wichtige interkulturelle Kompetenzen, die im Unterricht zusammen mit den sprachlichen Kompetenzen, im Rahmen einer Auseinandersetzung mit Themen, Texten und Medien integriert erworben werden.” Fig. 2: Students’ oral language production in English lessons in detail (Helmke/ Helmke/ Schrader et al. 2008: 352) Since the 2008 publication of the results of the DESI-Study a paradigm shift has taken place and oral communicative competence has been gaining more and more ground. Most federal curricula have introduced oral examinations in for‐ eign language learning. Hence, there is a backwash effect, which increases the importance and role of oral fluency in the foreign language classroom. The na‐ tional educational standards (Bildungsstandards) passed by the Standing Con‐ ference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkon‐ ferenz) in 2012 have pledged a commitment to comprehensive communicative skills not just in one, but in several, foreign languages, which goes hand in hand with intercultural competence (Bildungsstandards 2012: 9). Interestingly, the acquisition of oral foreign language skills is mentioned even before the written skills that are to be acquired. The new buzzword is “Diskursfähigkeit” (discourse ability), which is defined as an ability to comprehend and communicate such that content is conveyed adequately, using sensitively employed and sophisticated language tailored to the context and audience. It encompasses key intercultural competencies which are acquired integra‐ tively in the classroom together with linguistic competencies, through engagement with topics, texts and media (Bildungsstandards 2012: 9; translated by the author). 3 The Poem Day Project - Developing Oral Fluency 115 □ □ □ □ □ Five competencies are involved, namely a functional communicative competence including the communicative means for “the big five” (i.e. listening, reading, writing, speaking and me‐ diating), intercultural competence, text and media competence, language awareness (including the ability to reflect on linguistic phe‐ nomena), and finally the ability to learn a foreign language (Bildungsstandards 2012: 10). Fig. 1 visualises these competencies with the dashed lines showing that all these competencies are connected and that language awareness (running vertically on the right-hand side) and the ability to learn foreign languages (running ver‐ tically on the left-hand side) are like buttresses supporting the whole process. Fig. 3: Five competencies in language learning Nina Bishara 116 To put it in a nutshell: When we talk about “Diskursfähigkeit”, we mean that students are expected to interact in a foreign language, negotiate meaning, shape and create their environment. They are expected to do this adequately according to the cultural setting they are in, and they should be able to master monologic, dialogic and polylogic communication as well as engage productively with mul‐ timedia contexts. 3. The Complexity of Oral Communication in a Foreign Language The complexity of oral communication, or Diskursfähigkeit, in a foreign lan‐ guage becomes clear in the definition of the oral skills a student is to acquire according to the national Bildungsstandards (2012: 16-18). Students are to speak coherently in monologic as well as polylogic settings: Coherent monologic communication, i.e. Coherent polylogic communication, i.e. The ability to - give information - express an opinion - consider advantages and disadvan‐ tages - comment - explain - justify The abililty to - begin, maintain and end conversa‐ tions - express and justify opinions in a language that - is structured and coherent - is adequate with respect to the mes‐ sage as well as to the receiver in a language that - is formal as well as informal - is fitting to situation, content and re‐ ceiver - clarifies misunderstandings - follows communicative rules and conventions with a content that - covers a large range of topics and texts (fictional, non-fictional, spoken, written…) with a content that - also covers familiar and current topics and methodologically - choosing suitable strategies in doing all of the above. The Poem Day Project - Developing Oral Fluency 117 These skills specify what is expected of beginners in language learning. Ad‐ vanced learners will also be able to talk about abstract or unknown topics, pre‐ senting their cultural relevance and focusing on details of a subject matter. They are to do this fluently and spontaneously. 4. … But How? The question that inevitably arises is the following: how can foreign language learners be prepared for all of this? And what learning environment and tasks are needed so that students acquire these skills and competencies? Moreover, thinking beyond the educational setting: how can learners master a foreign lan‐ guage for life and be able to communicate successfully in this language? How can this be trained from an early stage on, going beyond traditional methods of pattern drill and repetition? 5. Meaningfulness and Authenticity in Task-Based Language Learning Teachers have to create meaningful and authentic settings for communication. This approach is strongly connected to the concept of task-based language learning (in contrast to exercises and activities). A task enables creative, indi‐ vidual and autonomous learner activity, while an exercise prepares spoken in‐ teraction and is, of course, relevant in the language learning process too. In a task, however, language production is the main goal, so “language learning is language use”, or, as Jane Willis (2007) puts it: learners doing tasks […] will be making free use of whatever English they can recall to express the things they really want to say or write in the process of achieving the task goal. Hallet (2012, 2013) proposes so-called komplexe Kompetenzaufgaben (complex competence-based tasks). In this case, “complex” does not necessarily equate with “difficult”, but rather pertains to tasks that are complex in the skills and abilities needed to solve them. He defines komplexe Kompetenzaufgaben as learning scenarios and tasks for English lessons which aim to develop and encourage “competence” as a complex skills set - foreign language discourse ability - as simu‐ lations of real-life problems and the discursive interactions / negotiations connected with them […] To master these situations, students must apply and (further) develop Nina Bishara 118 4 Lernarrangements und Aufgaben für den Englischunterricht, welche ‚Kompetenz‘ in einem komplexen Sinne - also fremdsprachige Diskursfähigkeit - entwickeln und för‐ dern sollen, als Modellierungen realer Problemstellungen und der damit verknüpften diskursiven Verhandlungen [...]. Zu ihrer Bewältigung müssen die Schülerinnen und Schüler problemlösende Strategien, sowie kognitive, sozial-interaktionale und diskur‐ sive Fähigkeiten anwenden und (weiter-)entwickeln - und dies alles in der Fremdspr‐ ache (Hallet 2012: 10f). 5 In the terminology of task-based learning this phase is known as the pre-task: the teacher introduces what is to be done and provides material so that the task can be completed by the learners. 6 IRF: teacher initiation, student response, teacher feedback (or follow-up) problem-solving strategies, as well as cognitive, social and discursive capabilities - all this in a foreign language. (Hallet 2012: 10f; translated by the author) 4 6. The Poem Day Project In the first weeks of a new school year in class 6, I tell my students that we will have a weekly poem day. Students receive instructions on a worksheet [Material 1], which are read together, and any points not understood are clarified. 5 Approximately fifteen minutes are reserved on a fixed day of the week for the Poem Day. Over the course of the school year, this day becomes highly rit‐ ualised. When the students enter the classroom, they know it is Poem Day and they are excited about each new presentation. While at the beginning, some students are often worried that there will not be any creative ideas left by the time it is their turn, practice shows that there are no limits to the students’ creativity and ideas. Some children dress up, others bring along props or act out their poem, there are puzzles and riddles to make others guess new words. And it is always the children taking over the lesson and doing the speaking - in the foreign language! 6.1 What Is the Overall Objective of the Task? The idea of Poem Day Project is to leave behind standardised, artificial, traditional paths of initiating spoken interaction that works according to the IRF-prin‐ ciple 6 . The nature of the task invites both planned and unpredictable scenarios in which the foreign language has to be spoken. In the opening phase of a pre‐ sentation, in introducing the topic and, of course, when reciting the poem stu‐ dents can feel fairly safe. These are parts of the presentation that can be planned. In other words, there is a “scripted opening to reduce inhibitions” (Kurtz 2011). Students may (or may not) take more risks when interacting with the class, for example when introducing new words. Students may choose simply to The Poem Day Project - Developing Oral Fluency 119 present a new word by translating it or writing it on the blackboard. Others start interacting, they may have prepared a matching activity or they give example sentences and have fellow students guess the meaning of the new word. In this case, both sides need to act and react spontaneously. Ideally, they even do this adequately, for example by saying “Yes, that’s right” instead of a curt “yes”. Thus, there is room for improvisation in an “unscripted middle part … for spontaneous ideas, creativity, interpretations” (ibid.). Finally, the end of the poem presentation consists of a “scripted final part” again. In the worst case, it can function as an “emergency exit without losing face” (ibid.). In conclusion, tasks of this kind require students to use language freely, because they offer an element of choice; to use language pur‐ posefully, because there is something to be done; and to use language creatively, be‐ cause they call for imagination. (Byrne in Kurtz 2006: 131) 6.2 Why Poems? Young students greatly enjoy poems and rhymes (and songs of course). These types of texts provide a highly emotional approach to the target language and culture and they offer unique opportunities for creativity and individuality. Kurtz (2011: 135) points out that “playfulness, creativity, and improvisation play an important role in improving learners’ willingness to speak”. Due to their rhyming and rhythmic language, poems are texts that learners in class 6 can easily remember and master. In other words, learning a poem off by heart is an achievable task. 6.3 What Kind of Support Do Students Need to Complete the Task? Students need support and orientation (scaffolding) so that they can succeed in completing a task like the Poem Day. First and foremost, the task itself and its individual phases have to be clear. Students need to know what is expected of them. But students also need the linguistic wherewithal to accomplish each phase. Therefore, students are provided with a worksheet at the beginning of the Poem Day Project , which includes phrases they can use for their presentation [Material 2/ 3]. At the beginning of the school year, most of these phrases are new and need to be learned. Eventually, they become part of the students’ lin‐ guistic repertoire, they vary and adapt them, and new ones are added to the list. It is what Vygotsky describes in his zone of proximal development. Learning is moving from what is known via tasks and skills that are actually too difficult Nina Bishara 120 but can be done with guidance and encouragement, in order to progress to what was not known before. 6.4 How to Choose the Poems That Students Are Going to Present? There are several factors that can be considered when assigning a certain poem to a certain student for presentation. One is that vocabulary and especially grammar have to be appropriate to the students’ language proficiency. For ex‐ ample, a poem that makes use of the will-future is only selected after this tense has previously been introduced. Poems can also be chosen according to the time of year (e.g. winter, spring, summer, autumn, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, a new school year etc.). Additionally, students’ interests, hobbies, needs and abilities can also be taken into account. Thus, the poem students have been given can indeed be meaningful and relevant to them. 6.5 Where Can You Find Adequate Poems for Young Learners? It is useful to browse the English textbook and workbook, in which simple poems and rhymes are often included. Furthermore, some nice collections of poems for children exist both in print and online. Material 4 gives an overview of some helpful resources. 7. Six TBL-Criteria of the Poem Day Project Hallet (2013) defines six criteria for the above-mentioned complex tasks (kom‐ plexe Kompetenzaufgaben). These criteria can be applied to the Poem Day Project. According to the author, complex tasks should resemble a “real-world-ac‐ tivity” (Lebensweltbezug). This means they should be authentic, meaningful and relevant to the lives of language learners. Of course, it is very unlikely that students will have to recite a poem at some point in their future, but they may well have to give talks and presentations in English - not only at school but later on in their working life. In any case they will need strategies that enable them to interact with their audience, and they will also have to choose suitable methods for presentation. In this respect the Poem Day Project is authentic and relevant. The second of the six criteria mentioned by Hallet is complexity (Komplexi‐ tät). Each student’s performance is, indeed, highly complex. They use the foreign language, observe their fellow students and react to them, use the blackboard, posters or other props for visualisation, and make use of body language and intonation to present their poem and much more. The Poem Day Project - Developing Oral Fluency 121 □ □ In doing all of this, the learner develops several competencies at the same time, which is Hallet’s third criterion (Kompetenzentwicklung). Besides devel‐ oping their oral fluency, students practice, amongst other things, their media competence, presentation skills, social and interpersonal competence. They re‐ ceive feedback that can help them improve future performances. So all in all, both the individual learner as well as the group have the chance of gaining expertise, knowledge and know-how. The Poem Day Project requires students to structure their learning process (Prozessstrukturierung), which is Hallet’s fourth criterion for complex tasks. They have a week to learn their poem and find a mode of presentation. As a matter of fact, the Poem Day Project also requires students to structure the learning process for their classmates. This is the case, for example, when deciding which words to introduce, when in the course of the presentation, and how. This principle is closely connected to the fifth criterion: initiating a learning process (Prozessinitiierung). There may be a lot of activity and interaction during a poem presentation. Sometimes fellow students are asked to match vocabulary items, sometimes there is a listening activity or a quiz at the end, which requires students’ full attention and concentration. Finally, it becomes clear that openness (Offenheit) is a main principle of complex tasks. There is always a high degree of choice and openness. It is entirely up to the learner(s) what is going to happen. Thus, every result is unique and unpre‐ dictable. 8. Conclusion The Poem Day Project is a rewarding and motivating task for both teachers and learners. Studies show that task-based language learning has positive effects on how student’s oral performance develops. Language teachers should encourage their learners to start speaking in the foreign language as early as possible. They can do it. Nina Bishara 122 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ [Material 1] English 6: Poems Every week, we are going to pick the name of one student in class. This student is going to get a poem to learn. One week later, s/ he is going to present the poem in class. What to do: Learn the lines of your poem. Practice the poem at home. Your guinea pig can listen! Say “hello” / “good morning” / “welcome” to the class when you start. Tell them the title of your poem, and what it is about. Are there any new words in your poem? Explain them to the class. How can you explain the new words? You can, of course, give the German meaning. You can also use the word in a sentence. Maybe the others can understand it. You can show pictures or objects, and you can use body language! When you present your poem, speak clearly and loudly. Also, speak slowly. Remember that the other students don’t know your poem. When you are standing in front of the class, it is important to have eye contact with the other students. Try to stand still and smile! Nobody is going to eat you! ☺ Make your poem interesting! Can you act out your poem? Maybe you can do a quiz or a game. Be creative! Copy the poem in good handwriting. Decorate it. You can draw something or cut out pictures from a magazine. Bring the copy to class on the day of your presentation! We will hang it on the wall. The Poem Day Project - Developing Oral Fluency 123 [Material 2] English 6: Poems The mark You are going to get a mark for your presentation. How well do you know your poem? Do you try to say everything in English? Is the pronunciation ok? What about the grammar? How creative are you? What are your ideas? What about your body language? Nina Bishara 124 [Material 3] English 6: Skills It is important to give feedback. Always say what you liked about a presentation first. Explain why you liked something. If you have negative feedback, be con‐ structive: give tips about things that can be better next time. The Poem Day Project - Developing Oral Fluency 125 Nina Bishara 126 [Material 4] Internet Kenn Nesbitt’s Poetry4Kids http: / / www.poetry4kids.com/ The Poetry Foundation https: / / www.poetryfoundation.org (covers a wide range of cat‐ egories such as love poems, children’s poems, 20th-century poets…) Poems for children by famous poets http: / / www.familyfriendpoems.com/ poems/ famous / children/ Classical Poems for children http: / / storyit.com/ Classics/ JustPoems/ Fizzy Fuzzy Funny http: / / www.fizzyfunnyfuzzy.com/ Collections Roger McGough (2002). 100 Best Poems for Children. Puffin Books. Kenn Nesbitt (2014). The Biggest Burp Ever: Funny Poems for Kids. CreateSpace Inde‐ pendent Publishing Platform. Kenn Nesbitt (2010). The Tighty Wighty Spider and More Wacky Animal Poems I Totally Made Up. Sourcebook Trade. Martin Pierce (2016). Just Kidding: Funny Poems for Kids. CreateSpace Independent Pub‐ lishing Platform. Journals Der fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch: Poetry? Poetries! (Heft 67/ 2004) Der fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch: Poetry (Heft 33/ 1998) Bibliography Lyrik im Englischunterricht: Eine Auswahlbibliographie http: / / www.heliweb.de/ telic/ po etry.htm Miscellaneous Browse English textbooks and workbooks! The Poem Day Project - Developing Oral Fluency 127 Bibliography Hallet, Wolfgang (2012). Die komplexe Kompetenzaufgabe. Fremdsprachige Diskursfä‐ higkeit als kulturelle Teilhabe und Unterrichtspraxis. In: Hallet, Wolfgang/ Krämer, Ulrich (eds.). Kompetenzaufgaben im Englischunterricht. Grundlagen und Unterrichts‐ beispiele. Seelze: Kallmeyer/ Klett, 8-19. Hallet, Wolfgang (2013). Die komplexe Kompetenzaufgabe. Der fremdsprachliche Unter‐ richt Englisch 124, 2-9. Helmke, Tuyet/ Helmke, Andreas/ Schrader, Friedrich-Wilhelm et al. (2008). Die Video‐ studie des Englischunterrichts. In: DESI-Konsortium (eds.). Unterricht und Kompe‐ tenzerwerb in Deutsch und Englisch. Ergebnisse der DESI-Studie. Weinheim: Beltz, 345- 363. Klieme, Eckhard (2006). Zusammenfassung zentraler Ergebnisse der DESI-Studie. Deut‐ sches Institut für Internationale Pädagogische Forschung. http: / / www.dipf.de/ de/ forsch ung/ projekte/ pdf/ biqua/ DESI_Ausgewaehlte_Ergebnisse.pdf/ view (last accessed: 06/ 03/ 2014). Kultusministerkonferenz (2012). Bildungsstandards für die fortgeführte Fremdsprache (Englisch/ Französisch für die Allgemeine Hochschulreife. http: / / www.kmk.org/ filead min/ veroeffentlichungen_beschluesse/ 2012/ 2012_10_18-Bildungsstandards-Fortgef -FS-Abi.pdf (last accessed: 03/ 03/ 2014). Kurtz, Jürgen (2011). Breaking Through the Communicative Cocoon: Improvisation in Secondary School Foreign Language Classrooms. In: Sawyer, Keith R (ed.). Structure and Improvisation in Creative Teaching. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 131-160. Kurtz, Jürgen (2011). Improvised Speaking in the EFL Classroom: Aufgaben als Elemente einer unterrichtlichen Figurationstheorie fremdsprachlichen Lehrens und Lernens. In: Bausch, Karl-Richard/ Burwitz-Melzer, Eva/ Königs, Frank G. et al. (eds.). Aufgaben‐ orientierung als Aufgabe. Arbeitspapiere zur 26. Frühjahrstagung zur Erforschung des Fremdsprachenunterrichts. Tübingen: Narr, 130-139. Willis, Jane (2007). Criteria for Identifying Tasks for TBL. The British Council Teaching English. https: / / www.teachingenglish.org.uk/ article/ criteria-identifying-tasks-tbl (last accessed: 03/ 01/ 2018). Nina Bishara 128 Where Music and Curriculum Meet Claudia-Maria Hugo, Christian Schulze 1. Music Matters Everybody loves music. Everybody has their favourite song or tune, sometimes depending on a current mood or feeling. Everybody ultimately connects to some kind of music - it goes deep with people, touches them and appeals to their emotions. Music is eternal - it has survived any advent of new technology in its field and made effective use of it and not vice versa. Music is highly diverse - it is thus a possibility to express individual tastes, moods and statements. Music is, however, at the same time unifying - it brings together, both physically and spiritually, random people who share a common interest, who feel the same. Edgar Y. “Yip” Harburg (1896 - 1981), a New York born song lyricist, once expressed the effect of music as follows: “Words make you think. Music makes you feel. A song makes you feel a thought.” Naturally, his inherent assumption is that music connects both to the emotional and the logical parts of the human being. It also seems natural that no matter how hard they may in some cases be to play, through tunes that are easy to follow and remember, the intended emo‐ tional appeal is aroused in a somewhat natural way. We can intuitively tell the underlying emotion in a melody or a rhythm, and we are attached to it or repelled instinctively. The attachment and the chunking taken care of by the melody and the rhythm also often help us to memorize the lyrics - at least on a somewhat superficial level. With regard to their actual meaning, Harburg’s statement needs to be analysed from a more critical point of view, particularly in the con‐ text of a school classroom, upon which we will touch a little later. The assump‐ tion that words actually make you think is based upon two prerequisites: on the one hand, it implies that the audience actually understands the words, their meanings and references, and on the other hand, it necessitates a willingness to ponder and think about them. With both aspects - music and language - the immense variety of songs is an asset, but it also makes it hard to find a fit-for-them-all model to describe how to deal with them. The vast range reaches from songs that are both hard to categorize with regard to their musical quality as well as their lyrics over those in which one of the two is easily deciphered to those where we find both aspects fairly and effortlessly accessible. Certainly, in an age in which music often serves the function of entertainment or distraction, there is tendency not to see what may be hidden behind the words that make up the lyrics - even though retrieving the necessary pieces of information to do so has become easier than ever before. 2. Everyday Methodology: Chants and Challenges Both for songs that are “merely” presented in an audio version and for music-video clips, there are numerous papers and books concerning method‐ ology. A selection can be found in the sources section at the end of this article. Our intention is not to produce a highly academic output, referring to the top-notch in methodological academic discourse, but rather to outline, present and share lesson approaches that - for us - have worked in the classroom. We will try to argue why we have chosen to build lessons as we did and what made them work for us. Our basic ideas certainly are not new, we do not aim to publish an in-depth insight into music theory or background stories - we merely attempt to put forward ideas that work, both inside the classroom and outside, at the desk where they can be prepared in due time. In modern, web-based times, a visual culture is more present than ever before. This also extends into the field of music. We can therefore assume that the most common way to deal with music in a lesson will also be to incorporate both the auditive and the visual channel. As diverse as the products of the music industry may be with regard to their design, the approaches to deal with them can be reduced to these two major channels that transport information. The result is that there are only three ways to present a music-video clip: audio without picture, video without sound, or both channels at the same time. Even if these approaches have been around ever since the advent of the music video clip and will not change, there are new challenges to be met in the ev‐ eryday classroom. Other than at a time when music videos still had to be re‐ corded (illegally) onto VHS to be used in class, ubiquitous online accessibility through video platforms, handheld devices and mobile high-speed internet con‐ nections have become the new challenges to lesson planning - but also the new assets. Certainly, these trends have highly increased the likelihood of students Claudia-Maria Hugo, Christian Schulze 130 knowing the clip intended to make up (a part of) the lesson, so teachers have to be prepared to incorporate material the students are (highly) familiar with, no matter which of the three approaches have been chosen. For both reasons mentioned above, we want to advocate in favour of a dif‐ ferent approach in this article. In our opinion, it is vital to actually sneak your way into the students’ interest. The motivational potential of the music video itself is not sufficient any more since the medium as such has lost part of its attractiveness as a “new” medium since it has much rather become an everyday product. Moreover, in the digital age, the mere use of video clips does not nec‐ essarily constitute an appeal or a fascination in itself, it is rather the content that has become decisive for the students’ level of interest. We also experience that bringing a part of youth culture into the classroom does not necessarily help to achieve the effect teachers wish for: often enough, students will see this as an intrusion into their privacy, a misuse of material that originally belongs to their out-of-school life and serves the purpose of e.g. re‐ laxation. Admittedly, also from a teacher’s point of view, it has to be pointed out that there is a danger to spoil a student’s favourite song by turning it into a (main) part of a lesson. This danger does not necessarily diminish, if marks are involved in the activity that has to be carried out. Naturally, if these kinds of reactions are prevalent among the students of a class, the atmosphere for learning is far from productive, which is exactly the opposite of the teacher’s intention. In order to avoid these no-go zones of teaching, we suggest not to start with the clip immediately - or even worse - an analytic approach to it, as necessary a step in the lesson as it may eventually be. Instead, we are convinced that providing background knowledge, maybe even the odd (pub quiz) trivia, is a lot more effective. This may not always meet the current standard of an individualized and self-governed learning process, but we will provide such phases at a later stage to a sufficient extent. Starting off the lesson with background knowledge may include specific pieces of infor‐ mation about the band, the making of the song or the specific topic as such. Activating the students is thus a process of arousing their curiosity to discover just why a song they may (or may not) know and / or even like deals with a topic that will find its relevance even in the school context. Certainly this is more effective than working through the - more reliable and universal, but less creative - “cookie-cutter approach”. Experience shows that, having successfully aroused a certain degree of in‐ terest for the song or the topic, it is also a lot easier to carry on to the analytic part and hand over responsibility to the students, thus enabling them to carry out the tasks set for them in an individual way and ultimately giving them a Where Music and Curriculum Meet 131 □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ chance to present their personal findings. We are well aware that this approach is not the most efficient one with regard to the amount of time it uses up both in preparation and the course of the lesson or sequence as such, but it is well worth it. Inverted teaching offers a potential solution, but sometimes the en‐ riching presence of collaborative work in situ ought not to be underestimated. Also, many of the tasks that we are going to show later on require a certain amount of online research at various stages in the working process, so it is not easy to divide the process of work into sequences that take place either offline (at school) or online (at home). Naturally, when it comes to songs in lower year groups, the setup does not confront the teacher with anywhere near as many obstacles as have just been outlined; here the mere joy of singing may be enough to connect effectively to our students. The curriculum currently being put into place in Bavaria explicitly mentions the use of music from year 8 onwards, both in order to cover the textual genre (songs) as well as to introduce and enrich specific topics. We have adjusted our selection of songs accordingly, yet we do advocate in favour of songs as early as year 5, though obviously for different purposes. At this stage, of course, lan‐ guage acquisition is the major goal, so the possible selection of songs is very limited. From year 7 onwards, it is not only the language - and in this case particularly the output - but also the topical interest that is in focus. The fol‐ lowing chart shows the selection of songs (Fig. 1). Year Group Song Selection Language Classroom Benefits 5-6 3Rs ( Jack Johnson) Everything at Once (Lenka) Pronunciation Vocabulary Grammar Language / style 7-10 Last of the American Girls (Green Day) We didn’t Start the Fire (Billy Joel) Cultural awareness Intercultural / topical knowledge Q 11-12(13) London Calling (The Clash) Party like a Russian (Robbie Williams) Change of perspective Creative language output Research Fig. 1: Sample songs Claudia-Maria Hugo, Christian Schulze 132 Of course, there is a multitude of songs that will meet the criteria put forward here to qualify for being integrated into an English lesson. We would like to draw attention to a few selected examples, like I don’t Like Mondays (Boomtown Rats) referring to the line Brenda Spencer gave as a reason for her shooting spree in 1979, Russians (Sting) as a song about the Cold War, and Only Time (Enya) as the iconic song of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Here is a brief selection of further songs that are based upon events in history and can be used in order to cover the topic (Fig. 2). Often these can also be linked to the knowledge the students acquire in their history lessons or social sciences. Year Group Curriculum / General topic Title Singer / band 12 Conflict in Northern Ire‐ land Sunday Bloody Sunday John Lennon American Skin (41 Shots) Bruce Springsteen 7, 12 9/ 11 I Can’t See New York Tori Amos The 12th Day Autopilot Off Only Time Enya 8, 10, 11 Anti-Apartheid Biko Peter Gabriel Gimme Hope, Jo'anna Eddy Grant 8, 12 Cold War Russians Sting 9, 12 Environment Earth Song Michael Jackson Killing the Planet The Vines Sunday Bloody Sunday U2 Give Ireland back to the Irish Paul McCartney 12 World War II / H-Bomb Hiroshima Wishful Thinking Enola Gay Orchestral Manoeu‐ vres In The Dark (OMD) 12 Vietnam Vietnam Jimmy Cliff Where Music and Curriculum Meet 133 Fortunate Son Creedance Clear‐ water Revival Contact Lost Deep Purple 12 Shooting Incidents I Don't Like Mondays The Boomtown Rats Fig. 2: Songs and the curriculum 3. Examples from Teaching in the EFL Classroom 3.1 As Musical as Kids: Jack Johnson and Lenka (Yr 5-6) Jack Johnson’s surfer image perfectly suits the song he ‘donated’ to help intro‐ duce the topic of environmental protection and sustainability to the youngest generation. Though simple at first sight with regard to the lyrics and the pro‐ duction, the 3Rs lend themselves nicely to a lesson in a beginner’s classroom as the language proficiency necessary is very low. Johnson builds up on the 3Rs, which are commonly referred to as reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmetic as laid down in American primary school curricula, and fills them with different meanings: reduce, reuse, recycle. He therefore stresses the meaning of the latter as he puts them on a similar level as very basic school skills. The use of the visual input is questionable in this case. Johnson is displayed sitting amidst a group of kids who are singing along to his playing the guitar. In this case, drawing the students’ attention closer to the lyrics than to the visual input from the music video seems adequate. Separating the two parts also serves the purpose of making the students focus more intensively on one of the two aspects. When a close-to-reality context that does not originate in the textbook may still be of sufficient motivational potential at this stage in the language classroom, sneaking the way into the students’ attention can be accomplished through a simple mind-map focussing on the topic of recycling, followed by the actual song. To get students a little more active and involved, they are then encouraged to clap the rhythm and sing along, at least to the chorus. With a little more effort, also singing along to the lines is possible with the text in front of the students and the pronunciation clarified. If the lyrics were sung successfully (though this may take a little effort on the side of the teacher), working with them ought to be somewhat simpler. In our experience, standard gap-filling seems appropriate here, a box with the words to put into the blanks may come in handy, too. Also, the students can deduct very simple terminology for basic mathematical equations in English from the Claudia-Maria Hugo, Christian Schulze 134 first few lines of the lyrics. When working with the lyrics, students can be asked to structure the song and clarify the overall meaning of each part they made out. In a task that exceeds the lyrics, students can compile lists with activities that fit into the different categories of the 3Rs: reuse, reduce and recycle. Lenka’s song Everything at Once (see M1) can serve as a vocabulary unit as it is made up of very basic vocabulary, presented in idiomatic combinations. This way, students can be accustomed to learning chunks rather than one-on-one equivalents. The song may be familiar to the students, also from its use in the advertisement for Windows and as part of a Disney movie. If this is the case, it may be a good idea to use it for raising interest. From their primary school lessons, beginners at grammar school are usually familiar with a multitude of animals and pets. They are usually keen to talk about them, too. So here is the second possible approach for raising the students’ in‐ terest. The combinations of animals and their characteristics will help students guess the meaning of the corresponding adjectives. Once the principle is clear, the transfer to different objects (nouns) and their characteristics (adjectives) should not be a problem anymore. Naturally, of course, at this early stage, students will need help to grasp the meanings of some of the expressions used in the song. With a few exceptions, however, simple iconic symbols can be used to clarify the meaning. A matching exercise can be employed both to recap the song text and to manifest the collocations used. The song’s major asset to the foreign language classroom, however, is the grammar topic of comparisons. In year 6, comparisons with “as […] as” are part of the Bavarian curriculum and despite the fact that students are not capable of naming the concept of a simile yet, they are capable of grasping the meaning. With its highly repetitive structure in this regard, Lenka’s song offers enough possibilities to give the topic a meaningful dimension - either to introduce it with a little help of the teacher or to practise the comparative forms. Lenka’s music video clip is kept entirely in black and white colours, showing basic and sometimes symbolic movements. Both are fairly easy to grasp and put into simple words and sentences. The song therefore even offers a chance to be talked about in class, as we will show in the worksheet at the end of the article. Interpreting the song in the foreign language is hard to accomplish. One could speculate whether Lenka’s wishes are meant to express personal insecurity or should serve as displays for different masks she would like to put on in different situations. It may also be an expression of a character development she would like to go through. Where Music and Curriculum Meet 135 3.2 She won’t Cooperate: Green Day’s Gloria (Yr 7-10) After years of Obama and now even Trump, post-Bush America seems long gone. Still, Last of the American Girls is much of what we expect from Green Day: left-wing political punk rock. The album’s female protagonist (Gloria) is at the centre of the song, being paid a tribute by her lover, Christian. Gloria is highly political and so the song offers the possibility to exemplify that even in America democracy will only work as long as the people are prepared to stand up for it. In order to raise awareness and interest, Trump is always a trump card in the hands of teachers - at least with students that show a very basic understanding of democracy. Another possibility is, of course, the American Dream, a concept that is not explicitly mentioned in the curriculum at such an early stage, but can be referred to as early as year 8 in connection to the history of the US. For higher year groups, the perception of the American Dream today may serve as an eye-catcher as it connects to their future life after graduation. In order to enable students to fully grasp the character of Gloria, it is vital to outline the historical background, particularly with reference to presidential eras before Trump (Obama and certainly Bush may not be quite as present in their memories as would be necessary). The presidencies in question ought to be exemplified with the help of every-day problems they tried to solve or brought about respectively. This is the essential key to understanding Gloria’s character and her left-wing position. Therefore, the focus here lies on decoding the message of the song. Considering the students’ advanced stage, e.g. in year 10, in-depth work with the text as well as online research will of course replace gap-filling and the deduction of grammar rules and thus take the work with songs and lyrics onto a higher, and more personal level. Our worksheet (M2) at the end of the article gives an impression of what we have tried out in class. 3.3 The Two Williams: Shakespeare and Robbie (Q 11-12) Other than the title of the chapter may suggest, the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon is held in high esteem with the authors of this article - even in teaching. Robbie Williams, however, is not - at least as far as Party like a Russian is concerned. At the beginning, we argued that a lot of our listening process happens un‐ consciously. Party like a Russian can be used to show just how much lies hidden in the dark, if we do not care to take a second, more thorough look. In this case, it is also the connection to Shakespeare that many listeners will fail to realize. The major aim of this piece of music in the classroom therefore is to raise the awareness for both critical thinking and making connections between different pieces of knowledge, sometimes even those that seem very far apart. Revealing Claudia-Maria Hugo, Christian Schulze 136 the stereotypes used both in the lyrics and the visual is another task, which has to be carried out very carefully in the classroom, particularly when considering what Robbie Williams himself stresses on his website: It’s about hedonism and the spirit of partying. It’s not about being Russian, but it’s about partying like a Russian. The person singing is a bit me, and a bit a character. But all of my songs are … Part of the British identity is that we all believe we’re the best at partying, most nations think that of themselves … but there ain’t no party like a Russian Party (sorry S Club 7) (https: / / www.robbiewilliams.com/ music/ single/ party-russian) As controversial and politically incorrect as his lyrics and the graphic depiction may be, it is our contention that the composition of the music video as such is highly intelligent. The challenge is to provide the students with those hints needed to be able to make the necessary connections. A discussion about polit‐ ical correctness - particularly when it focusses on stereotypes towards a dif‐ ferent people and thus affects the emotions of students, who usually are highly susceptible to such matters - may serve as the initial step to introducing this topic. If necessary, additional material can be presented in a pre-listening phase. Of course, the connection between playwright Shakespeare (as mentioned in the curriculum) and “rude-boy” Robbie might be used to spice up the otherwise ancient topic of Shakespeare in the classroom. Here, the key to decoding the piece of music is to highlight Prokofiev’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s scene (RJ, Act I, Scene 2 and 3) as a ballet: Dance of the Knights. Also, alongside parts of Prokofiev’s music that have been copied into Williams’ song, we will not only find strong allusions to ballet dancing in his music video, but also further hints that link more or less elegantly to Shakespeare and his play. To be able to complete the tasks, students ought to be familiar with the play, at least in parts. They should also see and listen to an excerpt of Dance of the Knights, yet without immediately starting to analyze. The first listening rather serves to grasp the overall melody and atmosphere. It is only now that students are shown Williams’ clip, which will immediately trigger the recognition of certain similar patterns both in the music and in the effect. In order to meet the requirements of a critical analysis, stereotypes and political correctness must constitute an essential part of dealing with Party like a Russian (see M3). 4. Better Said than Sung? We have advocated strongly in favour of using songs in the English as a foreign language classroom - not necessarily because they are, or ought to be, sung. Where Music and Curriculum Meet 137 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Often enough they help to hook up to a topic and can be the starting point of language in use. Decoding the messages, solving the jigsaw and going on a quest to find hidden symbolism can be an engaging and rewarding task. Yet the power of music is large enough to not only make one feel a thought, but also to make that thought strong enough to bridge a gap as large as that between William Shakespeare and Robbie Wiliams. Using that power is not a necessity, but an asset to the classroom. But then again, in the words of E. Y. Harburg: “There ought to be a law against necessity.” M1: Lenka, Everything at Once (2011) How does Lenka want to change? To find out, follow the steps below. Listen to the first two stanzas: Which of these go together? Match the nouns with the adjectives. ox brave bear bright tooth strong road long picture big day pretty house sharp Now listen to the rest of the song and fill the gaps with the correct words. As sly as a fox, as ____________ as an ox As fast as a hare, as __________ as a bear As free as a bird, as neat as a word As quiet as a mouse, as big as a house All I wanna be, all I wanna be, oh All I wanna be is everything … (www.metrolyrics.com/ everything-at-once-lyrics-lenka.html) Find out which type of words you can find between the word “as” in the text of the song. Can you find a rule when to use these words? Where do you usually put “as”? Are there any exceptions in the song text? Look for exceptions. Where do you find the word “as” in the text of the song? Describe what Lenka wants to be like. Write one more stanza on what you want to be like. Claudia-Maria Hugo, Christian Schulze 138 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. M2: Green Day, Last of the American Girls (released 2010) Why does Green Day choose this way to display Gloria, the protagonist of the song? To find out, follow the steps below. Analysis: Identify the message(s) in each stanza. Sum them up in no more than one sentence or keyword. Be careful: mostly there is more than one topic in each stanza. Find the meaning(s) behind the following terms: the heartland book of conspiracies the establishment critical mass endless war / lost cause Then connect them to your answers in question 1. Do some online research and find an image that corresponds to each stanza. Make sure it is connected to the American Way of Life. Identify rhetoric devices that are used in the song and explain their mean‐ ings. Recap all your findings and sum them up to produce a short piece of text depicting the message of the song in detail. Does the overall message of the song - according to your findings in ques‐ tion 4 - match the title of the album: 21st Century Breakdown? Follow-up: Is it a positive or a negative song? Collect arguments for both sides (bullet points) and then discuss. Does Gloria fit into the 21st century? Read the following extract from a website. With your findings from above, show why Armstrong did not agree to censoring. Then show how this fits the protagonist’s character traits. YOU WON'T FIND GREEN DAY'S 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN AT WAL-MART That's because, according to The Associated Press, the superstore has refused to carry Breakdown after it asked the band to edit the album for language and content and Green Day refused. “Wal-Mart's become the biggest retail outfit in the country, but they won't carry our record because they wanted us to censor it,” the article quotes Where Music and Curriculum Meet 139 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. frontman Billie Joe Armstrong as saying. “They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried there ... we just said, 'No.'” (Source: http: / / www.mtv.com/ news/ 1611970/ you-wont-find-green-days-21st-c entury-breakdown-at-wal-mart/ ) M3: Robbie Williams, Party like a Russian (2016) Where is the connection between Party like a Russian and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (or Prokofiev’s version)? A lot more aspects than just the main theme printed here, which is present throughout both music versions, make up the connection between the two: To find out in greater detail, examine the similarities and differences between the pieces by following the steps below and enter your findings into the table accordingly. First watch Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights (sometimes called Capulets and Montagues) and then Party like a Russian as music video clips. Analysis: Name the occasion that Shakespeare / Prokofiev and Williams describe. First describe Prokofiev’s music and then Williams’. Examine the effect the music has in both cases. At the beginning of the music-video clip, one of the girls can briefly be seen looking down to Robbie Williams. Compare it to the famous balcony scene in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: Analyze which effect is generated. Examine in detail how Williams tries to establish a connection to Prokofiev both with regard to music and the video. Make sure you also comment on the setting and props. Compare the Capulet household to the way Robbie Williams displays him‐ self in the video clip. Compare the choreographies of the debutants (in white) and the dancers in Prokofiev’s version. Claudia-Maria Hugo, Christian Schulze 140 8. 9. No. Shakespeare / Prokofiev Robbie Williams 1 2 3 4 5 6 Collect stereotypes about Russians as displayed in the video and the lyrics. line / image stereotype Follow-up: Is Robbie Williams’ song really a case of “borderline racism” (Daily Mail)? Bibliography General: Dreyer, Elke (2015). Songs in the Classroom: Einsatzmöglichkeiten im Unterricht. Praxis Englisch 6: 2015, 47-48. Hempel, Stephanie (2012). Music - Transcending language. Braunschweig: Westermann. Thaler, Engelbert (1999). Musikvideoclips im Englischunterricht - Phänomenologie, Di‐ daktik und Methodik eines neuen Mediums. München: Langenscheidt-Longman. Thaler, Engelbert (2002). Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch. Themenheft 60: Mu‐ sikvideoclips. Seelze: Friedrich Verlag. Thaler, Engelbert. (2009). Das Lit-Lied. Literatur & Musik im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Praxis Fremdsprachenunterricht, 02: 2009, 30-34. Thaler, Engelbert (2015). Literal Music Videos. Praxis Fremdsprachenunterricht, 03: 2015, 6-7. Where Music and Curriculum Meet 141 Weblinks: General: http: / / www.musikforum.de/ showthread.php? 1436-Songs-%C3%BCberhistorische-Ereig nisse (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) http: / / www.yipharburg.com (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) https: / / en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ List_of_songs_about_London (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) https: / / www.rollingstone.de/ politische-songs-und-die-ereignisse-die-zu-ihnen-fuehrte n-606875/ #click_first (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) Chapter 3.1 http: / / www.metrolyrics.com/ everything-at-once-lyrics-lenka.html (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) Chapter 3.2 http: / / www.mtv.com/ news/ 1611970/ you-wont-find-green-days-21st-century-breakdow n-at-wal-mart (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) https: / / www.rollingstone.com/ music/ albumreviews/ 21st-century-breakdown-20090427 (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) Chapter 3.3 http: / / www.dailymail.co.uk/ news/ article-3823582/ Robbie-Williams-accused-borderline -racism-acting-outlandish-oligarch-new-video-flop-single-Party-Like-Russian.html (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) http: / / www.dw.com/ en/ party-like-a-russian/ a-35953104 (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) https: / / en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Montagues_and_Capulets (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) https: / / musescore.com/ user/ 237431/ scores/ 2398596 (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) https: / / www.robbiewilliams.com/ music/ single/ party-russian (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) https: / / www.theguardian.com/ music/ 2016/ oct/ 07/ robbie-williams-russian-party-video -may-be-a-provocation-too-far (last accessed: 28/ 01/ 2018) Claudia-Maria Hugo, Christian Schulze 142 Tune Into Ideas: Philosophy and Bob Dylan's Music John Dean, Udo Legner Our workshop worked very well, even if we do say so ourselves. We prepared the same schedule for both groups - though the second group turned out to be much more involved and into the subject than the first. Or was it possible, not unlikely, that we honed our skills by way of the first class? We certainly did not want to do the same old same old: to play a song, show a video, ask “So whattayah think? ” Plus video clips may only distract and rarely add something to the power of Dylan’s voice and the magic of his words - especially for a singer of Dylan’s traditional generation, unlike, say, Madonna, Kurt Cobain, or Beyoncé, who came of age and cut their teeth by necessarily making musical video clips à la MTV (first launched August 1, 1981). Indeed, with Dylan one turns to a form of communication that is more literary in essence and less “show biz”. Most popular singers that became successful as of the 1980s were film stars first and singers second. There have been some great singers in the last four decades or so; we are not denying that. But, in general, the newer generation’s art has been inseparable from the art of film. Video killed the radio star. Almost, but not quite, since some words are stronger than the song-movie symbiosis that has otherwise become so common. Three intriguing elements inspired our workshop: the work of Bob Dylan (who won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature), philosophy itself, and the act of teaching. Why put the three together? Because, we thought, of their deep con‐ nections. And as we researched the subject we found that we were not at all the first people to come to this conclusion - as one can see, for example, in the book edited by Carl Porter and Peter Vernezze (2005). We thought that Dylan's work showed that he has always been an inveterate examiner of life's meanings. This is “s” with a big plural, since Dylan has never yet arrived at one meaning, ideal or theory of life - except questioning. And, Diogenes-like, Dylan’s life work as a songwriter has shown him perpetually treading planet earth seeking out an honest man (“Name me someone who’s not a parasite and I’ll go out and say a prayer for him”, from: Visions of Johanna). In this vein have been his still-endless songs and stories that seek justice and truth, such as Ring Them Bells, Dignity, Ballad of a Thin Man, Cross the Green Mountain - to name a few from Dylan’s total repertoire of his roughly 359 songs (known or credited to date). Why does he need to keep writing? What is he after? One thing is for sure: his hunger has never been satisfied. Hence philosophy, one of the most ancient and open-ended of all the human pursuits after wisdom and knowledge. Philosophy is a science that is curiously unlike science that feeds technology and that evolves in its development from, say, flat to round earth thinking, fire to electricity, the wheel to spaceships. Philosophy builds monuments that stand the test of human time and, however they decay, can be monuments that hold true for millennia. Whether it be Plato or Jesus, Marcus Aurelius or William James, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel or Jean-Paul Sartre. Teaching is another peculiar thing. It is priceless, or, rather, generally con‐ sidered outside the frame of high-value pricing in many societies. That is, teaching is one of the three basic professions of human civilization - the officer of the law, the minister, and the teacher - who in most cases are poorly paid and respected, yet are the very hubs without which the wheels of human society and culture cannot turn. But teaching offers a lot and tends to create the ponderer, the thinker, what Americans sometimes call “the thinkin’ fool”, the man or woman with a different perspective on things. There is something Dylan-like here. Plus the teaching environment offers students ways to figure out life, to place themselves among others, and provides an environment of learning, a green growing time spent with peers who have not made their minds up yet - who still seek to understand and sooner or later shall hunger for wisdom and knowledge. These are three elements that make a good fit. In class we tried to connect these parts together in different ways. We started out with the question: What is different about considering a song as words, singer and music alone? Different from watching a song as a video? Then we tried a more unusual approach, and used the snippet technique, as it made the students anticipate the song contents and its lyrical qualities before this dimension was blurred and intermingled with the instrumentation and im‐ pact of Dylan’s voice. Groups of four or five of our students worked with the snippets. We handed out the envelopes with the hint that rhyme, content and story helped to puzzle them together in the correct order. We then gave the groups about ten minutes and made them listen to the song, with the hint that they are not allowed to touch and change the snippets when listening to the song. Then they had time John Dean, Udo Legner 144 □ □ □ □ □ to correct their song lines, and got a second chance, with the instruction that this time they might rearrange the slips while listening to the song. At the end, all the groups should have the songs arranged. Then came our second major part: to deal with the philosophical meaning of the song itself. Here we got down to the real nitty-gritty. What we did here to prime the pump was to first show a short “Macat” video that illustrated what we thought might be taken as the central idea of the song, e.g. Existentialism (www.youtube), or peace, love, the social contract. Then we discussed possible relationships between song and philosophical concept. With our second group, we could not stop their enthusiasm for finding connections between “The Big Idea” and the Dylan song. We then had the students comment on their favorite lines in the song, the song as poem. Since nobody sings Dylan like Dylan, you asked them what Dy‐ lan’s voice did to these words. Does it do any harm? Does it enhance meaning? If so, how? Larger questions were of course involved, e.g. the influence of parents or grandparents who liked Dylan, and if the students knew why. We compared and contrasted the songs as we developed analysis, focusing on certain relevant topics. Some of these topics were: the US civil rights movement and Dylan’s protest songs, human rights and Dylan’s insistence on human respect combined with his acrid cynicism, the frontier and his songs about wanderers, cowboys, the lost, marginal and outcast in American life, love and romance and why there always seems to be more love and romance in Dylan, and never a final lover or beloved, movies and corresponding songs, such as the now-classic film Stand By Me (1986), directed by Rob Reiner, and the Dylan song Bob Dylan's Dream. In the following grid you can see the structure and contents of our workshop. Part Topic Steps A Introduction 1. T. S. Eliot’s The Sacred Wood is shown via a Macat video (https: / / vimeo.com/ 127165347). 2. Information is given on: a) Why music for meaning? b) What is music (blues)? c) Why music (Dylan) & philsoophy? B Philosophy of The Absurd 1. Students rearrange the jumbled order copy of Dy‐ lan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues. Tune Into Ideas: Philosophy and Bob Dylan's Music 145 □ □ □ □ □ 2. The correctly ordered version of the song is listened to. 3. Philosophical ramifications of Subterranean Home‐ sick Blues are illustrated with the first 3.20 minutes of Philosophy: Albert Camus (www.youtube.com/ watch? v=jQOfbObFOCw). 4. Q & A with learners follows. C Philosophy and Love 1. The video Introduction to Plato’s Symposium (Macat Philosophy Analysis) is shown (https: / / vimeo.com/ 127 165344). 2. Students listen to Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love. 3. Q & A with learners on the philosophical ramifica‐ tions follows. D Philosophy of Poli‐ tics and the Social Contract 1. An Introduction to Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract is presented (www.voicetube.com/ videos/ 442 33). 2. Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower is listened to. 3. Philosophical aspects are discussed. E War, Peace and So‐ cial Order 1. Learners have to rearrange in proper order the mixed copy of Dylan’s Masters of War. 2. The song is listened to. 3. The video An Introduction to Thomas Hobbes’s Lev‐ iathan (a Macat Politics Analysis) is shown (www.mu‐ sicjinni.com). 4. The philosophical dimensions of the song are dis‐ cussed. F Final Fillip 1. Dylan’s song Duquesne Whistle is presented. 2. A concluding discussion follows. Bibliography Porter, Carl/ Vernezze, Peter (2005). Bob Dylan and Philosophy: It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Thinking). Chicago: Open Court Press. Macat videos (philosophical analyses): An Introduction to Plato’s Symposium. https: / / vimeo.com/ 127165344 PHILOSOPHY — Albert Camus. www.youtube.com/ watch? v=jQOfbObFOCw An introduction to the discipline of Anthropology. www.youtube.com/ watch? v=J5a glbgTEig An Introduction to Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan. Musicjinni. www.musicjinni.com/ 0 Rm24IW-u6H/ An-Introduction-to-Thomas-Hobbes’s-Leviathan-A-Macat- Politics-Analysis.htm An Introduction to Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract. www.voice‐ tube.com/ videos/ 44233 John Dean, Udo Legner 146 C. Lessons Scars to Your Beautiful Chantal Schratt, Rebecca Schuhwerk 1. Introduction Every day we face advertisements that advocate going to the gym and exercise more, try out new diets and shred our bodies. There is an uproar considering various fitness models on social media, and as a reaction regular clothing re‐ tailers set up their own sports departments. Our aim must be to become the best version of ourselves. This may seem desirable and empowering, however, it reduces people to their physical appearance and neglects their personality. Teenagers and young adults, in particular, suffer from those questionable ‘ideals’ as it is during adolescence when identity and self-concept are built (cf. Berk 2011: 546ff.) whilst being overly receptive to outside voices, such as family, peer groups, and society. These voices can strengthen a positive development, yet they also have the power to lead to an unhealthy image of oneself, through advocating unrealistic body images or simply not accepting different looks or behaviour. A teacher’s mission should not only consist of helping students to reach a certain degree of knowledge and set of skills but also of building their mind and body, heart and character (cf. Becker 2017). When thinking of teachers who left an everlasting impression, individuals like Katherine Watson, who is depicted in the movie Mona Lisa Smile, or Dead Poets Society’s fictional character John Keating strike our minds. What these role models have in common is that they both manage to teach their students values like independent thinking and acting, believing in and going after their dreams, and realizing their own value. Self-image and individual identity are topics which are also dealt with in music. Alessia Cara’s Scars to Your Beautiful challenges the new trend by high‐ lighting what society does to our minds and stating that everyone is beautiful the way he or she is. The 21-year-old Canadian pop-R&B artist started her career by uploading acoustic song covers on YouTube, when she was 13 years old, but even before that showed her talent by writing poetry and playing the guitar (last.fm). She co-wrote her first single as well as the song Scars to Your Beautiful in 2016, both of which are part of her debut album Know It All (Kellman 2017). Alessia Cara claims that her goal is to have “the opportunity to say something meaningful and positive without being preachy” (Def JamRecordings 2017). Scars to your Beautiful is a powerful song about loving and accepting oneself, and The Rolling Stone magazine even describes it as a “self-love anthem” (Spanos 2017). There are several artists, e.g. Christina Aguilera and Beyoncé, who have dealt with the subject before, but the Canadian newcomer wanted to put her “own spin on it” since she thought that “you can never have too many reminders and too many songs talking about those things”, and she wanted to “remind people that they are beautiful no matter what” (Landoli 2016). Furthermore, she had a rather personal interest in writing this particular song. When she was younger, she described herself as rather self-conscious and had problems accepting herself. She started to lose a lot of hair and even have bald spots, which made her afraid of people laughing about her, but eventually learned to accept her hair loss and no longer try to hide it. She wanted to share her personal experience and send out the message into the world that everyone is beautiful in their own unique way and that nobody should care about what others think of them as long as they accept their so-called “flaws” (Stutz 2016). After writing the song, she wanted to keep the video rather plain and planned to include several authentic stories of real people. Therefore, the clip “stars a diverse group of individuals - transgender models, cancer survivors and more - sharing their stories on how they’ve embraced their beauty” (Chung 2016). They personify the various hardships but also the conviction that “all those differences, they’re like your greatest strengths” (Cara 2017). For instance, there is a woman who is evidently a cancer survivor, since she wears a scarf wrapped around her head, but in the course of the video, she starts to unwrap it exposing her bald head, and at the end she smiles and seems to be very confident. For Alessia Cara it was essential to represent a woman who accepts her flaws and loves herself, hence she decided to wear no makeup during the video shoot and to “appear makeup-free for every performance of and interview about ‘Scars to Your Beautiful’” (Stutz 2016). 2. Procedure Title Scars to Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara Length 3: 51 min. (without statements, used for the first listening) 5: 10 min. (official video, used for the second listening) Synopsis The lyrics as well as the video deal with the fact that many people struggle with themselves, so the singer-songwriter wants to em‐ phasize that every single person is different and beautiful in their Chantal Schratt, Rebecca Schuhwerk 150 A. 1. 2. 3. B. 1. 2. 3. 4. a) b) c) 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. own unique way. To support the message she includes different people who recount their past struggles, but claim that they finally accept themselves. Competences Listening-viewing, analysis and interpretation, speaking, writing Topics Beauty standards, media, peer pressure, self-acceptance Level Intermediate Time 90 minutes Steps (Pre-while-post approach): Pre-listening phase Lead-in: T presents a quote on one’s self-image by Alessia Cara via visualizer (cf. Internet). S first think about the quote by themselves, then share their thoughts with their neighbours, and finally discuss them in class. (Think-pair-share) T collects information about Alessia Cara from S (on the blackboard) and adds further pieces of information if necessary (see Introduction). While-listening phase T hands out the Mondegreen version of the song giving the following instruction: “Skim through the lyrics, then listen to the song, find the Mondegreens (mis‐ hearings) and note down the correct answers.” (Material had to be removed for copyright reasons.) T presents the song without the music video and without the interviews (vision off approach). T corrects the answers together with S. S are asked to read the lyrics again, reflecting about the following questions: What is the song about? What is Alessia Cara’s intention? What do you personally think about the song and the lyrics? S’s answers are collected in class. T hands out the worksheet with statements (M1) asking the S to read them. T shows the official music video, which includes interviews, and asks the S to complete the statements on the worksheet. T makes S write down the answers on the worksheet under the visualizer. S read the statements again, discuss them with their neighbours, and come to a conclusion which statement they find most striking and why. Results are shared in class. Scars to Your Beautiful 151 C. 1. 2. Post-listening phase In groups of four, S discuss the topic of self-perception, self-acceptance and self-love, referring to the influence of established beauty standards and to rele‐ vant passages in the song lyrics or statements. The group speaker afterwards summarizes their thoughts in the plenum. Homework: S can choose one of five possible writing tasks (M2). 3. Materials M1: Statements - Filling in the gaps Statements in Scars to Your Beautiful Task: Fill in the gaps: Hey I am Jess, Carmel, Francesca, Miles, Marian, Marnie, Florence, Shivan, Joanna, Christina, Josh, Kylie, Miranda, Joad, Grace, James, Tasha. Marian: My peers and then there was me. Joanna: And a lot of people aren’t afraid to _________________________ whether they’re hurtful or not. Kylie: People would _______________________. Girl 1: People watching you eat and making little comments. Francesca: As I grew up thinking that I had to look a certain way. Christina: I never thought I was ________________ the other girls. Miles: Be proud of it, I shouldn’t be trying to hide it. Miranda: What I love about people is when they are _________________________ and not worrying about what they look like. Marnie: Eyelashes and my hair extensions, that we want what we don’t have. Girl 1: It’s been something I’ve struggled with ____________________, not feeling like I fit in. Marian: Hold on and just wait until you can get out of that bubble, because the things that seem like ________________, that seem like weird things that make you strange, when you become an adult and get out into the world, you’re gonna find out that all those differences they’re like your _______________________. Tasha: A lot of it was in my own head I realize now. Chantal Schratt, Rebecca Schuhwerk 152 Josh: There’s always someone that’s unique now, which is what’s the cool part and that’s what made me comfortable, realizing that every single person is different. Joad: My personality outshines everything else at the end of the day. Christine: It only matters what _____________________ and that everyone has ________________________ of beauty. Girl 2: Smile. Smile. M2: Creative Writing Creative Writing Task: Choose one of these five options. a. Write a short comment (150 words) about the following quote from the end of the video of Scars to Your Beautiful: “Often times, the world both directly and indirectly tells us that we shouldn’t be happy with ourselves if we don’t fit certain beauty stand‐ ards. [...] beauty isn’t only one look, shape, size, or colour. It isn’t even always tangible. It comes in and endless amount of forms and we need to recognize that.” b. Select one or two passages of the song lyrics which you find most significant and explain your choice. c. Do some research on why it was important for Alessia Cara to write a song about self-acceptance and self-love. Do you think it is necessary to remind people to love oneself ? d. Explain why it is important for everybody to accept oneself and to respect others? e. Most people represented in the video are female. Do you think that boys could also relate to the topics addressed by the song? Explain. Scars to Your Beautiful 153 4. Solutions M1: Statements Statements in Scars to Your Beautiful Task: Fill in the Gaps: Hey I am Jess, Carmel, Francesca, Miles, Marian, Marnie, Florence, Shivan, Joanna, Christina, Josh, Kylie, Miranda, Joad, Grace, James, Tasha. Marian: My peers and then there was me. Joanna: And a lot of people aren’t afraid to give their opinions whether they’re hurtful or not. Kylie: People would laugh and stare. Girl 1: People watching you eat and making little comments. Francesca: As I grew up thinking that I had to look a certain way. Christina: I never thought I was as pretty as the other girls. Miles: Be proud of it, I shouldn’t be trying to hide it. Miranda: What I love about people is when they are just being themselves and not worrying about what they look like. Marnie: Eyelashes and my hair extensions, that we want what we don’t have? Girl 1: It’s been something I’ve struggled with my entire life, not feeling like I fit in. Marian: Hold on and just wait until you can get out of that bubble, because the things that seem like weaknesses, that seem like weird things that make you strange, when you become an adult and get out into the world, you’re gonna find out that all those differences they’re like your greatest strengths. Tasha: A lot of it was in my own head I realize now. Josh: There’s always someone that’s unique now, which is what’s the cool part and that’s what made me comfortable, realizing that every single person is different. Joad: My personality outshines everything else at the end of the day. Christine: It only matters what I think of myself and that everyone has different kinds of beauty. Girl 2: Smile. Smile. Chantal Schratt, Rebecca Schuhwerk 154 Bibliography Alessia Cara - Biography. Last.fm. www.last.fm/ about/ contact (last accessed: 20/ 08/ 2017). Becker, Bernd (2017). Bayerisches Gesetz über das Erziehungs- und Unterrichtswesen (BayEug). Bayern.Recht, 01 August. www.gesetze-bayern.de/ Content/ Document/ Bay EUG (last accessed: 20/ 08/ 2017). Berk, Laura (2011). Entwicklungspsychologie. Hallbergmoos: Pearson. Cara, Alessia (2016). Alessia Cara - Scars to Your Beautiful. YouTube, uploaded by Ales‐ siaCaraVEVO, 11 July 2016. www.youtube./ watch? v=MWASeaYuHZo (last accessed: 17/ 08/ 2017). —. Photo of Handwritten Note. Instagram, 11 July 2016. www.instagram.com/ p/ BHsrlHc B452/ ? hl=de&taken-by=alessiasmusic (last accessed: 25/ 08/ 2017). Chung, Madelyn (2016). Alessia Cara’s ‘Scars to Your Beautiful’ Video Is All About Self-Love And Acceptance. Huffington Post, 11 July. www.huffingtonpost.ca/ 2016/ 07/ 11/ alessia-cara-scars-to-your-beautiful-video_n_10929276.html (last accessed: 20/ 08/ 2017). Def JamRecordings. Alessia Cara. alessiacara.com www.alessiacara.com/ #bio (last ac‐ cessed: 20/ 08/ 2017). Kellman, Andy. Artist Biography by Andy Kellman. Allmusic. www.allmusic.com/ artist/ alessia-cara-mn0003396562/ biography (last accessed: 20/ 08/ 2017). Landoli, Kathy (2016). Alessia Cara Premieres Her Powerful New Video for ‘Scars to Your Beautiful’. Cosmopolitan, 11 July. www.cosmopolitan.com/ entertainment/ music/ news / a61175/ alessia-cara-scars-to-your-beautiful-video (last accessed: 20/ 08/ 2017). Spanos, Brittany (2016). See Alessia Cara’s Empowering ‘Scars to Your Beautiful’ Video. RollingStone, 11 July. http: / / www.rollingstone.com/ music/ news/ see-alessia-caras-em powering-scars-to-your-beautiful-video-20160711 (last accessed: 20/ 08/ 2017). Stutz, Collin (2016). Alessia Cara Opens Up About Her Struggle With Hair Loss That Inspired ‘Scars To Your Beautiful’. Billboard, 9 August. www.billboard.com/ articles/ co lumns/ pop/ 7468466/ alessia-cara-hair-loss-scars-to-your-beautiful (last accessed: 20/ 0 8/ 2017). Scars to Your Beautiful 155 Fight Song Eva Maria Scholz 1. Introduction Fight Song by Rachel Platten is a typical example of an empowerment song. The term empowerment was initially used to describe the struggles of American mi‐ nority groups for more autonomy and social equality (Theunissen / Plaute 1995). According to Barbara Simon (1994), empowerment refers to “the ability of in‐ dividuals and groups to act in order to ensure their own well-being or their right to participate in decision-making that concerns them”. The American psycho‐ logist Julian Rappaport (1984) provided a rather similar definition when he de‐ scribed empowerment as “the mechanism by which people, organizations, and communities gain mastery over their lives.” So the basic aim of empowerment is enabling both individuals and whole communities to take control over their own lives. One of the first examples of empowerment was the Black Power movement in the US. Afterwards, the term was also used to describe various protest move‐ ments and aid schemes for “marginalized groups such as African Americans, women, gays and lesbians, and people with disabilities” (Calvès 2009). Feminism is another prominent domain of empowerment. In this context, empowerment does not only refer to political campaigns trying to make leadership positions more accessible to women but also to initiatives against female oppression and archaic gender roles in developing countries (Calvès 2009). Empowerment songs comprise all songs that encourage their audience to take control of their own lives. They can be addressed to oppressed women, discri‐ minated minorities or ordinary people who are struggling to achieve their dreams. Feminism seems to be a predominant topic of songs about empower‐ ment. Examples include Run the World (Girls) by Beyoncé, Express Yourself by Madonna, I’m Every Woman by Chaka Khan and Roar by Katy Perry (Songfacts 2017). Rachel Platten’s Fight Song does not only retell the songwriter’s personal story of disappointment and perseverance, but also allows its audience to project their own problems and dreams onto the lyrics. As a result of this identification 1. a) b) c) 2. 3. a) b) c) 4. a) b) c) process, the audience might be inspired by the artist’s positive mentality and experience a boost of their own self-confidence. 2. Procedure Title Rachel Platten: Fight Song Synopsis The song was inspired by Platten’s own experiences of constant disappointment and self-doubt about her potential as a song‐ writer. It expresses her determination to fight for her dreams and to prevail despite her struggles. Competences Listening comprehension, speaking, text / video analysis, creative writing, optional grammar unit: phrasal verbs Topics Empowerment, pursuing dreams, disappointment, perseverance Level Upper intermediate Time 45 min (+30 min with grammar unit) Steps (global-to-detail approach): Lead-in T presents the line “This is my fight”. S reflect on who might say this line, and what kind of fight it may refer to. (Scaf‐ folding: A fight does not necessarily refer to violence but problems in general.) T collects ideas in mind map, which will be used again later (M1). First listening S listen to song and try to understand the gist. Global understanding The basic message is discussed in class. The lyrics are handed out (www.songtexte.com/ songtext/ rachel-platten/ fight-song-3b7160ec.html) and read silently. T explains unknown words such as “wrecking ball”. Second Listening Guiding task: Why could this song motivate you to keep fighting in a difficult situation? S are divided into three groups: lyrics, music, visuals. T shows the music video (YouTube: Fight Song). Eva Maria Scholz 158 5. a) b) 6. a) b) c) d) 7. a) b) 8. a) b) c) Detailed Understanding S work in groups, the speakers present their ideas, T writes them down, and S take notes. T concludes that this song is an excellent example of an empowerment song, asks when such songs could be played in public, and finally gives examples referring to Fight Song (M2). Follow-Up In pairs, S are asked to write a short interview with Rachel Platten, for example about why she wrote the song and where she got the inspiration. Some S act out their interviews. T reads out the official interview with Rachel Platten (M3). S discuss the similarities and differences between their own interviews and the official one. Homework: S can choose one of the following options: Find another empowerment song which you like (sources in M4). Summarize the lyrics and describe the video. Does it make you feel stronger? Think about the fights in your life. When did you have problems but did not give up? How did you manage to get through the situation? Write about 120 words. Follow-up lesson on phrasal verbs T asks what the answers in the rectangular boxes of the lyrics have in common. The grammatical topic of prepositions and phrasal verbs is discussed. Phrasal verbs are practised (M5). Fight Song 159 □ □ □ □ □ □ 3. Materials M1: Ideas for the mind-map M2: Empowerment songs in public life Rachel Platten’s Fight Song featured … in the TV series Supergirl in an advertisement campaign for Ford during Hilary Clinton’s campaign against Donald Trump on the last night of the Democratic National Convention when Clinton ap‐ proached the podium as the official theme song for the 2015 "Rise Above Cancer" campaign as the official theme song of the Women's U18 Ice Hockey World Champio nship in 2016 (Songfacts 2017) M3: Interview with Rachel Platten "I grinded and worked so hard for so long and got to the point of … I didn't think it was going to happen. I thought I might need to figure something else out. That moment bred 'Fight Song.' So that song came because I had to make a decision, 'Am I going to keep going or am I going to give up on myself ? '" Eva Maria Scholz 160 □ □ □ "I came up with the answer to the decision, I guess through writing the song. I didn't even realize it was happening, but through writing the song I made the decision to not give up on myself. Even if it's only getting to play to a handful of people a night, that's enough. At least I get to spread this message. Then funnily enough, by releasing the song, I got this amazing opportunity." (Songfacts 2017) M4: Websites with lists of empowerment songs https: / / milliondollarpartygirl.com/ 11/ 25-empowering-theme-songs-for-wo men/ https: / / wordsonwhim.wordpress.com/ 2015/ 02/ 06/ songs-of-empowerment/ http: / / music.allwomenstalk.com/ of-the-best-empowering-songs-for-when -you-need-a-pick-me-up/ 2 M5: Worksheet for phrasal verbs 1. Matching: Connect the English verbs with their correct German translations. to take back sich Sorgen machen to turn on erwachsen werden to worry about weitermachen to believe in aufmuntern, Mut fassen to give up über etw./ jdn. nachdenken to go on (sich) zurückholen to break down kaputtmachen, vermurksen to cheer up zusammenbrechen to grow up an etw. glauben to look after anmachen, einschalten to think about auf etw./ jdn. aufpassen to mess up weitermachen to carry on aufgeben 2. Pep talk Fight Song 161 □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Imagine your best friend is just in the middle of a very difficult situation, for example because she / he got a bad grade at school or lost a sports competition. To cheer your friend up, you give her / him a one-minute pep talk. Choose at least five of the phrasal verbs from the list, circle or colour them, and use them in your pep talk. You have got one minute to prepare your talk. Then present it to your neighbour. Your neighbour will check if you use the new words. Afterwards it is your neighbour’s turn. 3. Round Robin Every S takes a sheet of paper and writes a problematic situation at the top, e.g. “My new haircut is absolutely horrible” or “I’ve just lost the purse with all my money”. The sheets are then passed around. Every S writes one piece of advice or criticism underneath the problem using the new verbs and underlining them, e.g. “Think about where you last saw your purse”, “Don’t worry about it too much” or “Try not to mess up your life all the time.” After a few rounds, the sheets are passed back to their original authors and the best answers are read aloud. Moreover, S are given the chance to correct their peers’ sentences and point out mistakes. 4. Solutions 5.a) Features of an empowerment song Lyrics Music Video singer had problems she didn’t give up message to listeners: don’t give up either contrast of positive and negative words: scream, losing friends, in too deep ↔ fight, believe, I’m alright, power lots of images: boat on ocean, open heart, ex‐ plosion → illustrate her feelings → make positive but also thoughtful quite fast clear melody and rhythm easy to remember and sing along beginning: protagonist is alone, sad middle: leaves the place of her struggles (her house) end: together with friends, happy, laughter, nature transition from sad‐ ness to happiness Eva Maria Scholz 162 the lyrics more pow‐ erful → the audience can identify 6.b) An interview with Rachel Platten Interviewer: “So please tell us, Miss Platten, where did you get the idea for your wonderful Fight Song? ” Rachel: “Well, basically the song is about growing up. When I was eighteen, I decided to move out of my parents’ house and to start a new life somewhere else. That was very difficult at the beginning because I was lonely and I didn’t get a job which paid well.” Interviewer: “Did your parents complain about your plans? ” Rachel: “Oh yes, they did. They kept telling me to move back home to the people who loved me. They also promised to find me a nice job somewhere close to home.” Interviewer: “So why didn’t you just do what your parents suggested? Surely it would have been much easier than fighting to build a new life in a new city.” Rachel: “You’re right, that would have been so much easier. But I felt like I really had to be hard on myself and continue fighting. Giving up would have been a horrible way to start my adult life. And I would have lost all faith in myself. So I decided to stay, and eventually, I found a great job and wonderful friends. So the fight was definitely worth it.” Interviewer: “Thank you so much, Miss Platten. Goodbye! ” 7.a) Comment on another empowerment song Katy Perry: Roar Roar is a song about a woman who allowed a man to hold her down for a long time until she eventually learnt to raise her voice and feel like a cham‐ pion. The music video is a bit strange, though. It shows Kate Perry as a lady whose plane crashed somewhere in a jungle. At first, she is frightened be‐ cause she is alone and surrounded by dangerous animals. But she gradually adapts to the wilderness and even defeats a tiger in a roaring match. In the end, all the animals are her friends and she’s the queen of the forest. The song makes me feel stronger because of the positive lyrics and the fast music. The Fight Song 163 □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ video doesn’t help much, however, because I can’t identify with it. It’s just so strange! 7.b) Fights in your life Maths versus Football Last year I really didn’t understand one topic in my Maths lessons. Unfortu‐ nately, my mum talked to the teacher and heard that I would probably do badly in the next test. She then tried to practice Maths with me, but we always ended up fighting. So she warned me that she would not allow me to play football anymore if I failed the test. I was really worried because football is the best part of my life. But then I came up with an idea. I asked an extremely clever girl in my class to help me revise for the test. It was embarrassing to ask but it helped! I passed the test with a fairly good grade. That was such a relief! M6: Phrasal verbs 1. Matching to take back - (sich) zurückholen to turn on - anmachen, einschalten to worry about - sich Sorgen machen to believe in - an etwas glauben to give up - aufgeben to go on - weitermachen to break down - zusammenbrechen to cheer up - aufmuntern, Mut fassen to grow up - erwachsen warden to look after - auf etwas/ jdn aufpassen to think about - über etwas/ jdn nachdenken to mess up - kaputtmachen, vermurksen to carry on - weitermachen Eva Maria Scholz 164 Bibliography Calvès, Anne-Emmanuèle (2009). Empowerment: The History of a Key Concept in Con‐ temporary Development Discourse. Revue Tiers Monde, 200. 735-749 http: / / www.cair n-int.info/ article-E_RTM_200_0735-empowerment-the-history-of-a-key-concept.ht m (last accessed: 30/ 07/ 2017). Cornwall, Andrea/ Karen Brock (2005). Beyond Buzzwords: ‘Poverty Reduction,’ ‘Partic‐ ipation,’ and ‘Empowerment’ in Development Policy. UNRISD 10. Rappaport, J. (1984). Studies in Empowerment: Introduction to the Issue. Prevention in Human Services, 3. 1-7. Simon, Barbara Levy (1994). The Empowerment Tradition in American Social Work: A History. New York: Columbia University Press. Songfacts, LLC (2017). Songs about Female Empowerment. http: / / www.songfacts.com/ cat egory-songs_about_female_empowerment.php (last accessed: 30/ 07/ 2017). Theunissen, Georg/ Wolfgang Plaute (1995). Empowerment und Heilpädagogik. Ein Lehr‐ buch. Freiburg: Lambertus. Fight Song 165 Man in the Mirror Marlene Mannert, Veronika Merklinger 1. Introduction Michael Jackson, who is also known as the “King of Pop”, was a famous music producer, dancer, singer and songwriter. Born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, In‐ diana, he grew up with nine siblings. In the 1960s his father, who was a guitarist, started a music group with his sons, which was called The Jackson 5. When Michael was five years old, he became a member of this group and soon the lead vocalist. Moreover, he was a talented performer. When the band was signed up for a music label in 1969, the family moved to Los Angeles. From that point on, they became popular in the United States. In the following years, Michael Jackson became more independent and started a solo career. His sixth album Thriller was released in 1982 and became the best-selling album in history, including seven top ten hits, such as The Girl is Mine featuring Paul McCartney, and Thriller. Other successful albums and sin‐ gles followed, for example, Bad from the year 1987. It included five number one hits, such as Man in the Mirror, The Way You Make Me Feel, and Dangerous. On June 25, 2009, one month before launching his comeback tour in London, Michael Jackson died of a drug overdose at the age of fifty (cf. Biography.com Editors 2017). Nowadays, Michael Jackson is remembered as a unique singer and performer whose songs will live on. 2. Procedure Title Michael Jackson: Man in the Mirror Synopsis The song treats the topic of world problems, such as poverty. The song is a plea for greater attention towards other people as well as a lesson saying if we want change, we need to begin with ourselves. Competences Listening, speaking, reading, writing A. 1. 2. 3. B. 1. 2. C. D. 3. 4. E. F. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Topics Michael Jackson, global problems, awareness, change Level Advanced Time 90 minutes Steps (Global-to-detail approach): Lead-in Riddle: T shows symbols that are connected to Michael Jackson. (M1) T: Who knows Michael Jackson or any of his songs? Do you have a favourite song? T gives background information on the artist. (see Introduction + M2) First listening T asks S to make notes on the topics of the song and their own feelings. The song is presented. Global comprehension T collects S’s answers on topics and feelings. Second listening T hands out worksheet with a double distortion of the text: Mondegreens and jumbled lines. (Material had to be removed for copyright reasons.) While the song is played a second time, S correct the mishearings and restore the order of the jumbled lines. Detailed comprehension The results are checked in class. Follow-up Analysis: What does the man in the mirror symbolize? Discussion: Do you agree with the message of the song? Explain. Creation: S listen to the verse just before the first chorus again, and find out the intonation of the lines. In pairs, they rewrite this verse using their own ideas. Singing: T presents his own verse on the visualizer (M3) and reads / sings it in front of the class. The groups, one after the other, sing their verse and chorus together. Voting for the best group: The winner group gets a homework voucher (M4). Homework: Marlene Mannert, Veronika Merklinger 168 Now look at yourself in your mirror. What problems (in the world or your daily life) do you recognize? How can you make a change starting with yourself ? Write about 80 words. 3. Materials M1: Riddle Man in the Mirror 169 Marlene Mannert, Veronika Merklinger 170 M2: Background information (transparencies) Man in the Mirror 171 M3: Teacher’s verse (transparency) Marlene Mannert, Veronika Merklinger 172 M4: Homework voucher 4. Solutions M1: Riddle 1. A crown referring to Jack‐ son’s name as “The King of Pop” 2. A moon referring to his fa‐ mous dance move the ‘Moon‐ walk’ Man in the Mirror 173 3. Jackson's jacket from his shows 4. Peter Pan to hint at Jackson's retreat “The Netherland Ranch” 5. A stage for his career as a per‐ former 6. A microphone for his career as a singer Marlene Mannert, Veronika Merklinger 174 7. Dance move from his song Billie Jean 8. Micheal Jackson F1: What does the man in the mirror symbolize? F2: Message of the song S1: Yes, I agree, because you shouldn’t wait until other people do something for you. Man in the Mirror 175 S2: I also agree on that, but sometimes there are situations which you can’t improve on your own. You need the help of others, for example, if you want to help the poor like Michael Jackson. S3: But if you really want to achieve a goal, it’s better if you already start thinking of solutions for your problem, and then you can search for the help from others. S4: You’re right, S3. Because if you have a good plan, then it’s easier to persuade others. And if they are convinced, they can put forward their own ideas and tell their friends about it. S5: But sometimes you just don’t have the motivation to make a change any‐ more. If I try to save money by switching off the lights in our house or by taking showers instead of long baths, my sister does nothing but the opposite of that. So I gave up on that, why should I bother if others don’t mind? S1: Because, as Michael Jackson says in his song, it will still make a difference and that’s what matters. Don’t look at others. S6: And at some point in time you might see the positive effects. (…) F3: Intonation of pre-chorus verse Marlene Mannert, Veronika Merklinger 176 Homework: Sample solutions a. When I look at my mirror, I can see a happy girl. But in my English class today, I learnt that there is a lot of waste in the seas, which kills many animals. That makes me feel really sad. I would like to make a change and I have an idea how I can start with myself. I won’t use plastic bags any‐ more when I go shopping with my friends. I have many backpacks, which I can take, and they don’t get broken so easily. (86 words) b. I think a big problem in today’s world is that nature is destroyed by people. We don’t realize that the climate change is dangerous and that it’s our mission to stop it. I think everybody can do something. When I look at myself, for example, I recognise that I could help the Earth by separating waste, going to school by bike, and not wasting food. So my plan for the future is to try to change these things. (78 words) Bibliography Biography.com Editors (2017). Michael Jackson Biography. https: / / www.biography.com/ p eople/ michael-jackson-38211 (last accessed: 09/ 08/ 2017). Magic Internet. Man in the Mirror Songtext. Von Michael Jackson. http: / / www.songtexte .com/ songtext/ michael-jackson/ man-in-the-mirror-4bda73be.html (last accessed: 17/ 08/ 2017). Pictures: Bad Tour Logo. https: / / commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/ File: Michael-jackson-bad-tour-off icial-logoa.png Blackboard (adapted). https: / / commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/ File: Tafel.jpg Book on the voucher. https: / / pixabay.com/ de/ buch-lesung-blau-l%C3%A4cheln-lesen-15 24010/ Crown. https: / / upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/ commons/ a/ a8/ Heraldic_crown_of_No rway.PNG Jacket. https: / / commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/ Michael_Jackson#/ media/ File: Michael_Jac kson%27s_%22Bad%22_Jacket_and_Belt.jpg Michael Jackson. https: / / upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/ commons/ 3/ 31/ Michael_Jacks on_in_1988.jpg Microphone. https: / / upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/ commons/ 9/ 95/ Microphone_2.jpg Moon. https: / / commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/ Moon#/ media/ File: Full_moon.png Moonwalk. https: / / upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/ commons/ 0/ 08/ Michael_Jackson. svg Man in the Mirror 177 Peter Pan. https: / / commons.wikimedia.org/ w/ index.php? search=peter+pan&title=Speci al: Search&profile=images&fulltext=1&searchToken=7ia238zs8c62kx6081o35i6ww#/ media/ File: Peter_Pan_Final.jpg Stage. https: / / commons.wikimedia.org/ w/ index.php? search=stage+music&title=Special : Search&profile=images&fulltext=1&searchToken=dg98dg7log31g38sck9ppg0ca#/ m edia/ File: Junkie_xl.JPG Marlene Mannert, Veronika Merklinger 178 A. 1. 2. 3. 4. Galway Girl Ronald Kruschke, Christiane Wisnom 1. Introduction The English singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran is currently one of the most in‐ fluential figures in modern pop culture. On Saint Patrick’s Day 2017, he suitably released his new song Galway Girl, which mixes Irish traditional music with pop. The song climbed to number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and number 1 on the Irish chart (Songfacts 2017, Independent 2017). 2. Procedure Song Ed Sheeran: Galway Girl Synopsis The lyrics tell the story of a casual acquaintance in an Irish pub. Sheeran shot the POV music video in Galway, Ireland, and filmed it himself on a steadycam. The clip also features Irish actress Saoirse Ronan. Competences Lexical competence, mediation, reading, speaking, listening, cre‐ ative writing, intercultural awareness Topics Pop music, Irish folk & culture, love, relationships Level Intermediate Time 90 minutes Steps (pre-while-post approach): Pre-listening T introduces the riddle “Who is the artist? ” (M1). T reads out German equivalents of song lines one after the other (successive uncovering), which S in pairs have to mediate. The first pair recognizing the artist from the lyrics is the winner. S are asked to contribute background information on Ed Sheeran. 5. 6. B. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. C. 1. a) b) c) 2. 3. a) b) T reads out the lyrics (cf. Internet), and S read along marking phrases which reflect the symbols on the golden thread (M2). Matching task: T appoints a S who matches a phrase to a picture on the golden thread. While-listening Vision off approach: S listen to the song and write down suitable headings for each stanza. Partner check: The results are compared in pairs. T elicits the suggestions. Class chain: Asking each other questions, S reconstruct the storyline. Optionally, a short grammar exercise on prepositions can be included: S mark prepositions in the text and find two additional sentences where this preposition can be used. Post-listening Creative writing: S can choose from three options. Finish the last stanza by adding four lines. Write down the storyline with the help of the pictures and phrases on the golden thread. Write down the storyline from the perspective of the girl. Some results are presented and given feedback. T presents the song with the visuals (music video). Differences between song and video, in particular the ending, are elicited. Homework: two options. Interview: Imagine being Ed Sheeran and answering questions by a music jour‐ nalist. (M3) Research: Answer questions on the lyrics with the help of an online dictionary and a web search engine. (M4) 3. Materials M1: Who is the artist - Mediate the German quotes (riddle) a. „Ich habe ihre Hand gehalten, ihre Hand hat die meine gehalten“ b. „Und dann küsste sie mich als wäre niemand sonst im Raum” c. „Unsere beiden Mäntel riechen nach Rauch, Whiskey und Wein” Ronald Kruschke, Christiane Wisnom 180 d. „Sie spielte die Geige in einer irischen Band, aber sie verliebte sich in einen Engländer“ Galway Girl 181 M2: The golden thread M3: Interview questions - An exclusive interview with singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran - We caught up with Ed in an Irish pub in Galway to ask him about his new song “Galway Girl”. Imagine being Ed and answer the following questions from his perspective. Be creative. Q 1: Your songwriting is very creative. Where did you come up with the idea to write a song about a girl from Galway? Is it a true story or have you invented the plot? Ronald Kruschke, Christiane Wisnom 182 Q2: You’ve called “Galway Girl” a love-it-or-hate-it song and said that you’ve never put out a song that polarized people so much. Why have you released the song anyway and what would you like to tell haters? Q3: Obviously your passion is music, but what would you possibly do if you didn’t have a career as a musician? M4: Ed Sheeran’s Galway Girl and the Irish culture Use a search engine and an online dictionary to answer the following questions. 1. What are typical Irish symbols? Give three examples: 2. Review the story of Galway Girl. Where is the pub they met first located, and where does the girl originally come from? Write down the corresponding num‐ bers in the map of Ireland and note the names of the cities. Galway Girl 183 3. What is a “Gaelic ink”? Define both words. 4. What are “trad tunes” in the context of the song Galway Girl? 4. Solutions M1: Who is the artist a. “I was holding her hand; her hand was holding mine” b. “And then she kissed me like there was nobody else in the room“ c. “Our coats both smell of smoke, whiskey and wine“ Ronald Kruschke, Christiane Wisnom 184 d. “She played the fiddle in an Irish band, but she fell in love with an English man“ M2: The golden thread B.1.: Headings a. love, meeting, first dance, flirting b. drinking, getting to know each other, having fun, smoking and chatting c. playing games, party, Irish music d. time to go home, holding hands, spend the night at her place M3: Interview questions These are the original answers by Ed Sheeran (Songfacts 2017): Answer to Q1: "It was based on the fiddle player in Beoga, Niamh. She's married to an Irishman, a friend of mine. I had the band in my house for an extra day so I was like, 'what can I write about? She plays the fiddle in an Irish band ... right, Galway Girl 185 cool, let's write a song about that.' She inspired the first line but the rest of the song isn't about anyone, I just made up a story." Answer to Q2: "My friends were really, really against 'Galway Girl,' because apparently folk music isn't cool. But there's 400 million people in the world that say they're Irish, even if they're not Irish. You meet them in America all the time: 'I'm a quarter Irish and I'm from Donegal.' And those type of people are going to f--king love it. And it’s true, there are people who really, really hate it! It, like, offends them that the song exists. But I do think, in 5 or 10 years, those same people will be dancing to it on St. Patrick's Day, drunk at the bar." Answer to Q3: “I'd probably be working at a supermarket.” M4: Research 1. Shamrock, Irish harp, St. Patrick’s, Celtic Cross … 2. Gaelic is a Celtic language, which includes the language of ancient Ireland and the dialects that have developed from it, especially those usually known as Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic. An ink is a fluid or viscous substance used for writing or printing. In this context, however, it means tattoo. 3. “Trad” is short for traditional, so “trad tune” means traditional Irish melody or folk music. Bibliography Independent. http: / / www.independent.co.uk/ news/ people/ profiles/ ed-sheeran-boy-next -door-who-made-it-very-big-9907243.html (last accessed: 17/ 08/ 2017). Songfacts. Galway Girl By Ed Sheeran. http: / / www.songfacts.com/ detail.php? id=42233 (last accessed: 17/ 08/ 2017). Songtexte. Galway Girl. http: / / www.songtexte.com/ songtext/ ed-sheeran/ galway-girl-g2 3dbc87b.html (last accessed: 17/ 08/ 2017). Ronald Kruschke, Christiane Wisnom 186 Same Love Theresa Singer 1. Introduction The song Same Love has been produced by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (http: / / macklemore.com, Dorn 2013, Hisey 2012, Kcpqtv 2012). Born in Seattle on June 19 th 1983, Macklemore is known as an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He started writing lyrics at the age of 15 and soon got involved into writing hip-hop for a younger generation, focusing on education and cultural identity. In 2008, he admitted himself into rehab for alcoholism and drug addiction. His main drug consume consisted of marihuana and purple drank (slang term for a party drug that consists of cough syrup, codeine and promethazine; mainly consumed among rappers in the south of the U.S.). Four of his close friends died because of drug overdose. He wrote about these experiences in songs like Oth‐ erside and Starting Over. Macklemore soon realized that he was abusive and has finally stopped taking any drugs ever since. He once commented on his own behavior and motivation for making music by saying the following: I want to be someone who is respected and not just in terms of my music. I want to be respected in terms of the way I treat people […]. Music is my creative outlet in terms of expressing what is important to me; what has importance, what has a value. And I wanna be respected for that. (Gonsalvez 2013: https: / / lhsroar.com/ opinions/ rev iews/ music-review-the-heist/ ). The stage name Macklemore derives from his childhood and was the name of his made-up superhero. His partner Ryan Lewis was born on March 25th in 1988 and is an American DJ, producer, photographer and musician. He mixes all the duo’s music and directs their music videos. He is also responsible for the video of Same Love. Since 2009, Macklemore and Lewis have been performing and producing music together. There are a lot of songs that could be used in TEFL - focusing on both social and racial justice issues: □ □ □ □ Wings (2011) - This song criticizes consumerism and capitalism; the general idea of society that a person’s individual worth is directly linked to the value of clothes and shoes is criticized. Growing Up (2015) - Dealing with gender roles (man: working, earning money, being strong and unemotional; woman: mother, emotional, protec‐ tive) and people growing up facing all the difficulties in life. Wednesday Morning (2016) - This song is about the day after the President of the United States Donald J. Trump won the election; Macklemore wants to teach his daughter true love and humanity; the lyrics show many symbols and allusions to recent political developments and Trump’s statements. Glorious (2017) - This music video features Macklemore and his grand‐ mother on her 100 th birthday traveling around and fulfiling all her dreams; the more general lyrics talk about life in general and how dark and lonely moments are followed by fresh starts and second chances. Same Love, taken from the album The Heist, was published in 2012 and recorded during the campaign for Washington Referendum 74, which legalized same sex marriage in Washington State. The song has been adopted as an anthem by supporters of legalizing same sex marriage. The duo strongly fights against ho‐ mophobia in music, media and society. The song is not entirely autobiographical, but Macklemore really thought that he could be gay when he was a child because he was quite creative and artistic. His uncles are indeed gay and appear as the old couple in the music video. Macklemore furthermore received a letter from a mother whose son committed suicide because he was homosexual and there‐ fore not accepted by society. 2. Procedure Song Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (2012): Same Love Synopsis Lyrics: The lyrical I (autobiographical references to Macklemore) tells us that he thought of him as gay when he was a young boy because his uncle was, and he was a talented artist in contrast to all his male friends. His mom, however, explained to him that he was not ho‐ mosexual. He then critically reflects on all the difficulties homo‐ sexuals have to face in American life. Conservative politicians and priests think that they can cure the sickness of being gay by edu‐ cating and preaching. But also music business, media and society in general are frequently characterized by homophobia. Fighting for equality and fairness for every human being is compared to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and the message of the song can be clearly stated as same “human rights for everybody, there is no Theresa Singer 188 A. 1. 2. 3. B. 1. 2. difference! ” (Macklemore LLC 2012: https: / / www.youtube.com/ wa tch? v=hlVBg7_08n0, 2: 47 min.) The lyrical I lastly fights for legal‐ izing same sex marriage, since such an official certificate could help changing people’s attitudes. Video: Apart from the message of the lyrics, the visual representation shows a homosexual’s individual life from birth until death in order to get the recipients emotionally involved and to illustrate some general concerns embedded in the lyrics. First, a baby boy is born and raised by happy parents. He plays with his friends and soon discovers that he is different from the rest. When he finally invites his boyfriend for dinner and introduces him to his parents, his fa‐ ther furiously leaves. Although the couple have to deal with many other difficulties, they get engaged. and his mother is then walking him down the aisle. Real love (romantic love, mother’s love) thus conquers anything else. In the end, the old couple is back in the hospital where this whole journey of life started by giving birth. The protagonist will soon die, but his husband is still at his side. Competences Listening, audio-visual competence, speaking, creative writing Topics Lyrics: Same sex marriage; homosexuality and difficulties homosexuals face in society; religious beliefs in the U.S.; homophobia in music, media and society; Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s in the U.S. Video: Circle of life: giving birth, growing up, falling in love, marrying, dying; a homosexual’s individual biography with all its challenges and successes; a mother’s unconditional love; love and its question of definition in general Level Advanced - solid background knowledge of poetry and American society necessary Time 90’ + homework Steps (global-to-detail-approach): Lead-in T shows three pictures (M1-3) one after each other. (Unfortunately the pictures had to be removed for copyright reasons.) Heartstorming: S describe the photos and think about what kind of people these hands belong to. T tells S to watch the following video (M4) and reflect how these three pictures fit to the song. First listening-viewing S watch the video and listen to the lyrics. S try to understand the content and message of the song. Same Love 189 3. C. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. D. E. 1. 2. a) b) c) 3. F. 1. 2. 3. 5. 6. S recognize the three pictures from the lead-in and understand their meaning. Global Understanding T shows the third picture (M4) again. T and S discuss how the first assumptions made on the basis of the pictures have changed by watching the video. S shortly summarize the content and message of the song. T introduces S to Macklemore (M5) & Ryan Lewis (M6) giving extra information on their lives as well as the song Same Love and the duo’s beliefs. T hands out the gapped lyrics (M7). (Unfortunately this material had to be re‐ moved for copyright reasons.) Second Listening (blind listening) S listen to the song another time and fill in the gaps. Detailed Understanding S compare their solutions for the gaps. Think-pair-share: T asks S to have a close look at all the gap forms and highlighted phrases again. (Hint: poetry, stylistic devices) First alone, then in pairs, S try to recognize specific patterns. S share their partners’ ideas in class comparing the stylistic devices they have found. T explains that not only canonized poetry but also modern music is worthwhile analyzing showing many poetic features (language awareness). Follow-Up T asks S which stylistic devices dominate this song. Mindmapping: T and S create a mindmap with all the relevant topics the song deals with apart from same love; T asks what the symbols and allusions generally stand for. T forms three groups and distributes the topics Homosexuality, Religion and American Society to them. T tells S to analyze and compare the visual representation and the lyrics with each other with respect to their topic. T shows video a third time and S work in groups. S present their results in class. Theresa Singer 190 G. 1. 2. a) b) c) Homework T shows a photo of Donald Trump (M8) and presents his quote (M9). T offers three homework tasks to choose from: Write your own tweet answering Trump’s message (max. 140 characters). Write a comment (200 words) referring to the tweet. Mediate the following text on “Ehe für alle” into English: http: / / www.spiegel.de/ politik/ deutschland/ ehe-fuer-alle-endlich-gleichstellung-kommentar-a-1154739. html) 3. Materials M4: Video Same Love Macklemore LLC (2012): Same Love. https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=hlVBg7_08n0, (last accessed on July 19th, 2017). M5: Macklemore https: / / commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/ File: Macklemore_The_Heist_Tour_Toronto _Nov_28_(8228258106).jpg (last accessed on July 19th, 2017). Same Love 191 M6: Ryan Lewis https: / / commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/ File: Macklemore_(8466299494)_cropped.jpg (last accessed on July 19th, 2017). M8: Donald Trump https: / / www.flickr.com/ photos/ gageskidmore/ 8567825104/ in/ photostream/ (last ac‐ cessed on July 19th, 2017). Theresa Singer 192 □ □ □ □ □ □ □ M9: Trump’s Quote on Marriage “I think I’m evolving, and I think I’m a very fair person, but I have been for traditional marriage. I am for traditional.” (Wudyka 2013. http: / / www.msnbc.com/ thomasroberts/ thomas-roberts-donald-trump-interview) 4. Solutions A.2. Heartstorming M1: The picture shows a close-up view of an adult’s hand holding a baby’s hand. The focus is on the adult’s thumb, which is even longer than the child’s entire hand. One can also see the baby’s arm, which again underlines the strange proportions between a grown-up and a little baby. It is probable that the picture shows a newborn baby with his or her mother (or father). M2: The second picture shows a very similar situation. One can see a baby’s hand in the mother’s fingers. This time, it definitely represents a female adult, since the black hair is quite long, her lips are rather voluminous and her chin is quite square-jawed. It represents one detail out of a bigger picture and symbolizes the same values as the first picture: unconditional love and happiness between a pa‐ rent and his or her child. M3: The third picture is less obvious in meaning than the other two photos. Again, it shows two hands holding each other. This time, they both look grown-up and rather old, since they have crinkles and rings on their fingers. Additionally, the left hand looks a bit lighter than the right hand. These two people could either be a parent and a child again, both adults now. But these hands could also represent a married couple, maybe of dif‐ ferent skin colour. C.2.: Discussing the third picture a second time M3: After having watched the video and recognized the pictures as screen‐ shots of the video, the interpretation of the third picture might be quite different: Students could either repeat their statement that these hands show a married and loving couple without any further comment on their sexes. They could, however, also be quite surprised about the fact that these hands Same Love 193 □ □ □ □ do not belong to a parent and a child, but represent two married old men in the hospital. The topic of same sex marriage is now introduced. Students realize that interpretations of seemingly obvious situations reflect only one moment in time and are highly subjective as well as selective. Background information and context may often change such first impres‐ sions. C.3.: Summary of content and message of the song Content: The song begins with the lyrical I’s personal anecdote when he was a little boy and thought of him as gay. His mom, however, explained to him that he was not homosexual. He then critically reflects on all the diffi‐ culties homosexuals have to face in American life. Conservative politicians and priests think that they can cure the sickness of being gay by educating and preaching. But also music business, media and society in general are frequently characterized by condemning homosexuality. Fighting for equality and fairness for every human being is the aim, which can be sup‐ ported by legalizing same sex marriage. Message: Same sex marriage should be legalized and every person has the same equal rights as anybody else, independent of their sexual orientation whatsoever. C.4.: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: Same Love Macklemore: Macklemore’s birth name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty and he was born in Seattle on June 19 th in 1983. He is known as an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He started writing lyrics at the age of 15 and soon got involved into writing hip-hop for a younger generation, focusing on education and cultural identity. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 2009. But before that, in August 2008, he admitted himself into rehab for alco‐ holism and drug addiction. His main drug consumption consisted of mari‐ huana and purple drank (slang term for a party drug that consists of cough syrup, codeine and promethazine; mainly consumed among rappers in the south of the U.S.). Four of his close friends also died because of drug over‐ dose. He wrote about these experiences in songs like Otherside and Starting Over. He once commented on his own behavior and motivation for making music by saying the following: Theresa Singer 194 □ □ □ □ I want to be someone who is respected and not just in terms of my music. I want to be respected in terms of the way I treat people. Music is my creative outlet in terms of expressing what is important to me; what has importance, what has a value. And I want to be respected for that (Gonsalvez 2013: https: / / lhsroar.com/ opinions/ reviews/ music-review-the-heist/ ). Since 2009, the close friends Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have officially been performing and producing music together. Their most famous singles are Thrift Shop, Can’t Hold Us and And We Danced. The song Growing Up, which was released for free download in August 2016, is dedicated to his daughter and wife. Fun fact about Macklemore: His stage name Macklemore derives from his childhood and was the name of his made-up superhero. Ryan Lewis: Ryan Lewis was born on March 25 th in 1988 and is an American DJ, producer, photographer and musician. He started his career as a profes‐ sional photographer and videographer and became Macklemore’s be‐ hind-the-scenes partner. He mixes all the duo’s music and directs their music videos. He is responsible for the video of Same Love. Same Love: This single of the album The Heist was published in 2012. The vocals are sung by Mary Lambert and the song was recorded during the campaign for Washington Referendum 74, which legalized same sex mar‐ riage in Washington State. The song was adopted as an anthem by sup‐ porters of legalizing same sex marriage. The duo strongly fights against homophobia in music, media and society. The term homophobia represents negative attitudes towards homosexuality. The song is not entirely auto‐ biographical, but Macklemore really thought that he could be gay when he was a child because he was quite creative and artistic. His uncles are ho‐ mosexual and appear as the old couple in the music video. Same Love 195 F.2.: Mindmap Theresa Singer 196 F.6.: Presentation of group work Same Love 197 All pictures in the chart: Macklemore LLC (2012): Same Love. https: / / www.youtube.com / watch? v=hlVBg7_08n0, (last accessed on July 19th, 2017). G.2.: Homework (students’ answers) a. Tweet: Redefining fairness in an anti-Trump sense: legalizing marriage for everyone and total equality as the new and only valid tradition, https Theresa Singer 198 : / / twitter.com/ realdonaldtrump? lang=de #samelove #LGBT by @realDo‐ naldTrump @TessSpot. b. Comment: Donald Trump’s quote “I think I’m evolving, and I think I’m a very fair person, but I have been for traditional marriage. I am for tradi‐ tional” on the discussion of same sex marriage once again proves the President’s racism, stubbornness and outdated conservatism. How can he seriously call himself a fair person, when he totally rejects fairness and equality at the same time? Indeed, the only fair and logical decision in this matter is legalizing same sex marriage and thus allowing the same human rights for everybody. Mr Trump as well as many other people have to realize that their reign of unlimited and arbitrary male power has long passed. We live in a world that allowed women’s suffrages and African Americans’ fights for human rights. That’s why it’s now high time to acknowledge other people’s needs and finally create authentic equality among all humans. Mr. Trump also mentions that he is for traditional marriage. What he actually means is a wedding between man and woman. Marriages are, however, by no means about traditions or conventions; they are simply about love. Every single person should be allowed to happily marry who‐ ever he or she wants to and should at no point in time face any legal difficulties or societal limitations. Tradition needs to be rewritten in terms of open-mindedness and equality. Just as Macklemore raps in his famous song “it’s human rights for everybody, there is no difference! ” Bibliography Dorn, Michael (2013). Macklemore Talks Addiction - Incredible Story of Hope. https: / / ww w.youtube.com/ watch? v=TEVyYRMuFyk (last accessed: 31/ 07/ 2017). Gonsalvez, Italia (2013). Music Review: The Heist. https: / / lhsroar.com/ opinions/ reviews/ m usic-review-the-heist/ (last accessed: 31/ 07/ 2017). Hisey, Drew (2012). Macklemore Discusses ‘Same Love’. https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch ? v=HSmnrm1cDIA (last accessed: 31/ 07/ 2017). Kcpqtv (2012). Rapper Macklemore Discusses Gay Marriage and his New Song Same Love. https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=tdS05tO7GNU (last accessed: 31/ 07/ 2017). Kuzmany, Stefan (2017). Ehe für alle. Und sie bewegen sich doch. http: / / www.spiegel.de/ p olitik/ deutschland/ ehe-fuer-alle-endlich-gleichstellung-kommentar-a-1154739.html (last accessed on 31/ 07/ 2017). Macklemore LLC (2012): Same Love. https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=hlVBg7_08n0 (last accessed: 31/ 07/ 2017). Macklemore (official website). http: / / macklemore.com/ (last accessed: 31/ 07/ 2017) Same Love 199 Wudyka, Kerrie (2013): Trump Says He’s ‘Evolving‘ on Gay Marriage. http: / / www.msnbc .com/ thomas-roberts/ thomas-roberts-donald-trump-interview (last accessed: 31/ 07/ 2017). Theresa Singer 200 Mama Said Désirée Häckel, Sandra Katzlmayr 1. Introduction “[T]he birth of the reader must be ransomed by the death of the Author” (Barthes 1967). Taken from Roland Barthes’ programmatic essay The Death of the Author (Barthes 1967), this quote elucidates quite blatantly one of the central ideas of reader receptionist theory: The concept of an author as the single valid authority for the understanding of texts has to be discarded. Instead the interpretation of fictional works of art should always be linked to the socio-historical background of the reader, whose personal experiences are as important for the under‐ standing of a text as the possible inclinations of an author. Therefore, this chapter aims to illustrate the benefits of a certain methodo‐ logical approach to teaching songs and poems. By presenting different ways in which original texts - here: Mama Said by Lukas Graham - can be changed and edited, the variety of possibilities that can empower students as readers is de‐ picted. These tasks are not integrated into one single lesson plan, but treated as separate modules, which can form part in different phases of a lesson and be employed in other songs or poems as well. Working with the title of the song is especially appropriate for the pre-phase, while jumbled lines and headlining are activities suitable for the while-phase. For the post-phase, creating an acrostic and changing the perspective of the song are useful as transfer activities. Lukas Graham is not an individual artist, but a band that originally consisted of four members, with the lead vocalist being Lukas Graham Forchhammer (de.wikipedia.org 2017). The leader grew up in an extraordinary community called Christiana in Copenhagen, in which there are, even today, no police, cars, or even streetlights (lukasgraham.com). It was founded in 1971 by hippies, who wanted to establish their own society with their own rules (visitcopen‐ hagen.com). Today, about 900 people live in Christiana, and due to the illegal cannabis trade, there are various conflicts with the Danish police (see thecul‐ turetrip.com). Growing up in this community had a considerable influence on Lukas’ own music. Besides, he went to the Copenhagen’s Boys Choir and is a classically educated soprano soloist (universalmusic.ch). In the early 1990s he was part of a successful TV series and did many voiceover recordings, which trained him to speak clearly. Today, he is the singer and songwriter of the band Lukas Graham. The distinct style of the band results from a combination of Soul, Funk, Hip-Hop and Pop (de.wikipedia.org 2017). The band calls this specific style ghetto pop, which Lukas Graham describes as follows: “Because it’s not that poppy, it’s basically pop music mixed with all the black genres” (universal‐ music.ch). The song this chapter focuses on is called Mama said, and is, like 7 Years and Drunk in the Morning, one of their most popular songs in Germany. As it deals with Lukas’ childhood in Christiana, it is full of autobiographical elements, even includes statements by his parents, and emphasizes his strong connection to his home and friends (songfacts.com). The chorus of the song is accompanied by a choir of six children reflecting Lukas’ past membership of Copenhagen’s Boys Choir. The choir is also visible in the music video, which shows scenes of Chris‐ tiana. 2. Procedure Title Mama Said by Lukas Graham (Lyrics: http: / / www.songtexte.com/ songtext/ lukas-graham/ mama -said-6b7dfa9e.html, video: https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=HdAkYCyCZv8&list= PLGj2UItyGEbd9WtQOB5LnVm0Ifp2RJfqV) Synopsis The song describes growing up in a relatively poor family without money for new clothes and the possibility of travelling to foreign countries. Instead of being ashamed because of their poverty, the children in the song are told to be self-confident and stop listening to what others say about them. Their parents tell them that they still have a bed to sleep in at night and that they are good children the way they are. When the child (Lukas Graham) intends to go to Hollywood and become famous, the other children treat him badly again, make fun of this “absurd” wish, and call him a “wannabe”. In addition, the parents do not really understand why he wants to become famous and are skeptical. At the end, after the child has become famous, he reflects on how important lifelong friends are, and what role home plays. Competences Listening, reading, writing, literary and intercultural competence Topics Growing up, friendship, family, home, poverty Level Intermediate Désirée Häckel, Sandra Katzlmayr 202 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Time Depending on the task chosen Tasks: Working with the title (5 min) ► pre-viewing / listening Jumbled lines (20-25 min) ► while-viewing / listening Headlining (10-15 min) ► while-viewing / listening Changing the perspective (15-20 min) ► post-viewing / listening Creating an acrostic (10-15 min) ► post-viewing / listening (1) Working with the title T explains to S that they are going to listen to a song which is called Mama Said by Lukas Graham. ► T writes the title on the blackboard. ► S are asked to exchange their experiences regarding the question: “What does your mother / Mama often say to you? ” ► Individual S report in class what their partner’s mother often says ► Answers are compared with the original lyrics (video). (2) Jumbled lines Three stanzas of Mama said are selected, while the chorus is left out (Material had to be removed for copyright reasons). ► The lines of each stanza are cut into snippets and put into envelopes. ► Three different groups are formed, which get one envelope (one stanza) each. ► S arrange the snippets of their stanza in a way that makes sense to them (sensible guessing) ► The results are presented and discussed in class ► The song (vision off approach) is played, and the order of the snippets is changed if necessary ► The final results are checked in class. (3) Headlining After S have listened to the song, T hands out a worksheet, which comprises the lyrics and enough blank space on the right-hand side (Material had to be re‐ moved for copyright reasons). ► The lyrics are read out, and vocabulary prob‐ lems are explained. ► In pairs, S write down headings summarizing the content of the different stanzas and the chorus. ► S present their results and are given Mama Said 203 □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ feedback. ► The best suggestions are written on the board. ► Language focus: Lexical and grammatical problems during the presentation phase are analysed and practised. (4) Changing the perspective The issue of perspective is discussed (son’s point of view). ► In pairs, S slip into the roles of Lukas and his mother. ► S create a possible dialogue between mother and son (or daughter) with the help of the lyrics. ► As scaffolding, T writes a few stimuli on the board: What do you want to tell your mother? How did your life develop? Why are your old friends still important for you? What does home mean to you? ► Some pairs present their dialogues and get feedback. (5) Creating an acrostic T introduces the genre of acrostics (or quickly repeats the most important con‐ ventions). ► T models the following phases by giving his own example of an acrostic. ► S are asked to pick one word from the lyrics they consider especially important. ► Individually, they transform this word into an acrostic. ► Some poems are presented under the visualizer. ► The other classmates provide feed‐ back regarding the choice of words, the content and whether the formal con‐ ventions of an acrostic have been taken into account. 4. Solutions (1) Working with the title What does your mama / mother often say to you? My mother often says … that I have to tidy up my room. that I should learn more for school. that I should spend less time in front of the computer. that I have to be punctual. that I should eat more vegetables. that I must not play soccer in the living room. that I should go to bed earlier. that I have to be careful. (3) Headlining H1: My parents’ advice / Dealing with bullies Désirée Häckel, Sandra Katzlmayr 204 □ □ □ H2: Living in poverty H3: The struggle of beginning a new life H4: The importance of family and friends (4) Changing the perspective Mother: Hi Lukas, I’m so happy to see you again. How are you? Tell me about your last concerts. Lukas: Hi Mom, long time no see. I’m happy that you could manage to come. The last concerts were great. I’ve visited Berlin, London and Barcelona, but I’m glad that I could visit my home town as well. Mother: I hope that you ate enough vegetables and fruits during your tour! I’m so happy that you can see all the exotic countries we couldn’t show you in the past. What about your friends? Do you still have contact to them? Lukas: Yes, of course I do. I mean, the other band members are my friends as well but it’s different because they live the same life I do. When talking to old friends, it makes me feel like an ordinary person again. That helps me a lot not to become selfish or arrogant. Mother: I understand. It’s good that you stay in contact with them. Do you think, your band will stay that successful? Lukas: … (5) Creating an acrostic Marvelous Annoying Makes me happy Amazing Only Kids Are Young Forever Reliable Inseparable Enthusiastic Nice Delightful Mama Said 205 Bibliography Barthes, Roland (1967). The Death of the Author. http: / / www.ubu.com/ aspen/ aspen5and6 / threeEssays.html#barthes (last accessed: 28/ 08/ 2017). Culture Trip. https: / / theculturetrip.com/ europe/ denmark/ articles/ christiania-13-things-t o-know-about-copenhagens-hippie-free-town/ (last accessed: 14/ 08/ 2017). Lukas Graham (official website). http: / / www.lukasgraham.com/ bio (last accessed: 14/ 08/ 2017). Songfacts. Mama Said By Lukas Graham. http: / / www.songfacts.com/ detail.php? id=39771 (last accessed: 14/ 08/ 2017) Songtexte. Mama Said. http: / / www.songtexte.com/ songtext/ lukas-graham/ mama-said-6 b7dfa9e.html (last accessed: 15/ 08/ 2017). Universal Music. http: / / www.universalmusic.ch/ music/ artist/ graham-lukas/ biography/ (last accessed: 14/ 08/ 2017). Visit Copenhagen. http: / / www.visitcopenhagen.com/ copenhagen/ culture/ alternative-ch ristiania (last accessed: 14/ 08/ 2017).Wikipedia. Lukas Graham. https: / / en.wikipedia.or g/ wiki/ Lukas_Graham (last accessed: 14 August 2017). Wikipedia. Lukas Graham. https: / / de.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Lukas_Graham (last accessed: 14 August 2017). Désirée Häckel, Sandra Katzlmayr 206 Contributors Dr. Nina Bishara Nina Bishara has been teaching English and Religious Education at Gymnasium level in Baden-Württemberg for 10 years. She has developed projects and lesson plans that aim at fostering oral communication in the foreign language class‐ room. Prior to working as a teacher, Nina Bishara was a research assistant in the English Department and the Centre for Cultural Studies at the University of Kassel. Her doctoral thesis examined self-reference in advertising, and she is the author of several books and articles about self-referential media. Prof. Dr. John Dean As tenured professor at the Universities of Paris, Strasbourg and Versailles, France, John Dean's fields of teaching and research have been in Cultural His‐ tory, Cross-cultural Communications and American Studies. He has also taught regularly in the School of Mass Communications and Journalism, University of Colorado, Boulder and at St. John's College, Santa Fe, New Mexico as well as having done numerous public diplomacy speaking engagements across Europe for US Public Affairs services. Author of numerous books and articles, he is currently employed as US Civ‐ ilization Programs Co-Director at the ALP in Dillingen, Germany, plus works in Paris in affiliation with the French government-sponsored AGIR group, under whose aegis he was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Mass Media Studies and International Relations at Christ University, Bengaluru, India in 2017-18. Prof. Dr. Maria Eisenmann Maria Eisenmann holds the Chair for Teaching English as a Foreign Language at the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg. She studied English, German and Pedagogy at the Universities of Würzburg and Newcastle upon Tyne, Eng‐ land. She has extensive teaching experience both at schools in Germany and at German Universities. Her main research interests are in the areas of teaching literature, media literacy as well as interand transcultural learning. She has edited and co-edited numerous books and published widely in the field of teaching literature and literary literacy. She co-edited Shakespeare in the EFL Classroom, published 2014, and Learning with Literature in the EFL Classroom, published in 2015. Her primary research interests lie in the field of teaching literature, media literacy and intercultural learning including individual differences. She pub‐ lished widely in the field of teaching literature and literary literacy. Claudia Maria Hugo Claudia Maria Hugo is head of department of English and also teaches history at Bodensee-Gymnasium Lindau. She has contributed to several teacher training conferences (GMF, E&M), focussing on practical solutions for the everyday classroom. She is also involved in the development of coursebooks. Udo Legner Udo Legner teaches German and English at the Maria-Theresia Gymnasium, Augsburg. He has conducted seminars there for many years in its American Studies Department on contemporary US Literature and Popular Culture sub‐ jects, runs various Erasmus programs and school exchanges. Since 2006 he has worked for the Educational Division of the City of Augsburg, where he organizes teacher-training sessions, cooperative and interdisciplinary projects between schools and other institutions focused on theatre, music and literature. In this context he has established the successful "Just Kids Festival". Christian Schulze Christian Schulze is a teacher of English, social sciences and history at Bo‐ densee-Gymnasium Lindau. He is part of several projects concerning teaching with the help of digital media and has contributed to several teacher training conferences (GMF, E&M), focussing on practical solutions for the everyday classroom. He has also been involved in the development of coursebooks. Prof. Dr. Engelbert Thaler Engelbert Thaler is full Professor of TEFL at Augsburg University. After teaching English at Gymnasium for 20 years, he did his doctoral thesis on Musikvideoclips im Englischunterricht and his habilitation at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich on Offene Lernarrangements im Englischunterricht. Rekonstruktion, Kon‐ struktion, Konzeption, Exemplifikation, Integration. His research foci are improving teaching quality (Balanced Teaching), teacher education and training, developing coursebooks, media literacy, and teaching literature. He has published more than 600 contributions to TEFL. His recent publications include Short Films in Language Teaching, Englisch unterrichten, Shorties - Flash Fiction in Language Teaching, and Standard-basierter Englischun‐ Contributors 208 tericht. Thaler is also editor of the journal Praxis Fremdsprachenunterricht and of several coursebooks. Prof. Dr. Laurenz Volkmann Laurenz Volkmann is full Professor of Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena. He has a long teaching experience both at schools in Germany and at universities in the USA, the UK and in various German states. His main research interests are in the areas of interand trans‐ cultural learning as well as in teaching literature, culture, media and gender-re‐ lated issues. He has edited and co-edited numerous books and is the author of Fachdidaktik Englisch. Kultur und Sprache (2010) and the co-author of Teaching English (2015). He is currently working on a standard introduction to teaching grammar. and vocabulary and on a study provisionally entitled Gin & Tonic: A Cultural History. Max von Blanckenburg Max von Blanckenburg is research assistant at the Chair of Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Munich University (LMU). His current research centres on rhetoric and foreign language education. Other areas of interest include teaching with literature and film, drama-oriented approaches in EFL, and digital learning. PD Dr. Eva-Sabine Zehelein Eva-Sabine Zehelein is currently Adjunct Professor at Goethe University Frank‐ furt and a 2017/ 18 Visiting Research Associate Fellow at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University (with generous support by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung). Her publications include For (Dear) Life: Close Readings of Alice Munro’s Ultimate Fiction (edited volume, 2014), Science: Dramatic, Science Plays in America and Great Britain, 1990-2007 (2009) - which has been widely reviewed as only the second monograph in its field - and “Space as Symbol”: John Updike’s “Country of Ideas” in den “Rabbit Romanen” (2003). She has given invited talks among others at CUNY, Stanford U, UMass Amherst and the Aus‐ trian Academy of Sciences. She has been a visiting professor at the U of Alberta (2013) as well as a visiting researcher at the U of Calgary (2013), the U of Win‐ nipeg (2016, Spletzer Family Research Grant) and at Emory U (2015). Time per‐ mitting, she plays the sax. Contributors 209