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  • Music is part of the English language, even if we don't realise.

  • (Chanting) Concentration. Concentration. Concentration, are you ready? Concentration, now beginning. Rachael.

  • Concentration. Are you ready? Concentration now beginning.

  • And so they've had the same words twice, first time they've stressed every syllable and then the second time they've

  • condensed it already to two beats.

  • So when they're putting a name, they have to decide which syllable they're going to

  • stress and how they're going to fit it into the rhyme and this is of course what we

  • do with stress timing naturally as English speakers.

  • Concentration. Concentration. Concentration, now beginning. Concentration, are you ready? Rachael. Stacy.

  • (Laughing)

  • So they have a safe structure which they produce the rhyme in, but then they have this tiny

  • bit that they have to change and they can explore stress timing within that constraint.

  • Do you agree?

  • Black socks never get dirty. The longer you wear them the cleaner they get. Sometimes

  • I think I should wash them but then a voice says to me don't do it...

  • (Student) Yet. Sometimes I think I should wash them

  • (Students) Sometimes I think I should wash them

  • but then a voice says to me don't do it yet. (Students) but then a voice says to me

  • don't do it yet.

  • 'Black socks' is two syllables and they have two beats. 'Never get dirty' so those two

  • words that you've got, 'never get dirty' that you have to condense into two beats.

  • 'The longer you wear them'

  • again,

  • 'the cleaner they get'. So they have these...

  • they're constantly squashing words into beats.

  • Three words, any three words. One. Two...

  • Black socks never get dirty. The longer you wear them the.. (Students) I, the I! I.

  • (Teacher) Three. Sometimes I think I should wash them but then a voice says to me don't do it yet.

  • Okay right, now we're going to do it

  • in four separate rounds.

  • So you guys go. 'Black socks never get dirty. The longer you wear them the cleaner they get'.

  • 'Black socks' but you keep singing!

  • (All together)...the cleaner they get.

  • Sometimes I think I should wash them but then a voice says to me don't do it yet.

  • There are four different things being said in the classroom at that time. Everybody still

  • has the same beat and so what is really important is that beat that keeps everybody together.

  • (Rounds) Sometimes I think I should wash them but then a voice says to me don't do it yet.

  • And it can be quite powerful and exciting, the way it sounds can be really amazing and

  • yet, at the same time, you're giving them this practice that's fundamental especially

  • for Chinese speakers who don't have that stress timing. It's, like it's really important practice

  • to try and get them to understand and recognise and use these patterns.

Music is part of the English language, even if we don't realise.

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