Ground Control to Major Tom

So David Bowie works really well in class. I used Space Oddity, two classes in a row (we did half the first day, and then finished the song out on day two), and the students really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this to other ESL teachers out there. As you know, my groups are all lower-level, so I had to translate a lot of the words for them, but the song tells a story that is easy to understand. Additionally, the slow tempo of the song and the clearness of Bowie's voice helped with comprehension. On the first day, after we had listened to and read through the lyrics, I asked them, "So what is Major Tom? What does he do?" and both classes immediately said "cosmonaut" without a second of hesitation. Usually they have to spend time pondering basic meanings. I like songs that work clearly. Of course, when I asked them what "cosmonaut" was in English, both classes told me "spaceman." I found that interesting... As a kid growing up during the latter years of the cold war, I knew that we (the US) had astronauts and they (the USSR) had cosmonauts. I thought everyone (in the US, at least) knew that. Or maybe it's just those geeky ones of us who had an over-dorkified interest in spaceflight. Anyhow, none of my students, neither the post-soviet generation nor the soviet/perestroika generation knew the word astronaut. I don't know about you, but I found that interesting. On the second day, several of my students seemed genuinely disturbed by the ending of the song, and we talked about different reasons why it might have ended the way it did. Definite recommendation!