Music Video

This is a beautiful song by Tracy Chapman. Before you listen, read the lyrics as if they were a story and see if you can guess which word goes in each gap. Then listen to check your answers. Can you summarise the story in this song? What do you think the message of the song is?

Cellophane: A see-through material used to wrap food.

We all sometimes feel like we need more attention, but this character from Chicago feels completely invisible! Read through the lyrics to the song and see if you can guess which word goes in each gap, then listen and check your answers. Do you relate to the singer, or do you think he is just complaining about nothing?

I love this song, even though it is a bit depressing! Read through the lyrics and try to guess which word fits in each gap before you listen. Why don't you listen to some different versions of the song as well. To complete the lesson you need to listen to link 1, but listen to Niia's version at link 2 as well if you want!

Lesson by Caroline Devane

This is a very old, very famous song which has been performed by many renowned artists, including the following, Frank Sinatra! Before you listen, read through the lyrics and try to decide what the song is about. Is it happy or sad? Is it romantic? Then listen and complete the gaps with the missing words.

Lesson by Caroline Devane

In this beautiful and sad song, the singer requests that the woman he loves has faith in him; how romantic! Listen to the first half of the song and see if you can put the missing words in the correct gaps. Then answer this bonus question: What's the meaning of the main phrasal verb in this song? Good luck!

By Caroline

Christmas is coming, my favourite time of year! Here’s a song by the wonderful Michael Buble to get you in the Christmas spirit. Listen to the song and complete the gaps with the missing words. Merry Christmas!

This is a beautiful song by the extremely successful band, Coldplay. In this song, you should be able to guess which word fits into the gap without listening. Try to guess first and then listen to see if you were right!

I kind of like this song...but don't tell anyone! Why? Because it's a guilty pleasure, something we like even though we know we shouldn't. A guilty pleasure will usually cause your friends to laugh at you and remind you of how silly you are constantly. Listen to this song by young boy-band One Direction (oh the shame) and fill the gaps with the missing words. Then let me know your guilty pleasures, if you dare!

Lesson by Caroline Devane

This song describes the difficulty of finding yourself single after an important relationship. Do you usually read through the lyrics and guess which words fit the gaps before you listen to the song? I’d like you to try that today, you may be surprised at how well you can understand the context! As always, please let me know if you have any requests for songs or artists in the future!

This song by Pixie Lott is a perfect example of the 'casual' spelling and pronunciation of some English words. In words ending in 'ing', people often drop the last g. For example 'singing' becomes 'singin'.

Remember: It is useful to be aware of casual or 'slang' English, but it is usually only used in informal situations.