This is a special note to all of my wonderful clients from 2024 –
In case I haven’t seen you in the classroom yet this year, let me take this opportunity to wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR. I’ve got a fun little gift for your English practice in 2025.
As many of you know, one of my personal creative learning goals for 2024 was to write and record 2 original songs to help practice English pronunciation. I don’t mean childrens’ songs. I mean professionally produced contemporary music with fun, original, and linguistically useful lyrics.
I really appreciate the support and encouragement from so many of you along the way. And… though a tiny bit later than I had intended, I’ve done it!!!!
The 2 songs I’ve created both have danceable beats, but very different styles. They are designed to help you master some of the most important English sounds. I hope you’ll find them both fun and helpful to sing along with.
Song #1: Long Vowels on Vacation
Long Vowels on Vacation was published to Youtube in July 2024. It’s a groovy dance tune with a 1970’s funk vibe. The music is perfect for practicing your English long vowels while you clean the house or go for a run. You can also just blast it and dance around your room. Beware, the lyrics are catchy, and have been reported to stay in people’s heads for days!
For that song, I used music licensed from the internet and added my words and voice. A few friends sang the repeat vocals. A larger group of friends and I had lots of fun making the video at a lake on my birthday.
Unfortunately, working with licensed music was a headache, and I later learned a disappointing lesson. My music license ONLY covers use in a video. That means I can’t make the song available to download onto your devices. I’m really sorry about that. Nonetheless, I remain happy with how my first effort turned out. If you haven’t heard it yet, I hope you’ll have fun with it. Here’s that link to the song again.
Song #2: The Short Vowel Blues
As of this week, I’m happy to share that The Short Vowel Blues is now available on Soundcloud.
My talented friends from the Pai Nai Project played a great 12-bar blues piece. My 20 year old son contributed his silky deep voice to the background vocals while he was visiting for the holidays. I’ll be performing it live on a stage in my town later this week. A fun video for this song will also be coming sometime in the coming weeks/months.
Meanwhile, this newest song is available until end March 2025 to download for FREE onto your own devices. You are welcome to share with your friends and networks. (After March, I’ll be including it in a bigger educational package I’m developing, so downloading won’t be free for everyone.)
The lyrics are on the download page, so you can learn to sing along. Put it on your phone, play it in the car or while you’re exercising. The short vowels can be tricky, but practice makes perfect and the song has been designed to help you.
Please leave a little heart on the download page if you enjoy the song. As a long-time blues lover, I’m personally really excited with how it turned out.
Will there be more songs?
Maybe. I’ve had a ton of fun writing and recording these pronunciation songs. I also learned a LOT. For now, recording more songs isn’t part of my most important goals for 2025. However, now I know I can do it if the inspiration comes!
If I do create more songs, it’s likely that I will make them available on SoundCloud instead of on youtube. You’re most welcome to bring your suggestions for more songs to support English learning into the classroom!
I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity support your language goals in 2024. I look forward to being of further service in 2025.
Enjoy the music, and I hope to see you soon!
Coach Christina
