How are you?

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This song has become famous around the world, but the description below is the one I originally put on the website the day after I first wrote the song.

I was thinking the other day that there must be a way for my kids to practice at home what they learn in class. Then it hit me - songs!! Get a melody going round and round in their heads and they'll never forget it!

The problem is that most English songs have too difficult and often not very useful lyrics. So I decided to write a song for each of my English games, using only the language used in class! This is the first "How are you?"! It's a perfect accompaniment to the "Gokiburi Game" and works amazingly well! I was stunned to see how well the kids reacted to it! Try it and see!

1. Teach the phrase "How are you?" and the various replies. It's very important to have actions with the song. It becomes easier to remember, and physical movement improves the memorisation of the words! The replies and movements are

"I'm hungry" (they pat their tummies)

"I'm tired", (they go to sleep!)

"I'm cold", (they shiver)

"I'm sad" (they pull a sad face)

"I'm Happy" (a big, smily face!)

"I'm great", (they throw their arms in the air!)

"I'm good" (thumbs up!)

"I'm OK!" (either the western or Japanese OK sign!)

When you teach the song, it's always good to keep the actual recording till near the end, this way they don't get bored. Maybe first off sing the song line by line, then get them to sing (and do the actions). Then you can start the recorded version. Maybe do this two times. You can get more out of it by then making them pair up with the person next to them. The people facing the corridor sing the first line "Hello, how are you?" and the people facing the opposite way sing the next "hello, how are you?" and so on. This works really well. You can even do this as a competition, getting them to be louder than the other team!

In the verses I sing "I'm hungry" etc. and then there is an "echo" of it. At first, just get the kids to sing the echo part. But when they get good, you can split the class. Have one side sing the main vocal and the other the "echo" they can then join up for the chorus!

In future lessons you can play the song once and the kids should remember it! It's a really quick review! When you have done several songs (for several different English topics) then try playing one at the beginning of each lesson as an alternative to the Warm Up Game!

Picture Book

How are you?

Online Game

How are you?

Click here for the Teachers' Notes.

Worksheet:
The worksheets with the 9 pictures of Aygo or Mr Monkey are great activities. The teacher shouts out a number and then one of the lyrics from the song (the lyrics are printed inside the CD booklet). For example, "Aygo number 3 is Happy!". The kids would then make Aygo number 3 into a happy Aygo by drawing a happy face on him! This activity practises the expressions used in "How are you?", as well as numbers and is a good way for the kids to develop their imagination and drawing skills!

The song is available here to download for free in MP3 format (if you don't know what that means, then ask a computer teacher, I'm sure they'll help you!). But please remember that the song is Copyright. You can use the songs in your class or for your own use, but please don't make multiple copies!

Click here to: Download MP3 Buy CD

If you can't use MP3s, then why not buy the Genki English CD? You'll find the full quality stereo version of the "How are you?" song along with the karaoke version, and a special CDROM section where kids can hear the words spoken as many times as they like - perfect for non-native speaker teachers!

Anyway, Enjoy!! (and good luck in trying to get the song out of your head after you've heard it a few times!!

"I'm OK!".

I found this song really excellent! The children, who were completely new to English (I live in Austria) learned the vocabulary instantly.

by Stephanie

First of all, my little ones (grades 1-3) love the song. Sometimes if I catch them in the halls and ask them "How are you?" they automatically break into song.

As for one activity, I made a worksheet with a picture for each of the emotions in the song, similar to the country worksheet you suggest for "Where are you from?" activities. I hand out cards to each kid and that becomes their answer to the question "How are you?" Then they go around and ask each other "Hello, how are you?" Whatever the other person answers, they get to cross it off of their list. Once they have crossed every emotion off of their list, they can sit down. However, kids can still interview the kids sitting down in order to finish their sheet. It's a bit of a controlled activity, but it gets them practicing the question and answer pattern, as some kids mistakenly believe that the appropriate response to "Hello, how are you?" is "Hello, how are you?"

Hello , I am Zebo an English teacher from Tajikistan, I used this song and actions and my 5th grade students love it very much.Thank you very much. I like this site very much and take a lot new ideas and things from this site.If only we could download all the songs there only a few to download. I also love to use songs in my classroom.

( Thanks for the feedback Zebo, you can now download all the songs in the download pack! - Richard)

I looked all around and couldn't find any flashcards suitable for babies. they shouldn't be frightened by flashcards... yours are cute. thank you

Bonnie

The "How are you?" Lesson