Eurovision Song Contest and Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language

The Eurovision Song Contest is one of Europe’s most anticipated annual events, bringing together artists from across the continent to celebrate music, performance, and cultural diversity. But did you know that Eurovision can also be a powerful ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching tool?

Whether you're working with teens or adults, beginners or intermediate learners, Eurovision offers a rich context for developing language skills, exploring different cultures, and learning about unity and cooperation. In this blog post, we’ll explore how you can integrate Eurovision into your ESL classroom — and we’ll even include resources for following the Semifinals and Finals, plus a bonus movie guide!

🇪🇺 Learning About European Countries and Cultures

Each year, participating countries showcase not only their music but also elements of their language, identity, and traditions. This multicultural showcase makes Eurovision an exciting platform for ESL students to:

• Discover where different countries are located on a map of Europe

• Learn about flags, customs, national languages, and famous landmarks

• Compare cultural expressions in music and costume

📝 Tip: Create a Eurovision Culture Project where students choose a participating country, research key facts, and present their findings in English!

🎵 Song-Based Activities to Boost Language Skills

Music is one of the best ways to enhance ESL listening, vocabulary, and pronunciation. With Eurovision songs ranging from ballads to electro-pop, there's something for everyone.

Some ideas for Eurovision-themed ESL lessons:

• Lyric gap-fill activities using selected songs

• Vocabulary and idioms hunt in song lyrics

• Speaking tasks: Students discuss the meaning of a song or debate which one should win

• Writing prompts: Compose a short story or scene based on the song's theme

🔗 ESL Eurovision Guides: Watch, Learn, and Practice

To help your students follow along with the contest, consider creating or using Eurovision Watch Guides specifically designed for ESL learners. These guides can include:

• A list of competing countries with flags and fun facts

• Short bios of performers with simple vocabulary

• “Before Watching” and “After Watching” discussion questions

• Listening comprehension tasks for specific songs

• A voting ballot for students to score performances (great for practicing ordinal numbers and expressing opinions!)

💡 Bonus: Assign students to follow one of the Eurovision Semifinals or Finals. Afterwards, they can write a review, give a presentation, or even recreate the voting process in class using English.

🎬 Movie Spotlight: Eurovision Song Contest – The Story of Fire Saga (Netflix)

This hilarious and heartfelt movie starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams offers an entertaining entry point for ESL lessons.

Here’s how you can use Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga as an ESL resource:

• Pre-watching tasks: Teach key vocabulary and cultural references (e.g., Icelandic names, what Eurovision is)

• While watching: Focus on listening for specific phrases or dialogue chunks

• Post-watching: Have students summarize the plot, describe characters, and reflect on the movie’s message about dreams, perseverance, and cultural identity

• Roleplay: Ask students to act out scenes or create their own quirky Eurovision duo

📚 Combine this with writing activities like writing a fan letter to Lars or Sigrit, or designing their own fictional Eurovision act!

🌍 Promoting Unity and Cooperation

At its core, Eurovision stands for unity and celebration of diversity. It’s the perfect springboard for discussions around:

• International cooperation

• The power of music to bring people together

• Respect for cultural differences

Group activities, such as planning a "Classroom Eurovision," where students represent different countries, write their own lyrics, and perform or present, can strengthen both language skills and classroom community.

🎓 Final Thoughts

The Eurovision Song Contest is much more than a musical spectacle — it's a multilingual, multicultural ESL classroom waiting to happen. With the right approach, you can transform this annual event into an immersive, interactive, and inspirational learning experience. Your students will not only improve their English skills but also expand their worldviews.

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