Martina is a musician/ composer/ songwriter and performer with a longstanding background in teaching German and music in British primary schools. Martina has also taught at the German Saturday School in Islington and led the singing circle there for many years. She brought up her own boys bilingually and back then the Saturday School was the cradle for many of her songs for German as a foreign and second language. “Hey hey hallo!” has become the School’s anthem and is still being sung now by the children to kick off the morning sessions.
Martina developed the songs further into an interactive song programme which she is touring worldwide. The tours are often organised by the Goethe-Institut.
Martina’s songbooks & CDs
Martina’s songbooks & accompanying CDs for German as a foreign and second Language were created in close collaboration with the Goethe-Institute London. The first Songbook and CD Learn German with Songs (blue book) was published in 2005 and by popular demand the second volume Learn More German with Songs (red book) followed in 2008. The latter has also been published by the German publisher Hueber-Verlag and can be ordered here: SPIELERISCH DEUTSCH LERNEN, LIEDER UND REIME
All songbooks contain musical notation with chord symbols as well as worksheets and a section with “tips for teachers” on how to use the songs. The CDs include a fully sung version of the song, followed by a playback version. The resources are aimed at KS1 and KS2, but are adaptable for all ages. They are an ideal way for teachers to complement their primary language lesson.
These are audio samples from Martina’s song books Learn German with Songs and Learn More German with Songs:
Hey, hey hallo! (Hi! Hello!) (Learn German with Songs)
Hitzefrei! (“Heat-free!”, a song about getting time off school when it’s too hot) (Learn more German with Songs)
Das Wochenlied (The days of the week) (Learn German with Songs)
Der Tier-Tango (The animal-tango) (Learn more German with Songs)
Martina is taking her brand new song programme about climate change into schools in the UK and abroad.
More info about these new songs and audio samples can be found here!
Martina would love to visit your school and workshop these and other songs with your pupils.
You can follow up the sessions with accompanying audio files, lyrics, scores and tips for teachers.