LaLaFolk
LaLaFolk offers music-based resources that connect Catalan culture with English learning for primary school children.
Catalonia’s unique traditions—giants, fire runs, the tió, human towers, Carnival, and more—provide exciting themes that spark children’s imagination.
Each unit is built around a catchy song linked to a festival, with activities, games, videos, flashcards, and teacher guides.
This is an ongoing project, and new units will be made available regularly through our newsletter.
January:
Let's Eat "Calçots" - for 9-12 year olds
Available on Spotify. Search for 'Let' s Eat Calçots' by Genevieve Shaw
Calçots Time!
This catchy song helps kids talk in English about one of Catalonia’s most loved winter traditions—eating calçots! Perfect from January to April, it connects classroom learning with real family life, making English feel natural, fun, and deliciously familiar.
Spend 10-15 minutes of your English class learning the song for around 4 sessions. If you want to do the additional activities (wordsearch, bingo, gap fill) allow an additional 15-20 minutes.
How to teach 'Let's Eat Calçots'
1. Play hangman to elicit the word calçots
or show photos of calçots id students are unfamiliar with the concept.
2. Introduce the song
Tell the children you’re going to listen to a song about eating calçots. Show them the photos and see if anyone knows any related vocabulary.
3. Listen to the song
Ask the students to listen to the song, and raise their hand when they hear the word "calçots".
4. Teach them one part of the song each week over 4 weeks. Invent actions fot he song as you learn it.
Try out the different suggested activities:
🧩 Word search
✏️ Gap fill
5. End with games to reinforce learning
Finish each session with a fun game to help review the language from the song, such as Simon Says.
Visit the 'Let's Eat Calçots' work unit, and get access to a teacher's guide, video with actions, flashcards, images and activity ideas.
Core library:
The Giants are Dancing - for 3-5 year olds
The Giants Are Dancing introduces the tradition of Giants to children in a simple, playful way. Designed for ages 3–5, the song encourages movement and participation while also teaching basic English vocabulary through rhythm and repetition. It’s a gentle first step into both language and culture, where children can whirl and dance like the giants themselves.
Towns and cities across Catalonia and Spain celebrate festes — community events that bring people together through music, tradition and celebration. Unlike a festival, a festa is organised by the town itself and features folkloric processions that fill the streets. At the heart of these celebrations are the giants (gegants), iconic figures that dance with slow, majestic movements.
1. Introduce the song by explaining that every town hall in Catalonia has its own giants, and that they are a focal part of summer festivals in Catalonia.
2. Explain that the giants have emblematic movements: twirling, whirling, which are different ways of saying 'turning around.'
3. Search for videos on YouTube of 'gegants' (giants) and show the students what they look like. Here is an example.
4. Listen to the song and ask the children if they were able to recognise any words. Repeat those words and ask the students to say them with you.
5. Listen to the song again and ask students to raise their hand when they hear the words you talked about previously.
6. Encourage the children to dance to the song while you listen to it again.
7. Practise singing and dancing this song over a 4-week period.
Tip: Encourage the children to dance and sing in pairs. Ask them to mirror the movements of Catalan giants, while singing and dancing together.
Another day, hand out scraves and encourage students to use wave the scarves and do the movements while singing the song.
Visit the work unit for additional resources and activities.