Learn English Through Songs

Songs are one of the effective supporting tools in learning English. When I was in elementary school, my teacher taught us English through a song. I still remember that she used a song by R Kelly - I Believe I Can Fly. I used to think this song belonged to Westlife, but since I wrote this blog I know the original singer. I’m sorry Kelly 😀. Even though my teacher only played the chorus part, I felt this song really helped me to learn English well. The song taught me many aspects of the English, such as vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. It also entertained my classmates and made us feel good about attending the class. No wonder many experts suggest teachers use English songs to improve the students’ language skills. So, as I would like to write on this blog, I want to emphasize that using songs is an effective way of the language learning process; especially English.

The use of songs to learn English provides many benefits for students. According to Millington (2011), using songs in learning English can improve students’ vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and listening skills. It seems clear that songs can help the English learning sessions because they provide lyrics and their own meanings which can be used as material for class discussion. Songs are also one of the important teaching media that can be used in the EFL listening class. It is obvious because many teachers say listening to English songs can improve students' language skills. The singers who are native speakers also can facilitate students to know how to pronounce the words. In addition, songs can be useful to reduce students’ anxiety and build a harmonious classroom atmosphere (Shen, 2009). Students perceive English songs as entertainment not for assignments they have to complete. Therefore, students will feel entertained and increase their interest in English by learning songs that are suitable in length and age-appropriate.

As a prospective teacher, I would like to implement the song methods in my future English class. I will choose songs that are easy for students to listen to. Songs with less difficult words will support the learning process. Furthermore, I will also use the songs which are relevant to the assignments that have to be done by students. For example, with the “Explain the Song” method. The students will choose their favorite song in a group discussion. They will do a group presentation in the next meeting by using a template that I have given about what is the meaning, the theme and the moral value of the song. I will also pay attention to the time limit and ask them to allocate it fairly for each member in presenting their project. Oral presentation will give students an opportunity to communicate with their own language (Fitria, 2013). This method will be suitable in supporting class discussion and also can improve their public speaking skills. Another example is by using the “Fill in the Blanks” or “Match the Words” method which is one surefire way to improve the vocabulary skills of EFL students. Then, it will be paired with several songs like True Colors by Justin Timberlake, We Are The Champions by Queen, Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers ft. Coldplay, or even See You Again by Charlie Puth ft. Wiz Khalifa. According to Heyer (2021), those songs are suitable in helping students to figure out structure and recognize the use of the verb form or formal & informal words in the songs. I will also ask some questions about the title such as "what is champion?" and "can you mention an activity that has a champion?". In short, all the methods that I have mentioned before will obviously also help students in improving their listening skills because they have to listen to the songs carefully. Overall, it may be said that songs can be an effective way to improve students' abilities in learning English.

References:

Millington, N. T. (2011). Using songs effectively to teach English to young learners. Language Education in Asia, 2(1), 134-141.

Shen, C. (2009). Using English songs: An enjoyable and effective approach to Elt. English language teaching, 2(1), 88-94.

Listiyaningsih, T. (2017). The Influence of Listening English Song to Improve Listening Skill in Listening Class. Academica: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(1), 35-49.

Fitria, S. (2013). Speaking Activities in Young Learners Classroom: The Implementation of Project-Based Learning Approach. Journal of English and Education, 1(2), 90-102.

Heyer, S. (February, 2021). Grammar + Songs. Sandraheyersongs. Retrieved from <https://sandraheyersongs.com/grammar-songs/>

Simpson, A. J. (2015, March 4). How to use songs in the English language classroom. Britishcouncil. Retrieved from <https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/how-use-songs-english-language-classroom>