Analysis Of How Influential The Song Is For The Development Of Learning

English for

Anggi Agusti

181230110

TBI-4C

UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten

Abstract

Speaking and listening is two components which very distributed in communication

of English language. For learn speaking and listening well we can found many ways
to get it. Here, i want to give advice to learn english easily through songs. Where us
can learn much english there like we can learn listening, speaking, pronunciation,
vocabularies, of course singing too. This is why i take this topic because songs was
helped me so much about english, songs makes me loves to english, i learn much
from songs to know more about vocabularies, pronunciation and so on. I think this is
my time to share my experience to you all to learning English with enjoy ways.
Through songs. My purpose in raising this title is to share that learning English is not
hard As most people think. There's so much ways to us to understand about English.
One of which is through songs. The way which i choose to learn english more.
Learning English through songs is not boring, It's fun, and easy to understand. This
article contains how songs can influence the development of our English learning
such as songs can improve the ability to speak, listen, understand meaning, grammar,
and pronounce. from some problems of difficulty in learning English, song is one of
the media that is very fun to learn, improve our English language skills, especially for
young learners.

Keywords : Influental, Songs, development of learning

Introduction

Songs are one type of listening activity that has broad potential. Music and
songs are an important part of growth and learning. Young learners love to teach and
teachers naturally use songs to teach them concepts and languages in a fun way. Some
important song characteristics are that the song is fun and can make students excited.
For now, we live in a modern era where we faced with many fun ways to learning.
Students easily to get bored with teaching bored ways like just give some materials
and then the teachers give explanation about that. Here is the way to make the young
learners to have spirit to learning.

However, the most important song feature is repetition. They contain language
patterns, but also develop listening skills, speaking skills, grammar, pronunciation and
rhythm, and provide a pleasant atmosphere. Even if the teacher plays the song several
times a day, most students will probably not be bored, that way makes the student
remembering what is in that songs. Besides that, song is a very useful type of activity.
There are so many aspects of language that can be conveyed and recycled through the
use of songs. They can be used at every stage of the lesson and there are many ways
to include them in the lesson. Sometimes ice, they are used only as a gap filler and
warm up, sometimes as a main part of the lesson, but sometimes they are there to
provide a pleasant atmosphere.

Anyway, Whatever your goal is learning English through songs, whatever the
way to learn English itself, or just to look cool, or do you like songs that make
English easy, or to entertain your students who are bored with a lot of material that
has been you give, or even just to accompany your free time, I agree. whatever your
goals, I'm sure it is a learning for you to get to know English better. for whatever
method this study is used, I'm sure it will still be useful.

Literature review

According to Baehaqi (2011: 23) in English itself there are 16 kinds of tenses
i.e. present tense, past tense, present future tense, past future tense, present perfect
tense, past perfect tense, present continuous tense, past continuous tense, present
future continuous tense, past future continuous tense, present future perfect tense, past
future perfect tense, present perfect continuous tense, past perfect continuous tense,
present future perfect continuous tense, and past perfect future continuous tense. But,
not all of them are oftenly used in daily conversation. In our daily life, there are only
5 kinds of tenses that are mostly used i.e. the simple present tense, present continuous
tense, present perfect tense, simple past tense, and simple future tense

Eventhough there are only at least 5 tenses which have to be mastered, most
Indonesian students with less-contact with English in their daily life still feel difficult
to understand. Suwartono (2014: 834) stated that deductive approach conducted by
teacher in class might be the factor that encounter the problem. The teacher does not
give enough example from real life so that the students do not feel interested to learn.
Besides, some teachers also teach the students by only doing the spoon-feeding by
giving some formulas which make them feel bored and puzzled. They tend to teach
English tenses like teaching mathematics. Based on those reasons, the deductive
teaching method seems to be less effective to teach tenses. Thus, some researchers
decide to look for other alternatives including changing the learning media. Many
kinds of media later are used and applied in the teaching method for various kinds of
learning material. As for the tenses learning, the use of songs is chosen by some
teachers as it is considered to be quite effective to teach tenses especially for young
learners at schools. This might be because the song is one of an interesting learning
media that is familiar to students. This statement is supported by an opinion that
through songs, the class atmosphere can be more comfortable as stated by Lo and Fai
Li in Saricoban and Metin (2000) who said that learning English through songs also
provides a non-threatening atmosphere for students, who usually are tense when
speaking English in a formal classroom setting. Besides, Saricoban and Metin (2000)
also state that songs are highly memorable and motivating. This atmosphere will help
students feel more comfortable and motivated during the teaching and learning
process.

The effectiveness of songs to teach tenses for young learners in Indonesia has
proven to be quite good, at least based on the result of some researchs conducted by
some researchers. A research conducted by an English Language Teaching
Department of Muhammadiyah University of Purwokerto, Dr. Suwartono, showed
how the use of songs in teaching English tenses is able to give significance increase in
students’ achievement. While the research was being conducted during a teaching and
learning process in class, the teacher played a song, asked the students to listen to the
song and then asked them to guess some missing lyrics. The topic for the activity
were about Present Continuous Tense using a song entitled ‘Sailing’ by Rod Stewart.
But before, the teacher firstly held a pretest by giving some exercises in question
sheets about the material

After the test, the students’ answers are then corrected and compared between
the result of the pretest and the post test which used the song. The result were quite
surprising, as there is a siginificant increase of students’ score. The students’ score
after the post test using the song is increased up to 17,3 %. Further, in the pretest,
there were only 3 students who achieved 60 (for the score), while after post test the
number of students who achieved more than 60 is two times bigger than after the
pretest which did not used song as the learning media.

Eken (1996: 46) enumerates eight reasons for the use of song in a language
classroom. Firstly, a song may be used to present a topic, new vocabulary or a
language point. Then, it may also be used as a practice of lexis. Beyond question,
songs can be used as a material for extensive and intensive listening. Some teachers
may use them to focus on frequent learner errors in a more indirect way. Not to
mention that songs are a perfect source for stimulating discussions about feelings and
attitudes. Learners may talk over with another in pairs or in small groups what
happened in the song and then share their opinions with the rest of students.
Additionally, songs may arrange a relaxed classroom atmosphere and contribute to
fun and variety in language teaching. Finally, songs may be said to encourage the use
of imagination and creativity during foreign language lessons.

Fundamentally, popular songs touch the lives of learners, and are connected
with their various interests and everyday experiences. Almost all popular songs are
related to the same topic of friendship, love, dream, sorrow, and the rest which are the
common feelings of people. Since most young people nowadays are interested in a
wide range of cultural forms outside classes, songs may be a really motivating and
unique teaching tool. Experiencing with films, television, computer games and
popular music seems to be highly motivating. Accordingly, more time and
concentration to popular music in English foreign language classroom would surely
increase learners’ motivation as classroom tasks would reflect on their knowledge,
their music and the vocabulary they already know from the songs (Baoan 2008).

Another important factor making a song valuable for an English lesson is that
it may create really favourable conditions for learning. Murphey (1992: 6) is of the
opinion that “the use of music and songs can stimulate very positive associations to
the study of a language, which otherwise may only be seen as a laborious task,
entailing exams, frustration, and corrections”. People usually identify songs with fun,
which is why learning through songs is associated with an enjoyable atmosphere.

Moreover, music may be used to relax students since for many learning a new
language is a new experience. Our mother tongue – our basis of communication, is in
some classes forbidden to use and learners may feel lost or helpless (Griffee 1992: 4).
The author also adds World Scientific News 43(1) (2016) 1-55 -25- that especially
instrumental playing silently in the background makes students feel more secure when
doing the task at the same time. Songs played in the background when learners read
some conversations, are typical of Suggestopaedia. This teaching method was
invented by Georgi Lozanow in Bulgaria and its valuable element is music in the
background. Essentially, the Suggestopaedia method involves the students’ barriers
and negative attitudes such as low self-esteem, anxiety or lack of motivation to
learning. Meanwhile, students’ learning occurs subconsciously and may be amusing
for them as well. These are some important features of that teaching technique: a
relaxed atmosphere, a classroom positive environment, a new identity of learners, or
music activities themselves (Larsen – Freeman 2000: 73-80). Saricoban and Metin
(2000) also state that songs are highly memorable and motivating. This atmosphere
will help students feel more comfortable and motivated during the teaching and
learning process.

Listening. Purcell (1992) states that students can become bored by repeatedly
listening to a narration or dialog as they attempt to understand the meaning of new
words or phrases in context. In contrast, listening to a song over and over again can
seem less monotonous because of the rhythm and melody. Some songs, such as Hello,
contain common expressions and can be used as good listening activities. For
example, the teacher could sing the first three lines of the song below, and students
could respond with the following three lines.

Hello,

Hello,

Hello, how are you?

I’m fine,

I’m fine,

I hope that you are, too.

Songs can also help to improve listening skills because they provide students
with practice listening to different forms of intonation and rhythm. English has a
stress-timed rhythm, for which songs can help to establish a feeling. Murphey
believes that music has the power to engrave itself into our brains, stating that “songs
work on our short- and long-term memory” and are therefore adequate tools for using
in the language classroom (1992, p. 3).

Speaking. Children are often keen to learn how to make new sounds and this
can take a great deal of practice. Some teachers use minimal-pair drills, yet these
types of activities are rarely interesting for young learners. Songs, on the other hand,
can allow young learners to practice a new sound without producing the same level of
boredom. Songs also have a natural rhythm with a recurring beat that is similar to the
stress patterns of spoken English. These patterns make some songs useful for
practicing rhythm and stress. The song Girls and Boys Come Out and Play could be
used effectively to teach English rhythm and stress, for example (Richards, 1969, p.
162).

Girls and boys come out to play,

The sun above is bright today.

Leave your work and leave your sleep,

Come and join us in the street.

Come with a shout and come with a call,

Come with a smile and bring your ball.

Down the steps and up the path,

All the fun will make you laugh.

Moriya (1988) emphasizes the value of using songs for pronunciation practice
with Asian learners of English due to the phonemic differences between Asian
languages and English. For example, there are several problematic areas for Japanese
students learning English. Ohata (2004) shows the differences in vowels, consonants
and syllable types that cause difficulties for Japanese learners of English. Practicing
the different sounds by singing songs can be more interesting and enjoyable than
other activities such as minimal-pair drills.

Vocabulary. Songs can provide the opportunity for vocabulary practice. They
are usually based around a theme or topic that can provide the context for vocabulary
learning. The song Teaching Practice Millington - Page 136 Head, Shoulders, Knees
and Toes, for example, could be used to review body parts, or the song I Can Sing a
Rainbow might be useful for reviewing color names. Most children’s songs are
characterized by monosyllabic words, many of which are frequently repeated. This
repetition offers greater exposure to these words and can help to improve vocabulary
acquisition.

Some of the vocabulary and language used in traditional and popular English
songs, however, can cause difficulties for language learners due to their use of low
frequency and archaic words. The song and the lyrics need to be selected carefully to
complement the target vocabulary. A difficulty for teachers is finding and selecting
songs that are suitable both in terms of vocabulary and topic or theme.

Sentence structures and sentence patterns. Many children's songs have a

simple sentence structure or sentence pattern that can become set in the mind of the
learner. Songs could be used to reinforce questions taught in the classroom. The songs
Where is Thumbkin?, Hello, What's Your Name?, and Who is Wearing Red? might be
useful for practicing WH-question forms, for example. Websites such as The
Teacher’s Guide (http://www.theteachersguide. com/) or NIEHS Kids’ Pages
(http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/) provide hundreds of children’s songs with lyrics for
teachers to use.

The length of a phrase in a typical children’s song is short and often uses
simple conversational language. Murphey (1992) states that the pauses after each
phrase are typically longer in comparison to the phrase itself, which can allow
learners to process the language and shadow in real time. Again though, the teacher
needs to take care when selecting a song because some songs have irregular sentence
structures that are not typically used in English conversation.

Culture. According to Jolly (1975), using songs can also give learners the
opportunity to acquire a better understanding of the culture of the target language.
Songs reflect culture; Shen states, “language and music are interwoven in songs to
communicate cultural reality in a very unique way” (2009, p. 88). Although this is
probably more applicable to songs for older learners, young learners can be given the
opportunity to learn about seasonal or historical events in the target language through
songs.

Enjoyment. Probably the most obvious advantage to using songs in the young
learner classroom is that they are enjoyable. Most children enjoy singing and usually
respond well to using songs in the classroom, but there are more significant benefits
to using songs other than just being fun. First, songs can bring variety to the everyday
classroom routine. This variety stimulates interest and attention, which can help
maintain classroom motivation, thereby helping learners to reach higher levels of
achievement. Secondly, songs, in particular choral singing, can help to create a
relaxed and informal atmosphere that makes the classroom a nonthreatening
environment. By reducing anxiety, songs can help increase student interest and
motivate them to learn the target language. Students often think of songs as
entertainment rather than study and therefore find learning English through songs fun
and enjoyable.

Limitations. Although there are many reasons why songs can be considered a
valuable teaching tool, there are some issues to consider. As mentioned above, the
teacher needs to take care in selecting a suitable song for his or her class. The
language, vocabulary, and sentence structure of some songs can be quite different
from that used in spoken English (Richards, 1969, p. 163). For example, the
children’s song or nursery rhyme, Jack Be Nimble, is not likely to help the learner in
the use of the be verb: Language Education in Asia, Volume 2, Issue 1, 2011
Millington - Page 137

Jack be nimble,

Jack be quick,

Jack jump over the candlestick.

In addition, there are other difficulties placed on the teacher. To maintain

variety in the classroom, the teacher needs a good repertoire of songs. Although
young learners are happy to sing the same song on several occasions, interest in the
same song can soon fade if the song is used too often. Some non-native English-
speaking teachers may also worry about teaching the stress and timing of songs
correctly, and are therefore probably more likely to only use certain songs that they
feel comfortable with. Finally, Murphey (1992) points out that no matter how
enjoyable or memorable, singing songs in itself will not teach anyone to use the
language, and will not give students the ability to communicate in another language.
The words in songs unfortunately do not transfer into use.
Method : study pustaka

Finding result

from this article i can learn more about learning english through songs, more
than i knew before. Previously I only knew the benefits of learning English through
songs, I only enjoyed songs in English and then found out about the lyrics, about the
meaning and realized that the song has helped me a lot in my English learning
process. By making this article I know more about learning methods using systematic
songs that can be used in schools or self-study. In this article, I also know that
learning English through songs is one of the effective ways to teach English to young
students especially today.

Conclusion

So many benefits of learning English through songs. Learning English through

songs helps us improve our listening, speaking, vocabulary, grammar, and so on.
songs make the learning process in the classroom more enjoyable it makes students
more relaxed to issue all their opinions. Besides that, the song is much liked by
students because sometimes the song they hear is the same as what he feels and what
he experiences. Because that's the reason why the learning method using songs is
much loved by students. In addition to being very entertaining, learning through songs
is also easier and more effective, directly encouraging the consciences of the students
for each of the spirit of learning.

Referenes

Baehaqi, I. 2011. Practical English Grammar. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar

Suwartono. 2014. “The Use of Songs for Promoting Students’ Participation in The
Teaching of English Structure.” 2014 TEFLIN Proceeding. Retrieved from
https://eprints.uns.ac.id/27385/1/Proceding_TEFLIN_2014_Book_2_p428- 431.pdf
Saricoban and Metin. 2000. “Songs, Verse, and Games for Teaching Grammar.” The
Internet TESL Journal. Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Saricoban-
Songs.html

Eken, Denis Kurtoglu, 1996. “Ideas for Using Songs in the English Language
Classroom”, in: English Teaching FORUM 34, 1: 46.

Baoan, Wang, 2008. “Application of popular English songs in EFL classroom

teaching”, in: Humanising Language Teaching 10, 3. Last access: 10.12.2015.
http://www.hltmag.co.uk/jun08/less03.htm.

Griffee, Dale T. 1992. Songs in action. Trowbridge: Prentice Hall International

Larsen-Freeman, Diane, 2000. Techniques and principles in language teaching. (2nd

edition) Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Murphey, Tim, 1992. Music and song. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Neil T. Millington, Center for Language Education, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific

University, Japan

Jolly, Y. S. (1975). The use of songs in teaching foreign languages. The Modern
Language Journal, 59(1/2), 11-14.

Moriya, Y. (1988). English speech rhythm and its teaching to non-native speakers.
Paper presented at the annual convention of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other
Languages, Chicago.

Murphey, T. (1992). Music and Song. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

NIEHS Kids’ Pages. (2010). Retrieved from http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/

Ohata, K. (2004). Phonological differences between Japanese and English: Several

potentially problematic areas of pronunciation for Japanese ESL/EFL learners. Asian
EFL Journal, 6(4). Retrieved from http://www.asian-efl-
journal.com/december_04_KO.php

Purcell, J. M. (1992). Using songs to enrich the secondary class. Hispania, 75(1), 192-
196. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/344779

Richards, J. (1969). Songs in language learning. TESOL Quarterly, 3(2), 161-174.

Shen, C. (2009). Using English songs: An enjoyable and effective approach to ELT.
English Language Teaching, 2(1), 88-94. Retrieved from
www.ccsenet.org/journal.html

The Teacher’s Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.theteachersguide.com/