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THE USE OF ENGLISH SONGS TO IMPROVE ENGLISH STUDENTS’ LISTENING

SKILLS

Article in Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning · December 2021

DOI: 10.33365/jeltl.v2i2.1442

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 Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning (JELTL)
Vol. 2, No. 2, December 2021, 80-85
E-ISSN: 2723-617X
available online at: http://jim.teknokrat.ac.id/index.php/english-language-teaching/index

THE USE OF ENGLISH SONGS TO IMPROVE ENGLISH STUDENTS’

LISTENING SKILLS

Eicha Afriyuninda1, Lulud Oktaviani2

Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia1,2

[email protected], lulud_oktaviani @teknokrat.ac.id2

Received: 5 September 2021 Accepted: 9 November 2021 Published: 31 December 2021

Abstract

This study investigated students' listening skills using English songs. The reason for choosing this topic
is based on the problem of listening ability. The purpose of this study was to determine the use of
English songs to improve students' listening skills. The targets of this study were students in the fifth
and seventh semester of the English Education study program in Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia. 100
students participated in this study. This research method is qualitative. Data collection was carried out
by distributing link questionnaires to 100 students who had taken listening courses. The results showed
that the progress of students' listening skills mastery during the activity could be seen from the data
analysis, the researchers used tabulated data. This result shows that English songs are effective in
listening skills.

Keywords: Listening Skill, English Song, English Students

To cite this article:

Afriyuninda, E. & Oktaviani, L. (2021). The Use of English Songs to Improve English Students’ Listening Skills. Journal of English Language
Teaching and Learning, 2(2), 80-85

INTRODUCTION
Listening is one of the language skills. It is an essential part of the telecommunication process that should
be mastered by the students. By listening, the students can acquire information and develop what the speakers say.
According to (Brown, 2006), listening is an activity to put the information they have heard. It means that listening
is an important skill for students especially in the teaching and learning process Furthermore, listening is the
activity of paying attention to the speaker and trying to find meaning from something that is heard (Underwood,
1989: 1). Listening is also the most important language skill and a part of communication, from listening, we can
share our ideas with other people. Nowadays, English is a communication tool especially during pandemics which
online activity runs the most. Thus, English is one of the life skills that must be mastered by every student so that
they have a competitive advantage in the world of work or a compilation developed from universities.
(Purcell 1992) states that students tend to feel bored by repeatedly listening to a narrative or dialogue
when they are trying to understand the meaning of new words or phrases in context. On the other hand, listening
to a song over and over can feel less monotonous because of the rhythm and melody. In addition, (Listiyaningsih,
2017) also states that one way to improve listening skills is listening to English songs. Listening to English songs
can improve listening skills. When someone listens to English songs, their ears will unconsciously get used to
hearing so that when in a listening class, someone who is used to listening to songs will find it easier to get the
meaning of what the narrator is saying. When learning English, especially in listening, many media can help
students improve their listening skills, such as in videos, movies, and songs (Simamora & Oktaviani, 2020).
Songs are a medium that can improve listening skills because we can find songs everywhere and train our
ears to listen. When a student listens and memorizes a song involved in the class, the lyrics are embedded in his
long-term memory. Listening also is a creative skill because to understand the sound which we hear, we take the
raw material of words, arrangements of words, and the rise and fell of the voice, and from this material, we create
ourselves significance as listeners, which is dependent on linguistic information, situational context, and intentions
of the speaker (Rivers, 1980).
Jalongo (1992) states that listening involves 3 things:
1) Hearing is a physiological process that includes auditory acuity (the ability to hear) and auditory perception
(the ability to discriminate among sounds, blend sounds, and hold sequences of sounds in memory).

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Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning (JELTL), Vol. 2, No. 2, 80-85
2) Listening is an act of perception which includes focusing, becoming aware, and selecting cues from the
environment.
3) Auding is an act of comprehension that begins with hearing and listening It includes getting meaning from
what is heard, associating sounds to something already known, organizing, imagining, and appreciating.
(Ur, 1996) says that there are some students’ difficulties in learning to listen, such as having trouble with
sounds, having to understand every word, cannot understand fast and natural native speech, needing to hear things
more than once, finding it difficult to keep up, and get tired. In relation to those problems, we cannot deny that
students’ motivation plays important role in learning listening. As mentioned in Brown (2006), another theme will
be motivation. Because listening is so challenging, teachers need to think carefully about making the activities
successful and the content interesting.
According to Ur (1996), listening activities are based on a simulated real-life situation and are likely to
be most interesting and motivating to do than contrived textbook comprehension exercises. The following features
characterize real-life listening activity:
a. We listen for a purpose and with certain expecting
b. We make an immediate response to what we hear
c. We see the person we are listening to
d. There are some visual or environment clues as to the meaning of what is heard
e. Stretches of hand discourse are spontaneous and therefore differ from formal spoken prose in the amount of
redundancy, noise, and colloquialism, and it is auditory character.
From the features above, the song is one of the authentic listening materials. (Ross, 2006) says that the
example of authentic listening materials is listening to a song to learn more about well-known bands that sing in
English. In common, songs always follow us at home, at school, at the office, at cars, and so on. So, we can directly
listen to the song and also be interested to learn the value of language in it. Griffe (1992) recommends using short
and slow songs for students on the beginner level. Besides, crosswords, drawing, or picture showing exercises can
be conducted with such songs. For the students with a higher language level, long and fast songs that tell a story
should be used. The song to be chosen should have a clear sound and it should be comprehensible; there should
not be too many instruments played with a high volume in the song. Thus, the researchers are going to conduct
this research.

METHOD
Data analysis for this research is using qualitative research. The qualitative data was used to analyze and
explain how students utilize & improve their listening skills using the song. Qualitative data instruments such as
observation, open-ended questions, in-depth interviews (audio or video), and field notes were used to collect the
data participants in their natural environment.
The participants of this research were fifth and seventh-semester students of the English Education study
program in Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia. The researchers distributed the questionnaire to 100 students that had
taken listening courses. As a data collection method, the questionnaire consists of 20 statements. The researchers
use a Likert scale ranging from Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The data collected from the questionnaires will be presented using descriptive statistical analysis. This
is the tabulated data that the researchers obtained from the questionnaire:

1. Students’ interest in listening to English songs

Table 1. Data from the questionnaire
No. Statement Alternative Answer Total
SA A N D SD
1 I spend 5-6 hours a day listening to a song. 21,6% 27,5% 32,4% 16,7% 0% 100%
2 I like listening to a song since I was in elementary school. 29,4% 51% 14,7% 0% 0% 100%
3 I like to listen to an English-native-speaker singer. 25,5% 54,9% 19,6% 0% 0% 100%
4 I always listen to the newest song by my favorite singer. 29,4% 27,1% 19,6% 0% 0% 100%
5 I like listening to English songs because it helps me increase 48% 49% 0% 0% 0% 100%
my listening skill and pronunciation in a fun way.
6 I listening music using applications like (JOOX, Spotify, 53,9% 37,3% 7,8% 0% 0% 100%
Soundcloud, etc.) because there are various types of songs.
7 I listen to popular songs (pop, jazz, rock, metal, etc) in 43,1% 38,2% 17,6% 0% 0% 100%
English to improve my listening/listening skills in English.
8 I often listen english song in every single day. 23,5% 41,2% 31,4% 0% 0% 100%
9 I often listen to English songs, rather than Indonesian songs. 21,6% 31,4% 43,1% 0% 0% 100%
10 English songs can make me active in class, (I feel interested). 13,7% 43,1% 38,2% 0% 0% 100%

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Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning (JELTL), Vol. 2, No. 2, 80-85

From Table 1 above, there were 49.1% of students often spend 5-6 hours a day playing songs. One
participant said that in his spare time, he listens to music. However, some students disagreed with the first
statement. It is evident from the data above, there are 16.7% of students disagree. As a result, we know that almost
all participants often listen to music 5-6 hours a day.
Furthermore, in the second statement can be seen that 80.4% of students agree that they have liked
listening to songs since they were in elementary school. However, there were 14.7% of students who couldn't
decide whether they had listened to a song since they were in elementary school. Furthermore, there were no other
students who disagreed with the second statement. Thus, we can know that in the second statement most of the
students 80.4% listened to songs since elementary school
The third statement shows that 80.4% of students agreed that they like listening to native English-
speaking singers. However, there are 19.6% of students who cannot decide whether they like listening to native
English-speaking singers. Furthermore, there were no other students who disagreed with the third statement. Thus
it can be seen that in the third statement most students like to listen to native English speaking singers as much as
80.4%.
In the fourth statement, it can be seen that most students 56.5% of the students agreed that they always
listen to the latest songs from their favorite singers. However, there are 19.6% of students who cannot decide
whether they always listen to the latest song from their favorite singer. Furthermore, there were no other students
who disagreed with the fourth statement. Thus it can be seen that 56,5% in the fourth statement that most students
always listen to the latest songs from their favorite singers.
Based on the research findings above, the fifth statement showed that 97% of students agree that they like
listening to English songs because it helps them improve their listening and pronunciation skills in a fun way. there
are no other students who disagree with the fifth statement.
The sixth statement showed that 91.2% of students agree that they often listen to music using applications
such as (Joox, Spotify, SoundCloud, etc.) because the types of songs are different. As well as a study conducted
by (Astutik, 2019), found that playing English songs via JOOX could help students memorize the pronunciation
of the words. However, there were 7.8% of students who could not decide whether to always listen to songs using
the application or not, and there were also no other students who disagreed with this sixth statement.
In addition, in the seventh statement almost half of the participants 81.3% agreed to listen to popular
songs (pop, jazz, rock, metal, etc.) in English to improve their listening/listening skills in English. playing English
songs can help students memorize/understand the pronunciation of words that they think are less familiar to hear.
However, 17.6% of students cannot decide whether to listen to popular songs (pop, jazz, rock, metal, etc.) in
English to improve their listening/listening skills in English. and there are no other students who disagree with this
seventh statement.
Next, the eighth statement showed that 64.7% of students often listened to English songs every day. One
participant said that in his spare time he listens to music. However, 31.4% of students cannot decide whether they
listen to songs every day or not, with this statement. It is evident from the data above that almost all participants
often listen to music almost every day.
Then, the ninth statement showed that 53% of students agreed that listen to English songs more often than
Indonesian songs. One participant said that in his spare time he listens to English music by following the current
popular music. However, 43.1% of students cannot decide whether they listen to English songs or Indonesian
songs because most of them listen to both songs.
Moreover, almost 56,8% of the students agreed with a statement from the tenth table about English songs
can make them active in class, (I feel interested). because the additional songs in the classroom create a fun and
enjoyable atmosphere to start learning. and there were about 38.2% of students who cannot decide whether they
are interested or not with the statements presented in this tenth statement.
It can be concluded that the first aspect analyzed in this study is about students' interest in English songs.
This aspect is used to determine students' interest in listening to English songs. and it can be seen also The results
above show a positive response. Songs can also be used as a tool because they can be listened to and accessed
from music applications used by students, such as Joox, Spotify, and others. To espouse it (Sinaga and Oktaviani,
2020) The use of media in learning English in general will increase students' motivation and attention.

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Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning (JELTL), Vol. 2, No. 2, 80-85
2. English songs for students English learning

Table 2. Data from the questionnaire

No. Statement Alternative Answer Total
SA A N D SD
11 I listen to English songs to improve my listening skill 24,5% 63,7% 10,8% 0% 0% 100%
because the song can be media to improve listening skills.
12 I listen to English songs to add the vocabulary, improve 30,4% 59,8% 9,8% 0% 0% 100%
pronunciation, and can make comprehend in listening skills
and there is a way to improve listening skills.
13 I can improve my listening skill as one of my meaningful 21,6% 57,8% 18,6% 0% 0% 100%
strategies to overcome my problems in listening skills.
14 I Learn songs in English and I feel the effectiveness, like 24,5% 53,9% 19,6% 0% 0% 100%
easy to memorize lyrics, and also increases my motivation
for further learning.
15 English song is effective to improve my listening skills 25,5% 63,7% 10,8% 0% 0% 100%

In the second aspect the researcher wants to know whether English songs affect their English skills
especially like listening skills. The eleventh statement about listening to English songs can improve their listening
ability because songs can be a medium for improving listening skills. In this statement, almost 88.2% of students
agreed, and only 10.8% of students could not decide whether they were interested or not with the statements
presented in this eleventh table.
The twelfth statement showed that 90.2% of students listen to English songs to increase vocabulary,
improve pronunciation, and can understand listening skills and there are ways to improve listening skills. In this
statement, almost all students agreed, and only 9.8% of students could not decide whether they had an improvement
or not with the statements presented in this statement.
In the thirteenth statement, there were 79.4% of students can improve their listening skills as a meaningful
strategy to solve the problem of listening skills. In this statement, only 18.6% of students could not decide whether
they could solve their problem or not with the statement presented in this statement.
In the Fourteenth statement, there were 53.9% of students who can learn songs in English and feel their
effectiveness, such as easily memorizing lyrics and also increasing motivation to learn further. In this statement,
only 19.6% of students could not decide whether they could feel its effectiveness, such as easily memorizing lyrics
and also increasing motivation to learn or not with this fourteenth statement. They also agreed with statement
number fifteen about the effective English song to improve their listening ability, there are 89.2% of students who
agree with this, and the rest answer neutral as much as 10.8%
From the results of the second aspect, it can be seen from the average student answers, almost all students
agree that listening to English songs can practice their listening skills, especially in listening class. in his research
(Brown, 2006) said that Practice reading lyrics, learning vocabulary, and listening to various songs can also help
students become more familiar with popular songs and make them more confident in their ability to listen and
understand the world around them.

3. The use of English songs on students’ listening mastery

Table 3. The use of English song on students’ vocabulary mastery

No. Statement Alternative Answer Total
SA A N D SD
16 Do you agree or not when someone learns about the 29,7% 55,4% 14,9% 0% 0% 100%
English language, they should comprehend listening skills
because listening is one of the skills that must comprehend
in learning the English language.
17 Practice reading lyrics, studying vocabulary, and listening 28,7% 64,4% 0% 0% 0% 100%
to various songs can help me become more familiar with
the meaning of the words.
18 English songs help me to connect with what I heard with 12,7% 63,7% 22,5% 0% 0% 100%
my ideas, experience and encourage interpretive and
critical listening and reflective thinking.
19 English song can make me active in the class, and interest 8,8% 45,1% 45,1% 0% 0% 100%
in class, and also I can do a listening task well.
20 Using songs in the learning process especially in the 17,6% 57,8% 23,5% 0% 0% 100%
listening lesson it makes a pleasant atmosphere in the class
and makes me easy to understand the material.

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Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning (JELTL), Vol. 2, No. 2, 80-85

For the last aspect is about the use of English songs on students listening mastery. sixteenth statement
showed 85.1% of students agreed that when someone learns English they should understand listening skills
because listening is one of the skills that must be understood in learning English while as many as 14.9% of
students answered neutrally in this sixteenth statement.
The seventeenth statement showed that 93.1% that almost students practice reading lyrics, learning
vocabulary, and listening to various songs can help them become more familiar with the meaning of the words.
They stated that they practiced reading lyrics, studying vocabulary, and listening to various songs. such as research
conducted by Andriani et al (2018) who found that listening to English songs can improve student pronunciation.
in this statement almost all students agree, there are no other students who disagree with this statement.
The Eighteenth statement showed that 76.4% of students agreed with the statement "English songs help
me to connect with what I hear with my ideas, experiences and encourage listening and interpretive and critical
reflective thinking" to the statement they realized that by listening to songs English has a lot of benefits that they
can jam improving their listening skills. In this statement, only 22,5% of students could not decide the statement.
Furthermore, in the nineteenth statement, it can be seen that 53.9% of students agreed that English songs
can make students active in class, and interested in the class, and they can do their listening tasks well. in this
statement, there were no students who disagreed, while those who answered neutrally were only 45.1%. Thus, it
can be seen that in this statement most students have stated that by listening to English songs they had an increase
in learning listening skills by 53.9%.
The last, in the twentieth statement, it can be seen that 75.4% of students agreed that the use of songs in
the learning process, especially in listening learning, makes the classroom atmosphere pleasant and makes it easier
for them to understand the material using the listening method. This is because English songs help students to
improve their listening skills and pronunciation in a fun way. In this statement, there were no students who
disagreed, while only 23.5% answered neutrally. Thus it can be seen that in this statement most students stated
that by listening to English songs they could understand the material well.
From the results of the questionnaire, it can be seen from the average student answers, almost all students
agree with listening to English songs, in listening class people can know the meaning of the words spoken by the
speaker because many people know the vocabulary of the song they are listening to. and also make students active
in class, they are interesting, so they can do good listening work. However, using songs in the listening process
has challenges, such as; unscientific pop songs, sound inefficient systems in schools can cause problems listening
to songs, the types of music that students like may not match each other, etc.
Practicing lyric reading, studying the vocabulary, and listening to various songs can help students become
more familiar with popular songs and make them more confident in their ability to listen and understand the world
around them (Brown, 2006). The other benefits of using songs in the classroom are songs can be used:
a. to present a topic, a language point, lexis, etc.
b. to practice a language point, lexis, etc.
c. to focus on common learner errors in a more direct way
d. to encourage extensive and intensive listening
e. to stimulate discussion of attitudes and feelings
f. to encourage creativity and use of imagination
g. to provide a relaxed classroom atmosphere
h. to bring variety and fun to learning
From the explanation above, it’s considered that songs have many benefits. Some of them are songs that
can motivate the students and make them more confident in their ability to listen to the materials.

CONCLUSION
The results of this study are focused on the use of English songs in teaching listening that listening to
English songs can help improve their listening skills, not only that they can also practice good and correct
pronunciation, and can learn new vocabulary by practicing listening to English songs to improve their skills. they.
listen to them. As a result, it was easier for them to memorize the pronunciation of these words by singing a song.
The purpose of this study was to determine how much influence English songs have on improving listening skills
for English students. The results of the study on 100 students showed that there was a positive relationship between
the use of English songs and listening skills.

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BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS

Eicha afriyuninda is a student from the English Education study program, Faculty of Arts and
Education, Indonesian Technocrat University. He was active in many organizations during his
studies. He was also a member of HIMA PBI.

She is an English Education Lecturer in Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia (UTI). Besides teaching,
she is also active in joining as a presenter at national and international conferences and publishing
her research in proceedings and journals. Her research interest is teaching media, English teaching,
and learning, English as a second language. Moreover, she also has obtained funding from the
Directorate of Research and Community Service in Higher Education five times for Penelitian
Dosen Pemula (PDP) and Program Kemitraan Masyarakat (PKM).

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