Song: an Effective Technique and Material in Learning English
Song: An Effective Technique and Material in Learning English
English has an important role in many aspects of life. This statement leads us to the reason of why this language should be taught in schools. In Indonesia, English is used as the first foreign language that should be learned by the students even from elementary school until university. In using the language, there are many elements that have to be mastered, covering reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Song refer to a piece of music that have words and can be used in language teaching. It is suggested to include songs in language learning as well. The possibility of using songs in English as a foreign language class has been actively considered for the last two decades. It is considered because songs have many values in language teaching. Orlova (2003), states that it is possible to suggest that among the methodological purposes that songs are used in class, it is possible to rank the following:
1. Practicing the rhythm, stress and the intonation patterns of the English language.
2. Teaching vocabulary, especially in the vocabulary reinforcement stage
3. Teaching grammar. In this respect songs are especially favored by teachers while investigating the use of the tenses.
4. Teaching speaking. For this purpose, songs and mainly their lyrics are employed as a stimulus for class discussion
5. Teaching listening comprehension
6. Developing writing skills. For this purpose a song can be used in a variety of ways. From the songs, we can learn many things such as vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, writing, and of course reading.
Benefit of Song Griffe (1992: 4) points out some advantages in using songs and music in the language classroom. There are some categories mentioned by Griffe, namely in classroom atmosphere, cultural input, text and student interest. They are as follows;
1. Songs create enjoyable classroom atmosphere Dealing with classroom
English has an important role in many aspects of life. This statement leads us to the reason of why this language should be taught in schools. In Indonesia, English is used as the first foreign language that should be learned by the students even from elementary school until university. In using the language, there are many elements that have to be mastered, covering reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Song refer to a piece of music that have words and can be used in language teaching. It is suggested to include songs in language learning as well. The possibility of using songs in English as a foreign language class has been actively considered for the last two decades. It is considered because songs have many values in language teaching. Orlova (2003), states that it is possible to suggest that among the methodological purposes that songs are used in class, it is possible to rank the following:
1. Practicing the rhythm, stress and the intonation patterns of the English language.
2. Teaching vocabulary, especially in the vocabulary reinforcement stage
3. Teaching grammar. In this respect songs are especially favored by teachers while investigating the use of the tenses.
4. Teaching speaking. For this purpose, songs and mainly their lyrics are employed as a stimulus for class discussion
5. Teaching listening comprehension
6. Developing writing skills. For this purpose a song can be used in a variety of ways. From the songs, we can learn many things such as vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, writing, and of course reading.
Benefit of Song Griffe (1992: 4) points out some advantages in using songs and music in the language classroom. There are some categories mentioned by Griffe, namely in classroom atmosphere, cultural input, text and student interest. They are as follows;
1. Songs create enjoyable classroom atmosphere Dealing with classroom
Bibliography: Griffe, Dale T. 1992. Songs in Action. UK: Prentice Hall International Ltd. Lynch, Larry M. (2008). Using Popular Songs to Improve Language Listening Comprehension Skills. http://esl4free.blogspot.com/2008/02/can-music-improve-your-students.htm.... Orlova, Natalia F. (March 2003). Helping Prospective EFL Teachers Learn How to Use Songs in Teaching Conversation Classes. The Internet TESL Journal. http://iteslj.org/Technoques/Orlova-Songs.html Ditulis oleh: Kristin Rahayu, S,Pd Guru Bahasa Inggris di SMK TKM Teknik Purworejo Jalan Ahmad Yani No 8 Purworejo 54111 No HP: 085725038093 email: rahayu.kristin14@gmail.com