Use of Music and Songs as Pedagogical Tools in Teaching English as Foreign Language Contexts

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper is to demonstrate how music can be used in the classroom by describing several methods and providing resources, as well as to demonstrate why music can benefit foreign language learning by reviewing research on the impact of music-related methods on EFL learning and teaching. The researchers relied upon the previous studies and critical and scholarly texts. This study adopts a descriptive study design, which is comprised of a quantitative study in various contexts. The results demonstrated that the complexity found in the foreign language teaching process emerges from the social and cognitive needs of the EFL learners that in most cases are ignored intentionally or unintentionally. Moreover, the process of second language learning comes with a lot of anxiety and peer pressure. Hence, it is concluded that song and music can certainly be considered as one of the useful language learning tools that aid second language teaching without putting a lot of academic pressure on the learners. The implication that can be inferred is that English teachers need to offer a learning environment that is anxiety free and at the same time serves the purpose of learning through fun activities. Songs and music can be proven to be an effective listening activity that has multiple benefits to offer. Particularly in the case of young and elementary learners, music has been used widely to teach important concepts in a fun way by second language teachers.