Using authentic songs to teach English: An analysis of students' perceptions

The use of music and songs in language teaching has been widely investigated and many researchers have reported positive effects of songs on language learning. Findings of earlier research imply that it is possible to enrich students? learning experiences by using songs. This study aims to identify what learners of English at university level think about the exploitation of authentic songs in order to practice the target language. It also intends to reveal students? perceptions about whether authentic English songs are beneficial for building self-confidence and learn about whether they feel attracted to autonomous tasks through them. A descriptive research on the effect of authentic English song lessons was conducted in order to achieve the goals mentioned above. Various data collection tools were used to see the effects of the lessons from different perspectives. All university students at Preparatory School of a university in Northern Iraq had five different song lessons in five weeks each of which lasted for two periods. After the fifth lesson, 103 of them were given a 20-item questionnaire. The questionnaire had statements related to learners? perceptions about effects of the lessons on their academic achievements and feelings. It also involved the statements to learn about their perceptions concerning self-confidence and autonomy. Sixty of the students were asked open-ended questions about their perceptions as well. The researcher also kept some observation notes about the atmosphere during the classes. The quantitative data was analyzed through SPSS 15.0. Reliability of the questionnaire was found to be 0.874. In addition, qualitative data was first coded and indexed, then similar statements were categorized, and finally they were interpreted. The results revealed that students? perception about the effects of authentic song lessons on academic and affective aspects were positive. Students affirmed that songs and related tasks were beneficial for practicing the four main skills and that they felt comfortable during the lessons. Observation notes and other collected data provided us with the knowledge that songs provided interlocking benefits that trigger one another. The use of songs boosted self-confidence of learners. As for autonomy, integration of songs into language classroom helped some students monitor, reflect (develop their own learning strategies) and evaluate their language development. Keywords: Foreign language teaching, Authentic songs, Method, Integration of four basic skills