Effects of song-based lessons on English learning motivation and attitudes toward the English language and foreign culture: A case of 12th grade foreign language students in Turkey

The power of music as a source of inspiration and expression has been recognized throughout history. Motivation and cultural components in foreign language teaching has also been widely regarded by both teachers and researchers as the key factors that affect the success of foreign language learning. Authentic English songs in this case can offer potential materials to increase students' foreign language learning motivation and cultural awareness of the target language. This research aimed to determine whether using authentic English songs in foreign language classrooms in Turkey affected language learning motivation and awareness of the target culture. Data collection was conducted through a mixed-method research design. The research was an action research through employing convenience-sampling method. The participants of the study were 12th grade foreign language students from an Anatolian High School in the province of Gaziantep, Turkey. The data was collected through two data collection tools. The first one was a Questionnaire on Appreciation of English Songs (QOAOES). It was employed to 22 participants for quantitative data. Secondly, semi structured interviews were conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of authentic songs on language learning motivation and cultural awareness of the target language. The findings of the paired-samples t-test indicated that the song-based lessons did not provide statistically significant increase in student motivation and cultural awareness although there was an improvement in mean scores. Three English teachers including the researcher himself coded the interviews. The qualitative data were analyzed inductively using content analysis. According to the qualitative data, it was found that most of the participants showed an increase in their motivation to learn English. The findings also revealed that most of the participants gained cultural awareness of the target culture thanks to authentic English songs. These songs were also reported to have provided different perspectives toward various issues in the target culture such as human affairs and traditions.