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The Effects of Songs on Foreign Language Vocabulary Acquisition
Conference Paper · December 2016
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ICLEL 2016 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS BOOK
The Effects of Songs on Foreign Language Vocabulary Acquisition
Orhan KOCAMAN
Sakarya University, Department of Foreign Languages Education
okocaman@sakarya.edu.tr
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the role of songs on vocabulary learning. The study was conducted on 60
students of different grades in the department of English Language Teaching at Faculty of Education, Sakarya
University. The participants consisted of both male and female students between the ages of 19 and 29. A
questionnaire with 23 items developed by Xiaowei was administered as the data collection instrument. As clearly
known, language learners with musical intelligence make use of songs and lyrics in the process of learning a
foreign language. Learners who are keen on learning a foreign language can practice informal language
incidentally by means of repeating the words of various songs. Language of music is also a clear representative
of culture and undeniable transmitter of cultures across continents. Learning by means of songs establishes a
stress-free atmosphere and eliminates the affective filter which minimizes learning when it is high. Furthermore,
listening to songs can help English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners overcome psychological barriers such
as; anxiety and lack of confidence since learners actively get involved in self-learning. Thus, songs are
entertaining, motivating and easily accessible materials. The findings of the study revealed that learning
vocabulary from songs is an effective way and songs assist learners in learning pronunciation, spelling, meaning
and usage in varying degrees as they arouse learners’ interest and curiosity. It can easily be assumed that
curiosity is the key point which leads language learners to acquiring new vocabulary through getting exposed to
songs.
Keywords: Vocabulary Learning, Songs, Lyrics, Pronunciation, Memorization
1. Introduction
Vocabulary learning is a substantial ingredient of language learning. In order to be efficient in the
learning process, a learner should be aware of this issue. Vocabulary can be regarded as a key point to learn all
skills of language. For this reason, vocabulary should be well acquired by the learners. But it is difficult to
comprehend a great number of words at a time. As Larsen-Freeman and Anderson (2013) stated, songs are useful
for “freeing the speech muscles” and evoking positive emotion.
Among the four main skills in language learning, listening comprehension and pronunciation have a significant
role. From this angle, teachers’ role is inevitable and highly crucial in assisting learners in order to not only
improve their listening comprehension skills but also provide them with the pronunciation strategies. (Ghanbari
& Hashemian, 2014)
Teachers generally try to teach vocabulary explicitly but in the light of many research it is proven that it is not a
useful method for the learners, since the words which are acquired are forgotten by time. Lewis (1993) claims
that vocabulary should be at the center of language teaching, as language includes grammaticalized lexis, not
lexicalized grammar. Moreover, the lexical items must be taught in an enjoyable way that learners do not get
bored. So, vocabulary learning should be implicit. For implicit learning, songs are good examples. With songs,
learners have fun; moreover, they learn vocabulary without struggling.
Shen (2009) states that because it will reduce both the whole mental and affective strength in language learning
process and also reinforce the awareness of language, applying songs in language learning classrooms can be
argued. Listening to songs can help learners lower their language anxiety and boost their self-confidence as it
triggers learners’ appreciation towards the target culture. From a pedagogical perspective, a dynamic
engagement with language supports learning. Songs are regarded as remarkable course materials since songbased activities excite EFL learners thanks to performers, music, divergence of rhythm and favorable themes.
Likewise, Shen (2009) declares that songs are comprehendible, amusing and authentic, and they are made up of
spoken language that is already available in our lives. Another advantage of songs is their potential power
in acculturation of the learners. When the songs are applied properly in the classroom, they can be highly
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beneficial tools for raising learners’ interests in target language and motivating them, besides improving
linguistic intelligence and language awareness. (Shen, 2009)
Boothe and West (2015) highlight the fact that using songs and other motivating tools like humor in the
classroom have a positive role in English language acquisition in terms of linguistic and cognitive awareness.
This integration is also essential to create a cross-cultural, interactive and communicative classroom atmosphere.
Since the lyrics of the songs stimulate phonetics and vocabulary, it is beneficial for teaching grammar, too. It is
claimed that students get motivated through the song-centered and humor-integrated activities. These activities
have a favorable effect on lowering affective filters of learners. With the help of these, it is possible to make
listening abilities of learners more focused on pronunciation.
According to Gadani (2015), using songs can be one of the most effective ways for second language teaching as
plentiful sources of vocabulary, structure and sentence patterns are available. Likewise, songs have rhyming
patterns, so they make lessons more enjoyable. There are plenty of choices which teachers can use in class time
like theme-centered songs, pop music or nursery rhymes. While selecting songs, criteria such as age , language
proficiency levels of the learners, complexity of structure and learners’ interests should be taken into account. In
parallel with Ghanbari & Hashemian (2014), Farmand and Pourgharib (2013) state that the findings of their
research reveal that songs are beneficial to improve the accuracy and pronunciation of some specific English
words. Since the learners have fun during song based activities, they become more willing to learn. As a
consequence, learners are able to learn how to pronounce those words in no time. The effects of songs in
vocabulary teaching process are touched upon in Siskova’s (2008) unpublished thesis (cited in Thombury, 2002,
p. 16). Thombury explains that the new vocabulary is easily acquired and recalled in a short time with the help of
sound. In addition, the students are highly exposed to new vocabulary through songs since the words are
repeated.
When we look at the results of Li and Brand’s study (2009), it is easily seen that the perspective of the
participants who are exposed to songs have a more favorable perspective towards their language learning
process, they also are more confident in their English as a Second Language (ESL) learning process. According
to the study, it seems that ESL classrooms which integrate music or song-centered activities are extremely
efficient in teaching English, both in terms of learners’ success and perspective towards language. Depending on
the findings of Engh’s study (2013), the idea of using music and song in language classes is not only supported
by teachers but also takes a place in the experimental literature as a useful way to reinforce the sociocultural,
linguistic and communicative competencies. From an educational point of view, it appears that music and
language can be integrated and exploited in language classes.
Similarly, the use of songs in the EFL classrooms has a strong effect to make the learning process more
entertaining and attractive. Meanwhile, learners are taught the target language and they feel serene in a secure
classroom setting. As a consequence, the learners’ affective filter decreases, so they tend to be more relaxed
while learning. Furthermore, songs assist L2 learners to advance and develop their listening comprehension
skills articulation. Also, L2 teachers should be judicious in selection of the materials; songs (Ghanbari &
Hashemian, 2014).
As a result, Anvari, Trainor, Woodside and Levy (2002) claimed: “The use of songs increases oral language
development in young children because when they hear and sing songs, they start to build background
knowledge”. The developed knowledge is valuable for the children to the further education process.
Teachers and learners from all over the world report that learning vocabulary by songs is not only facilitative but
also enjoyable. The joyful atmosphere affects the learning process positively. Rather than just sitting and
memorizing words by traditional ways, learning in a stress-free and pleasant atmosphere helps students develop
their lexical skills painlessly and quickly.
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1.1. Significance of Study
As learning a foreign a language by means of songs is an inevitable part of the process, the study aims to
investigate the effects of songs on foreign language vocabulary acquisition. The study is significant in making
contribution to the earlier studies which were conducted on the same subject.
2. Literature Review
Gadani (2015) promotes that songs are one of the effective media for teaching and/or learning a second
language. Enhg (2013 as cited in Nagy& Herman, 1987, p.114), claims that music has an important place in
people’s lives; so it has high potential to assists educators in breaking the ice between the different societies
learners belong to. Claeer and Gargan (1984) support that songs can be used in several forms while teaching a
second language.
According to Gadani (2015), the use of songs in lessons improves learners listening and pronunciation skills and
it plays a huge role in their overall development. Again, Gadani (2015) claims that throughout centuries
philosophers, scientists, researchers and teachers have recognized the importance of music to improve language
proficiency.
Lorenzutti (2014, as cited inHarmer, 2001, p.21), expresses his thoughts about songs with the following words;
Music is a powerful component for student engagement because it touches directly to their hearts while still
allowing them to use their brains for analysis of input. A piece of music can change the atmosphere in a
classroom or prepare students for a new activity. It can amuse and entertain, and it can make a satisfactory
connection between the world of leisure and the world of learning. What Lorenzutti states confirms the validity
of a new trend called ‘edutainment’.
Lorenzutti (2014) states that songs are good motivational instruments, they help learners have fun while learning.
Thanks to songs, learners feel relaxed and they have the opportunity to learn without using a textbook. In parallel
with the aforementioned statement, Ghanbari and Hashemian (2014) say that generally second language learners
complain about boring English classes, and a good solution to overcome this problem is to create more lively and
motivating English classes through adding songs and music to the curriculum.
Vocabulary learning is vital for learners during the process of L2 acquisition. In order to be fluent in a language,
absorbing abundant number of words is an indispensable process. According to Murphey (1990), being fluent in
a language and learning vocabulary cannot be separated from each other. Songs are associated with both the
development of human languages and the linguistic development of a human being; they are equally worth
noting from the anthropological perspective. It is stated by Sari coban (2010) that songs provide students with
invaluable sources to improve their main language skills. To stress the importance of learning vocabulary David
Wilkins (2002) notes that: “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be
conveyed”. Murphey (1992) states that songs serve as an important source for learning vocabulary, sentence
structure and sentence pattern. Similarly, Hare and Smallwood (2003) state that songs assist students’ vocabulary
improvement and elaboration of comprehension if they are aware of the benefits of these aspects. According to
Griffee (1995), songs are also useful in personalizing the vocabulary since they supply the learners with a
meaningful, real-life context for the vocabulary.
The vocabulary memorization process from songs can be both explicit and incidental. Schmidt (1994: 137)
defines incidental learning as Teaming without the intent to learn or the learning of one thing (e.g. grammar)
when the learner’s primary objective is to do something else (e.g. communicate)’. Especially nowadays, English
songs are common among not only yougnsters but also everyone who has access to the internet or has either a
TV or a stereo at home. So, it is clear that songs are optimal sources for incidental vocabulary learning.
Therefore, songs are advantageous for incidental vocabulary learning and they facilitate the memorization
process. And, also according to Shipley, (1998) songs help children develop cognitive skills besides promoting
their language skills.
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Medina (2000) conducted a study with second-grade Spanish-speaking students who have English proficiency in
an elementary school in Los Angeles. In the treatment, some of the students were exposed to spoken version of a
story; on the other hand, some were subjected to the song version of the story with music. After a four-day
treatment, the former outperformed the latter.
In line with the experimental study of Medina (2000), Li and Brand (2009) carried out a study which focused on
the relative effectiveness of the varied application of songs in vocabulary learning, use of language and meaning
among university graduate ESL students in China. The participants were put into three groups. The first group
was fully exposed to songs during the classes, the second group was half-time exposed to songs and finally, the
last group was not exposed to songs at all. The subjects who were fully exposed to songs in a three-week
treatment obtained the highest scores in learning. The group which was not exposed to songs had close results to
the fully exposed participants. Oddly enough, the group which was exposed to songs half-time during their
lessons gained the lowest scores which might be due to the fact that inconsistent exposure to music was
confusing for them.
Another study was also carried in China among college students by Xioawei (2010) which measured the effects
of songs on vocabulary learning. A questionnaire and an interview were applied to the learners. As a result, it
was found that songs had an important role in teaching vocabulary. In parallel with other studies, the learners
acquired vocabulary implicitly by means of songs and while learning, they had fun. Songs also enabled learners
to gain insight in pronunciation and spelling as consequences of singing and listening. According to Yuliana
(2003), by singing songs children learn rhyme and vocabulary and also singing a song is enjoyable for learners
and -since words are repeated several times- learners are able to memorize them easily. Besides, learners acquire
fixed collocations, the informal and non-standard words and their usages in daily life from songs. Consequently,
although songs are not a formal way of learning, they are popular and very profitable.
Another study conducted by Alipour, Goijian and Zafari (2012) investigated the effects of songs on vocabulary
learning of upper-level language learners. Upper-level language learners in the province of Ahvaz, Iran were
selected and put into two groups as musical and non-musical-the former as the study and the latter as the control
group. The participants were tested by a multiple-choice test which interrogated learners' vocabulary learning
through three different genres of songs which were pop, rap and country. According to the results, it was seen
that the musical group outperformed the non-musical group in terms of vocabulary recall and retention. Also, the
findings showed that songs were not only entertaining but also beneficial for teaching vocabulary.
Burhayani (2013) was aware of the problems which second language learners come across while learning
vocabulary in the target language. While investigating these problems, his aim was to figure out the effects of
songs in improving students’ vocabulary knowledge. The participants of this study were second-year students of
Ikatan Keluarga Kesejahteraan Tentara (IKKT) Elementary School, West Jakarta. The study was conducted with
50 students, 25 of whom were in the study group and the other 25 were in the control group. The treatment
section was repeated for six times and the process ended with a post-test by the researcher. And lastly, a t-test
was used for analysis. The results uncovered the importance and value of songs in vocabulary learning. Clearly,
it showed that songs made the learning process easier and more enjoyable.
Schwarz (2013) researched incidental vocabulary acquisition from pop songs in and out-of-school contexts in
Austria by implementing a survey. The findings of the survey showed that implicit vocabulary acquisition was
possible in and out-of-school contexts by music and songs. In parallel with the findings of the earlier studies in
literature, it was found that music and songs were affective tools which support vocabulary learning.
In addition to these studies, Moeinmanesh, Mumani, Rezaei and Shakerian (2016) conducted a study which
investigated the role of pop songs on vocabulary retention and recall of advanced adult EFL learners. The
participants of the study were Iranian advanced adult EFL learners. A placement test -Quick Oxford Placement
Test- was conducted at the beginning of the study. The participants were randomly put into two homogenous
groups. Thefirst group was called as the musical group and the second one was called as the non-musical group.
The musical group was taught new vocabulary with the help of pop songs. On the other side, the non-musical
119
group was taught new vocabulary without using songs. The participants of two groups were examined through
an English vocabulary test developed by the researcher which examined the learners’ vocabulary recall. Also, a
questionnaire was administered in order to see the attitudes of the learner towards the instruction. After a month,
the vocabulary- test was re-admimstered as a delayed retention test. The results of the test were statistically
analyzed and the t-test findings proved that the musical group was better in vocabulary recall and retention than
the non-musical group.
A similar study was conducted in Thailand by Borisai and Dennis (2016) which had two objectives. The first
was to promote students’ ability in learning new vocabulaiy through pop songs while the second was to
investigate students’ attitudes towards using pop songs in learning vocabulary. The study group was comprised
of 40 students from 10th graders. A pre-test a post-test and a questionnaire were applied to the participants. The
purpose of the questionnaire was to analyze the students’ attitudes and perceptions towards using pop songs. The
data were investigated with standard deviation and t-test. The findings of the study showed that teaching
vocabulary through pop songs increased students’ ability in learning vocabulary. The participants had positive
feelings towards this method. Additionally, the results demonstrated that learning vocabulary with the help of
songs increased students’ motivation and their desire to learn.
All in all, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of using songs in the process of vocabulary
teaching/learning. There were several studies conducted about this issue and most of them encourage the use of
songs, for instance. Alipour et al. (2012) explained that the atmosphere of the classroom while using songs was
much better than the traditional classroom setting. The students were more patient while learning better and
faster. Some of the learners mentioned that there were many positive impacts of songs, such as; increasing
motivation and willpower. Based on the literature, it was obvious to see the benefits of songs in vocabulary
teaching.
3. Method
3.1.Participants
The study was conducted with 60 students of different grades in the department of English Language Teaching at
the Faculty of Education, Sakarya University. The participants consisted of both male and female students
between the ages of 19 and 29.
The group included 39 female and 21 male participants. 33 participants (84.61% of the females) out of 39 female
participants were between 19-22 years of age and 6 participants (15.38% of the female) out of 39 female
participants were between 23-24 years of age. On the other hand, 15 (71.42% of the males) out of 21 male
participants were between 19-22 years of age. 6 (28.57% of the males) out of 21 male participants were between
the ages of 27-29 (see Table 1).
Table 1. Profile of the participants
Age
Gender
19-22 (n)
Female
Male
Total
33
15
48
23-24
(n)
6
0
6
27-29
(n)
0
6
6
Total (n)
39
21
60
Learning vocabulary from songs was investigated on the basis of four different aspects through a questionnaire.
These are learning spelling, pronunciation, meaning and usage. To touch upon the questions, the first 5 items
deal with how students learn vocabulary from English songs. Items from 6 to 10 are concerned with
pronunciation. Items 11 and 12 seek for the strategies of learning spelling. Items from 13 to 21 aim to find out
learning strategies for meaning from English songs. The last two items are about word usage.
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3.2. D ata Analysis
The current descriptive study was conducted on the basis of frequency of participants’ responses. A
questionnaire with 23 multiple-choice-items (see appendix) prepared by Xiaowei (2010) was administered to a
group of 60 English Language Teaching students with an age average of 22 in a state university in Turkey. The
data were analyzed on the basis of frequency of the items. The participants were also allowed to choose more
than one option.
4.
Findings
This part demonstrates the results obtained by the questionnaire applied in the study. The results are shown in
figure 1. . Each color used in the bar chart represents a different choice from A to F in the multiple-choice
questionnaire. The orange bars stand for option ‘A’, yellow is for ‘B \ blue is for ‘C’ while green is for ‘D ’ and
pink is for ‘E ’ and purple is for ‘F ’. As it is seen in the bar chart, none of the participants selected the choice ‘F ’.
^
T h e E f fe c ts o f S o n g s o il F o r e ig n L a n g u a g e V o c a b u la r y A c q u is it io n
□ A
B
B C
■ D
□ E
^
LIF
Figure 1: The effects of Songs on Foreign Language Vocabulary Acquisition
When the results of the first question asking the vocabulary aspects they learn from English songs are examined,
it can be seen that while 75% (45) of the participants learn pronunciation, 40% (24) learn meaning and 20% (12)
learn usage of words. The results of the second item show that 80% of participants (n=48) pay attention to the
lyrics while the rest 20% (n=12) do not focus on the lyrics much.
When the participants’ responses to item 3 what kind o f dictionary they usually use to learn words from English
songs are examined; 95% (n=57) of the participants states that they use a bilingual English-Turkish dictionary
with (50%, n=30) or without (45%, n=27) examples. When they are asked what they do when they look up a
word from English songs in a traditional dictionary or electronic dictionary, 85% (n=51) of the participants
states that they look for the meaning, 15% (n=9) pronunciation or 20% (n=12) spelling and the percentage of
those who look up for the words in a dictionary, only 20% (n=12) takes the given examples into consideration.
121
When the results of the fifth item questioning whether the participants sing the English songs they like are
examined, 85% (n=51) responds positively. As for item six; i f they come across a word they cannot pronounce,
75% (n=45) consults electronic or online dictionary with sound, while 10% (n=6) either asks other people and
15% (n=9) just imitates the singer.
40% (n=24) of the participants learn the pronunciation o f a new word by imitating the singer and singing the
song many times to learn the pronunciation, whereas the other 40% (n=24) learns the pronunciation by spelling
and the remaining 20% (n=12) just memorizes it. For item eight, in terms o f learning how a word is stressed,
20% (n=12) of the participants learns stress of a word according to the common principles and experience based
on syllable structure in English songs. 45% (n=27) usually gets help from a dictionary and 35% (n=21) just
imitates the singer. Considering the results attained from item nine; a new learnt word affected by linking and
assimilation is pronounced together with the words before or after them with linking and assimilation by 45%
(n=27) of the participants, 25% (n=15) comes to the written form of the word and pronounces it according to
own experience without linking and assimilation. 25% (n=15) of the participants consults a dictionary. Lastly,
5% (n=3)of the participants do not care about pronunciation at all. As to singing, 50% (n=30) of the participants,
who answers ‘yes’ to item five, sings the songs like the singer with linking and assimilation of words and 75%
(n=45) of them pronounces word by word clearly. With reference to question eleven related to ways o f learning
word spelling in the questionnaire, it is seen that 65% (n=39) of the participants learns the spelling of a word in
English songs according to the pronunciation and 35% (n=21) of the participants memorizes it from the lyrics.
Item twelve asking what the participants do when they come across an inflected new word, 70% (n=42) of them
looks it up in a dictionary or an electronic dictionary to make sure the spelling of the lexeme and 20% (n=12) of
the participants guesses the lexeme according to the principle of inflection and the remaining 10% (n=6) ignores
it. The responses for the item thirteen related to the language in which the lyrics of English songs reveal that
85% (n=51) of the participants listens to songs with only English lyrics, 10% (n=6) of them listens to songs with
English and Turkish lyrics and the rest 5% (n=3) listens to songs with lyrics in other languages.
For the following item, 75% (n=45) of the participants consults an electronic dictionary, 10% (n=6) uses a paper
dictionary and the other 15% (n=9) asks other people in order to learn the word meaning when they come across
a new word in English songs. 75% (n=45) of the participants who answer A or B for item 14 chooses the most
reasonable definition based on the lyric context and 10% (n=6) of the participants learns all the meanings
according to the examples given in the dictionary and the last 10% (n=6) tries to memorize all meanings i f the
word they fin d has many meanings. As for item 16, 83% (n=50) of participants, who responded to item 14 other
than A or B, learns informal and non-standard words. If participants come across a word they have already
learnt but which does not seem to have the same meaning as they have learnt before, 25% (n=15) of them just
accepts its new meaning and learns it, 30% (n=18) of the participants tries to find a similarity between the new
meaning and the meaning they have learnt before and learns it together with the original meaning. Lastly, 45%
(n=27) of the participants tries to find a similarity between the new meaning and the original meaning they have
learnt and learns the whole sentence in the context with the new meaning. When the participants face a word
which is used metaphorically or metonymically, 35% (n=21) of them just learns the metaphor or the metonymy
in the context, 60% (n=36) learns the conceptual metaphor or the conceptual metonymy so that they can use
them in a broader way and 5% (n=3) of the participants does not learn metaphor or metonymy.
In terms of recording the new vocabulary, question 19 asks to the participants whether they store the words, 15%
(n=9) of the participants stated that they record the words they have learnt from English songs in a file or a
notebook, the remaining 85% (n=51) does not store them; however, they go over them when listening to the
songs. If the answer is A to item 19, the participants are asked to answer item 20 which asks how they store the
words learnt from English songs. It is based on the responses that 10% (n=6) of the participants stores them in
accordance with different parts of speech while the 5% (n=3) of the participants who record the words stores
them randomly or in terms of learning sequence or alphabetically. According to the responses for item 21
related to whether they learn the collocated words together as a fixed structure from English songs and which is
posed to those who did not choose the option A for item 19, 75% (n=45) of the participants provides positive
answers and the rest 25% (n=15) learns the words separately.
122
The responses for item 22 concerning what they do when a mass noun is used as a countable noun, or a
transitive verb is used as an intransitive one, or the other way round in English songs illustrate that while 50%
(n=30) of the participants analyzes the context and learn in which context words can be used like that, 35%
(n=21) of the participants never experiences this and the remaining 15% (n=9) seldom pays attention to these. As
to learning inflected form and derivatives o f a new word stated in item 23, 55% (n=33) of the participants learns
it whereas 35% (n=21) does not learn. The rest of the participants 10% (n=6) states that they take just a glance at
them.
5.
Discussion
When the findings of the questionnaire are investigated, it is clearly seen that songs help most of the participants
learn many aspects of vocabulary such as pronunciation, spelling, meaning and usage. The participants prefer
making use of a dictionary in order to learn the meaning, pronunciation and spelling of the words they encounter
in songs. Therefore, dictionaries are also secondary materials in learning vocabulary from English songs. Most
of the participants sing out loud the songs they like, which helps the students produce what they have learnt from
English songs orally and revise them.
The results of the items about pronunciation indicate that the majority of the participants consult a dictionary
when they encounter with a new word which they cannot pronounce in the songs. Therefore, songs lead students
to use dictionary. Because learning the pronunciation of a word requires learning how words are stressed, it can
be inferred that songs help students learn word stress. Some of the participants develop an appropriate
understanding towards the stress of words by imitating the singer, without consulting a dictionary. It is found
that nearly half of the participants learn linking and assimilation from English songs, as well.
As to learning spelling from songs, it is seen that rather than imitating the singer, a great number of the
participants spell the word based on its original pronunciation and they utilise a dictionary when they come
across with an inflected word.
Majority of the participants acquire new formal and informal words from English songs. Learning informal and
non-standard forms are beneficial for the students, since they face them on the Internet and in colloquial English.
Another aspect is that a considerable number of the participants do not store the vocabulary they learn in a file or
a notebook, instead they learn and go over them while listening to the songs. Besides, it is found that the songs
help most of them learn the collocated words.
Many of the participants pay attention to word use in songs. They analyze the context in the quest of word
meaning in an unfamiliar use. Furthermore, majority of the participants learn or at least take a glance at inflected
forms and derivatives of a word.
The findings of the present study are similar to Medina (2000), Li and Manny (2009), Xioawei (2010), Alipour,
Goijian and Zafari (2012) and Schwarz (2013). These studies indicate that songs have a significant role in
implicit vocabulary learning. With the help of songs, students not only learn formal vocabulary but also informal
vocabulary which is not covered in traditional lessons. Moreover, vocabulary learned through songs is not
forgotten in a short period of time contrary to the vocabulary learned by traditional methods. Students can still
recall the words over time, even though they do not store the words by taking notes. Songs they like also make
the students curious and this leads them to investigate the words and their use which the participants are not
familiar with. In order to investigate these unfamiliar lexical items, most of the students consult an electronic
dictionary.
Although the responses given by 60 participants involved in the present research reveal that they are aware of
vocabulary learning through songs, they still consider that vocabulary learning through songs fosters their
vocabulary learning process.
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6.
Limitations
Proficiency level of participants was not taken into consideration which may be an effective factor in the study
and lack of triangulation may have had an impact on the findings. These qualitative results cannot be
generalizable to populations beyond the sample group due to the limited number of participants. That is, the
study might reveal different results when applied to larger groups. Another limitation is that the data were
collected in one setting and through only one channel.
7.
Suggestions
For further studies, a larger number of participants with different demography and proficiency should be
investigated within the framework of learning vocabulary through songs with different instruments. The research
should be carried out over a longer period of time in order to observe the participants’ recall of vocabulary
acquired through songs and it should be compared with those who learnt vocabulary through traditional methods.
Afterwards, the differences between the methods should be examined. Yet, results may vary in different settings
with different participants. Learning vocabulary by means of songs is an efficient method to apply both inside
and outside the school context. Hence, it should be placed emphasis on by educators and learners.
Reference
Alipour, M., Goijian, B., &Zafari, I. (2012). The effects of songs on EFL learners' vocabulary recall and
retention: The case of gender. Advances in Digital Multimedia (ADMM), 1(3), 140-143. Griffee, D. T.
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look for the meaning
APPENDIX
A.
Age:______
Gender: Male / Female
B. look for the pronunciation
C. look for the spelling
D look for the example given in the dictionary
E. I don’t use dictionaries
5. Do you usually sing the English songs you like?
A. Yes
B. No
6. When you come across a word you can’t pronounce,
what do you do?
A. consult a paper dictionary
B. consult an electronic or online dictionary with sound
C. ask others
D. imitate the singer
E.
7. How do you learn the pronunciation of a new word in
English songs?
A. imitate the singer and sing the song many times
B. learn the pronunciation by its spelling
C. just memorize it
D. I don’t care about the pronunciation
E. other
1. Which aspects of vocabulary do you learn from
English songs?
A. word pronunciation
B. word spelling
C. word meaning
D. word usage
2. Do you pay attention to the song lyrics when listening
to English songs?
A. Yes
B. No
3. What kind of dictionary' do you usually use to learn
words from English songs?
A. English Turkish dictionary (with examples)
B. English Turkish concise dictionary (without
examples)
C. I do not use a dictionary
4. When you look up a word from English songs in a
dictionary or electronic dictionary, which of the
follow ing do you do?
125
8. How do you learn the stress of a word in English
songs?
A. according to the common principles and experience
based on syllable structure
B. I usually consult a dictionary
C. just imitate the singer
D. other_____
9. The pronunciation of a new word that you want to
learn is affected by linking and Assimilation—how do
you learn its pronunciation with respect to this?
(Assimilation occurs when a phoneme is pronounced
differently with the influence o f a neighboring phoneme. For
example, Meat pie may be pronounced as [mi:p pai]
according to assimilation.)
A. pronounce together with the words before or after
this word with linking and assimilation
B. come to the written form of the word and pronounce
it according to my experience
without linking and assimilation.
C. consult a dictionary
D. I don’t care about the pronunciation
E. I am not aware of assimilation and linking
10. If your answer to item 5 is ‘yes’, and when you sing
English songs, which of the following do you do?
A. sing like the singer with linking and assimilation of
words
B. pronounce word by word clearly
11. In what way do you learn the spelling of a word in
English songs?
A. according to the pronunciation
B. memorize it from the lyrics
C. other____
12. When you come across an inflected new word, what
do you do in regard to spelling?
A. consult a dictionary or an electronic dictionary to
make sure the spelling of its lexeme
B. guess the lexeme according to the principle of
inflection
C. ignore it
D. I ve never experience it before
E. other_________
13. In what language are the lyrics of your English
songs?
A. only in English
B. English and Turkish
C. other
14. What do you do when you come across a new word
in English songs, in order to get its meaning? (if your
answer is either A or B, please answer item 15 below. If
not, go to item 16)
A. consult a paper dictionary
B. consult an electronic dictionary
C. ask people
D. look up the Turkish version of the lyrics for the
counterpart
E. other____
15. If the word you find has many meanings, what do
you do?
A. choose the one which seems reasonable according to
the lyric context
B. learn all the meanings of the word according to the
examples given in the dictionary
C. try to memorize all the meanings
D. other____________
16. Do you learn informal and non-standard words in
English songs?
(For example:
wanna=want to,
sayin’=saying,
shan’t=shall not)
A. Yes
B. No
17. When you find a word you have learnt before, but
which does not seem to have the same meaning as the
one you know, what do you do?
A. just accept its new meaning and learn it
B. try to find a similarity between the new meaning and
the original meaning I learnt and learn it together with
the original meaning
C. try to find a similarity between the new meaning and
the original meaning I learnt and learn the whole
sentence in the context with the new meaning
D. ignore the new meaning and stick to the meaning I
know
E. I’ve never experience the situation before
F. other_______________
18.
When a word is used metaphorically or
metonymically, what do you do?
(Example o f metaphor: I have a hot temper. The word
“hot" is used metaphorically and means “easy to be
anger”. The conceptual metaphor here is HEAT IS ANGER.
Example o f metonymy: The BMW is late. The word
“BMW" is used metonymically and means “the person who
drives the BMW". The conceptual metonymy here is
CONTROLLED FOR CONTROLLER.)
A. just learn the metaphor or the metonymy in this
context
B. learn the conceptual metaphor or the conceptual
metonymy so that I can use them in a broader way
C. I don’t learn metaphor or metonymy
D. I am not aware of metaphor and metonymy
E. other____________
19. Do you store the words you have learnt from English
songs? (if your answer is A, please answer item 20
below. If not, go to item 21)
A. Yes. I record them in a file or a notebook
B. No. I do not store them and just learn and go over
them when listening to the songs
C. other_________________
20.How do you store the words learnt from English
songs?
A. I store them randomly or according to learning
sequence or alphabetically
B. I store them according to different parts of speech
C. I store them based on meaning
relations(coordination, collocation, hyponymy,
synonymy)
D. Other_______________
21. Do you learn the collocated words together as a fixed
structure?
A. Yes. I learn them together as a whole
B. No. I learn the words separately
22. In English songs, when a mass noun is used as a
countable noun, or a transitive verb issued as an
intransitive one, or the other way round, what do you
do?
A. I seldom pay attention to these
B. I analyze the context and learn in which context
words can be used like that
C. I’ve never experienced this
D. other_______________
23. When you come across a new word in English songs,
do you also learn its inflected form and its derivatives?
(i.e. If you come across sink, do you also learn sinks, sank,
sunk, sinking, sinkable, unsinkable and so on?)
A. Yes B. No
C. Just take a glance at them
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