Current Research in English Language Teaching – Term Paper

Aims of Teaching English

1.3 Aims of the Study

This research aims to engage students in learning and understanding English language through the use of music and songs. It will help to determine the potential of championing use of music and songs in creating a favorable learning environment for students. It also aims to discover the teacher’s ability to effectively teach English lessons in regard to use of music and songs. It will also provide some important instructions and resolutions to the challenges both the educators and the students might face. It will also give the results of using of music in English teaching.

Mainly the goal of this research is to conclude how using music in English learning lessons facilitates students to manage their learning and understanding in an ESL classroom and the specific accomplishments they acquire during the learning period.

1.4 Objectives

The objectives of this research are:

1. To identify the students’ perceptions on using music and songs in teaching English.

2. To identify the development of students’ interest in learning English language by use of Music and songs.

3. To identify the improvement of students’ understanding of the English language by using music and songs.

1.5 Research Questions

This research focuses to find for answers which refer to the questions:

1. Does the mean score vary in the pre-test between the control cluster and experimental cluster?

2. Does the mean score vary in the post-test between the control cluster and experimental cluster?

3. Does the mean score vary for the experimental cluster between the prior-test and the after test?

1.6 Research Hypothesis

H01 Average score of the control cluster and experimental cluster does not indicate any compelling variation in the pre-test.

H02 Average score of the control cluster and experimental cluster does not indicate any compelling variation in the post-test.

H03 Average score acquired in the pre-test and post-test does not indicate any compelling variation for the experimental cluster.

Dual Coding Theory

1.7 Conceptual Framework

Figure 1: learning from visual and verbal materials as explained by Dual Coding Theory (Mayer, 1993).

Dual coding theory has been adopted by this research to explain the abstract foundation. Dual coding theory argues that knowledge is prepared and illustrated by imagery cipher and verbal cipher (Solomon, 2001). It explains how the behavior of humans and skills are acknowledged via exclusive procedures by a sensory system of non-verbal and oral illustrations (Allan, 2007). Cognitive science is studying on the correlation between use of music and songs and cognitive process of a student. They are researching whether use of music and songs increases the cognitive process a student. Music and songs assists the language memory process a certain language better thus it improves cognitive process of an English learner compared to only watching an educator in a classroom teaching (Segal, 2014).

Some music and songs might have visual images which will simplify learning and understanding more. The left hemisphere of the brain processes language which is the broca’s area. The brain processes information represented through visual images sixty times faster that written information (Ernst, 2012). Thus it will be easier to understand an English lesson conveyed in terms of visual images and verbal through music and songs. They help educators teach on the pitch, rhythm, tone and pronunciation of English language (Segal, 2004). Visual and verbal information are understood and coded through different brain processes (Allan, 2007). Verbal information is learned better in abstract mode and relies on associated messages. Visual images will tend to create a more permanent memory than verbal or written information. Thus, if a lesson is taught through music and songs with visual and verbal, it will improve their cognitive learning and understanding the language will be easier.

Non-verbal and oral codifying processes accept knowledge to be further included and combined with previous learned knowledge and experiences. The combinations are formed to non-verbal and oral codifying. When knowledge is non-verbally orally coded, it’s stored as memory and it will be readily available for the learner when he or she wants to utilize the information. When information is double coded, chances of extracting it are increased because if one type of memory gets lost, there is another type of coded memory that will be retrievable (Semi, 2014). 

There are two exclusive procedures used in learning. Information can be conveyed to a student via words and memorized in an oral form. Knowledge can also be conveyed to a student through images and memorized in a visual form. If information is stored in both verbal and visual form, the information will have a higher chance of being retrieved since it has been memorized in two forms. Music and songs offer both visual and verbal information which will help the students improve intellectually, knowledge wise and ability to memorize (Manaro, 2016). Figure 1 is a visual model of the dual-coding theory.

Modern Method of Teaching English

1.8 Significance of the Study

The researcher will have instructions to assess the degree in which Students understand English language through music and songs before and after completing the study among students aged between 13 years and 17 years, through the experimental study. It is an authenticated finding on how using music and songs in learning and understanding English lessons undertaken in a classroom. Currently use of music and songs has been adopted by a quite a number of teachers worldwide thus it helps to integrate visual, verbal and written information about English which to some extent it has helped the spread and easier understanding of English language (Brehm, 2016). Use of music in classrooms has been contributed largely by the adavancement of technology.

The mean score acquired in this research will may assisting in developing Malaysia education system in teaching English in primary and secondary schools, University and college English faculty, and generally the English syllabus. There are some approved approaches that might not be effective as using music in learning and understanding English language. Since English language is one of the dominant languages, the Malaysian curriculum should incorporate the use of music and songs in their English lessons to help improve the students’ skills. Therefore, the study can be used as a control research in guiding ESL learning and teaching, as it requires assessment and renewal.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

The students targeted for this research constitute two classes of form four learners. In the specific school, the students will be 60. So, there will be 30 students from each class. In this study, there was no randomization prior to the experiment which reassures statistical similarity between the two classes. If random appointment of the students is not done, possibly the class entitled the experimental might perform better on the post-test without the experimental demonstration.

The music and songs prepared are confined within the form four standards and set for an average student. The results might not be effective on bright students or poor learners. Moreover, English standard may be different in every secondary school but in accordance with the Malaysian syllabus, thus the outcome could differentiate the effectiveness of using music and songs with other teaching strategies or tools.

1.10 Summary

This research emphasizes on the use of music and songs in educating and understanding English in a classroom which is the aim of this research. Use of music and songs is believed to be one of the strategies which might help students increase interest in learning English. Having students from different cultures, fear, ignorance, and low confidence by students are one of the challenges faced by educators in Malaysia while teaching English.

Thus using music and songs to teach English helps learners appreciate the language more and understand it better. It helps cognitive processes of the learners. It will also help students improve on the pronunciation and intonation of the English words and statements. Therefore, this research suggests that Malaysian curriculum should adopt use of music and songs which can create a favorable teaching-learning environment and inspires students in learning and understanding the English language.

1.11 Operational Definitions

Effectiveness

Educational Effectiveness is an idea that is always associated with educational assessment. In a wider outlook, it can be viewed as going through all the methods in which education affects group societies, individuals and also on the international level.

Music and Songs

Music and Songs is an aid that can be viewed and that can assist in teaching English Language in Malaysia. Music and songs support English teachers with useful solutions to the challenges he or she faces whose accessories are mainly books and a classroom.

Curriculum

This research has defined curriculum as the academic content learned in Malaysian education system in the English syllabus.

English

Under the language policy in Malaysia, English is referred to as a subordinate language. It is an international language too.

Achievement

In this research, achievement refers to the improvement of education which can be derived from the comparison between the average score acquired for the prior-test and after-test. Academic achievements by learners are affected by the methods and strategies an English teacher uses in teaching and learning mechanisms.