Using Song as Learning Media to Improve Listening Skills: Reason, Strength and Weakness

A. Reasons :

· When we use a song as media, the learning process will be more interesting because the student will enjoy  the music. The student also will not feel bored as  the instrument of the music can make them relax.

· Using music as learning media is one of easy way to learn English especially to get and understand new vocabulary. If the students find new vocabulary or difficult word that they don’t know the meaning, they will find the meaning in the dictionary. It will be very useful for student who want to increase their vocabulary knowledge.

· When people hear a new song and feel interested with the song because of the melody of that song is interesting, they will start liking that song and then search the lyric or the meaning of that song. Automatically, they will get new vocabulary or difficult word and try to memorize it with play that song again and again. So, it will be useful when people read a story or book and then find same vocabulary with that song.

Song by  :  Avril Lavigne
Title  :  When you’re gone

B. Strength

· The pronunciation is clear because it uses American accent. Most of people are using American accent when they learn English Language especially in speaking skill. The pronunciation of American accent is easy to understand.
For example the way to say : “I count the steps that you take” in American accent, word “that” is pronounced clearly, but British accent is pronounced that with hide the “t” (in the last alphabet of that word).

· The vocabulary level is easy. It means, vocabulary usage of that song is already familiar. So, the listener will be easy to catch the word that the singer says in the first time they listen that song.

C. Weakness

· A part of the song which is too fast :

“All I ever wanted was for you to know
Everything I do, I give my heart and soul
I can hardly breathe, I need to feel you here with me, yeah”

The speed of that part is increasing, so we will be little bit difficult to catch the lyric that the singer says in that part.

· The content of that song is not suitable for young learner, it is just suitable for teenager. The content is about broken heart, which is telling the people who try to hold on although she miss someone who has been leaving her.

· It will make an emotional contact. Like the people who listen that song will be carried away, such as listener will be crying suddenly because they remember someone. And they will not be concentrate to follow the lesson.