THE EFFECTS OF ENGLISH SONGS ON YOUNG LEARNERS’ LISTENING COMPREHENSION AND PRONUNCIATION

Integrating English songs into L2 classes might be considered by some authors to be a factor conducive to the improvement of EFL learners’ listening ability. It is ideal for young L2 learners because it is a way to help them become enthusiastic learners. Most L2 learners, whether young or adult, have difficulty with listening comprehension and pronunciation. Good listening comprehension paves the way for developing other skills in foreign language learning. Besides, pronunciation is the most important skill because if one has impoverished pronunciation skills, their message could not be understandable to the listeners. This research aimed to determine the effect of using songs on young L2 learners’ listening comprehension and pronunciation and to discover the possible difference between male and female learners in achieving better results in learning listening comprehension and pronunciation via songs. For this purpose, 60 male and female elementary L2 learners with the age range of 8 to 11 were randomly selected form two language schools in Isfahan, Iran, and were assigned to 4 groups: 2 experimental groups with 1 containing 15 males and the other 15 females. There were also 2 control groups with 1 containing 15 males and the other 15 females. To ascertain that the experimental group and the control group were homogeneous, all the groups took a pretest. An independent-samples t-test was performed to analyze the data obtained on the pretest. In addition, a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized in order to come up with the answers to the questions of the study. The results revealed that utilizing songs in L2 classes had a positive effect on the L2 learners’ listening comprehension and pronunciation skills. It was also found that there was no significant difference between the male and female learners’ performance in obtaining better results in listening comprehension and pronunciation. The implications could refer to the fact that incorporating songs into language teaching curricula is an indispensable asset helping to improve all language skills, especially listening comprehension and pronunciation.