A Study on the Feasibility and Effectiveness Using Songs: A Case Study of EFL College Students

노래 사용의 가능성과 효과: EFL 대학생 사례연구

This paper is concerned with the effectiveness of songs in the acquisition of formulaic sequences in the college EFL classroom. The existing research mentions the use of songs in terms of the power of their melodies (Fonseca-Mora, 2000), linguistic features in song lyrics (Abbott, 2002), and the emotional basis of memory (LI & Brand, 2009). Learners' opinions about the use of songs has been ignored, however. In this paper, seven subjects with English ability ranging from advanced (one) intermediate-high (three), intermediate-middle (two), and intermediate-low (one) studied five different pop songs. The results showed that they did not agree with the existing research findings. Rather, they were negative about using songs in the classroom. Their complaints were the burden of using too many hours to memorize lyrics, few language expressions to learn, and too much emphasis on expressions about love and feelings. Students at all levels expressed similar negativity about the use of songs. When their complaints were discussed during interviews, however, their attitude changed from negative to positive. The case study in this paper was on a small-scale but it is suggested that through further research the use of songs could be activated in the EFL classroom. Considering college language learners disregard most existing EFL materials, it appears to be worthwhile to continue further with this kind of research.