Effectiveness of Using English Songs to Develop the Level of Vocabulary Competence of the Undergraduates.

Abstract

The use of songs in the language development is a popular concept in the pedagogical studies. Through this research, it is aimed to find out how effective the songs could be in the enhancement of vocabulary knowledge of the learners. For a Second Language learner, having substantial vocabulary knowledge in the target language is very important to communicate well in that language. Therefore, through this research, effectiveness of using songs to introduce new words to enhance the level of vocabulary competence of the undergraduates was explored. This study was conducted using fifty undergraduates from University of Sri Jayawardhanapura. In addition, opinions were taken from fifteen teachers‟ in this regard. Several materials, namely two questionnaires, a pretest and a post-test were used to collect data and the study was carried out within three weeks. At the initial stage, a questionnaire for students and a questionnaire for teachers were given to get the opinions on using songs to develop vocabulary. The fifty undergraduates were divided into two groups as control group who were taught vocabulary by a teacher in a usual class setting and the experimental group to whom the vocabulary was introduced with the use of songs. The analysis of the Pretest, which was given at the beginning of the three weeks, showed that all the participants had an equal proficiency level related to vocabulary. However, after three weeks of vocabulary sessions, the post-test scores revealed that both groups have developed their vocabulary competence but the experimental group has outperformed the control group by retaining more number of words. It was also observed that the use of song in the classroom could create a motivating and relaxing learner environment. Therefore, in conclusion it was proved that English songs are an effective tool to be used in ESL classrooms to enhance the vocabulary competence of the undergraduates.