I.
INTRODUCTION
The points will be explained in this chapter are background of the problem, research
questions, research purpose, research methodology and terminology. The points explained as
follow:
I.1 Background of the Problem
Since English has been the gateway in globalization era, people are forced to able to
use English. In Indonesia, English has been a main subject for students in the school level.
From elementary until senior high school students learn English as a must in their lesson list.
We know that the main function of language is as a means of communication. Related
to that statement we have to know that English can be divided into four types language skills
speaking, writing, reading and listening. From the division and the function of language we
can say that listening is more important than speaking, reading and writing in order to fulfill
the function of the language itself. Ironically this fact is different from what happen in
Indonesia. In Indonesia, students can understand English but they cannot use English as a
language.
In order to make students able to use English as a language and use it properly based
on the function, listening have to be learned. To acquisition listening we can use various fun
and effective methods and technique to attract students’ interest. One of the methods is using
music as a media. Many researchers’ findings say that music is an effective method in
teaching listening. Somehow, by listening to music students can learn to use English in
enjoyable way. As we know that people can think clearer and easier if they are in a good
condition and good mood. Using music gives the students more freedom to explore their
English in their own way.
I.2 Research Questions
Based on the background above, the research question/s of this research is formulated as
follows:
1. Is there a significant increase in text recall when that text is learned through the use of
songs?
[1]
2. Is there a significant difference for students who learned the text with song, as compared
to those who learned the text with spoken recordings ?
I.3 Research Purposes
1. To find out whether learning text through the use of songs has a significant increase in
text recall
2. To find out whether students who learned the text with song , as compared to those who
learned the text with spoken recordings have a significant difference
I.4 Terminology
Some definitions of term use in this research are stated as follows:
1. Listening is receiving language through the ears. It involves identifying the sounds of
speech and processing them into word and sentences.
2. Text recall is the ability to remember the text what has been listened or learned
3. Communication is the act or process of using words, sounds, or signs to exchange
information or to express ideas, thought, or feeling to someone else.
[2]
II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. The Nature of Listening
César Augusto Borromeo (2012) stated that listening means paying careful attention
to the information that is being given to us orally. Therefore, we have that the listening skill
not only involves listening to a given-spoken message, but also being capable of gathering
important information from that message.
According to Robert Bolton (2009) listening is a combination of hearing what another
person says and involvement with the person who is talking.
Based on the statement above, it can be concluded that listening requires focus and
attention to get the information.
In listening, there are four factors influencing listening comprehension; the speaker,
the listener, the environment, and factors in the material and medium. Medium refers to the
language features such as reduced forms, tone, and stress.
Listening, one of the productive skills is considered difficult, especially listening to a
foreign language. According to Maiga Chang and Rita Kuo (2009), listening comprehension
is very complex. When listening, the language learners have a limited amount of abilities.
Thus, when they are conversing in an unfamiliar language environment, if the speaker speaks
too fast or other factors pose interference, the listener fails to comprehend the message.
The listening ability is the main activity of communication. Listening not only helps
to understand what people are saying but also helps to speak clearly to other people.
B. Music and Its Effect on Listening Comprehension
Students can construct their knowledge during learning foreign language easily by
using media. One of the media is music. Music is an important means used to achieve the
relaxation and harmony needed to increase learning effectiveness.
“The reason I could imitate accents and remember words so well was because I had
listened to foreign language like songs. I had also learned vocabulary and
pronunciation via the foreign language songs I listened to.”(Susanna Zaraysky 2009)
[3]
Music is an unusual among all human activities for both its ubiquity and its
antiquity. No known human culture now or anytime in the recorded past lacked music.
(Daniel J.Levitin 2006).
Music is integral in learning to communicate. By integrating music, TV, radio,
movies and other media into language learning will make the process much more enjoyable
and effective.
According to Susanna Zaraysky (2009) much of language acquisition comes from
hearing. We do converse with our eyes, but mostly communication is about being a good
listener and paying attention to the way someone is speaking and what they are saying,
especially with tone and inflections.
Whereas Daniel J.Levitin stated that much second language acquisition occurred
with music. Since we often recall specific phrases learned in song that were being repeated
over and over in the mind.
Based on the definition above, it can be concluded that music is all around us. It is a
supporting media to increase learning effectiveness especially in listening comprehension
for language learners.
[4]
III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Setting and Subject of the Study
This classroom action research is focused on the students of class 3 B 2 ABA (Academy of
Foreign Language). The number of the students in this class is 20 students. The students are
taken as the subject of the study since they have poor ability in listening text.
B. Instrument
The instrument used to collect data is questionnaire and interview. The interview is used to
know the students’ ability in listening and understanding.
IV. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Borromeo Augusto César (2012). The Use of The Lyrics Training Website to Improve
Listening Comprehension. César A Borromeo Garcia
2. Schwartz,Elizabeth (2008). The Music,Therapy,Early Childhood. Barcelona.Barcelona
Publisher
3. Patel D Aniruddh (2008). Music Language and the Brain. Oxford.Oxford University Press
4. Dudeney Gavin;Hookly Nicky (2009). Learning English as a Foreign Language For
Dummies. John Wiley & Sons
5. Zaraysky,Susanna (2009). Language Is Music: Over 100 Fun and Easy Tips To Learn
Foreign Language. Create Your World Books
6. Levitin J Daniel (2006). This is Your Brain on Music: The Science Of Human Obsession.
Montreal.Penguin
7. Chang Maiga;Kuo Rita (2009). Learning by Playing. Game-based Education System Design
and Development. Springer Science & Business Media
8. https://www.englishclub.com/listening/what.htm
[5]
