Englisia: Journal of Language, Education, and Humanities

May 2022. Vol.9, No.2, 91-108

Using songs to promote the affective domain in

learning listening of EFL students

Melisa Melisa
STKIP ANNUR, Indonesia
[email protected]

Tgk Maya Silviyanti*

Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia
[email protected]

Arifin Syamaun
Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia
Arifin [email protected]

Manuscript received November 6, 2021, revised January 28, 2022, first published
May 1, 2022, and available online May 7, 2022. DOI: 10.22373/ej.v9i2.11225

Recommended APA Citation

Melisa, M., Silviyanti, T. M., & Syamaun, A. (2022). Using songs in listening class
activities to promote the EFL students‟ affective domain. Englisia: Journal of
Language, Education, and Humanities, 9(2), 91-108.
https://doi.org/10.22373/ej.v9i2.11225

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study principally aimed to discover how songs can be used to promote
students' affective domain in listening class activities. One English teacher and twenty-
five 8th-grade students of a public junior high school in Greater Aceh, Indonesia, were
involved in this study. The data were collected through classroom observation. This
present study followed Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia‟s (1973) five observation criteria
of the affective domain framework. Subsequently, the teacher and four selected students
were interviewed for additional data. The results demonstrated that songs have a
positive impact on students' affective domain. Students become enthusiastic about
learning listening skills. They listened well and remembered the title of the new song
(receiving phenomenon); actively participated in the classroom activities (responding
phenomenon); demonstrated their problem-solving ability by working together
(valuing); and effective time management (organization). Despite their ability to
cooperate in group activities, they had no self-reliance when working individually
(internalizing values). However, the students agree that the classroom environment was

*
Corresponding author
 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

more comfortable and enjoyable. The results of the study suggest that teachers should
consider using songs to not only teaches the knowledge but also the culture associated
with the song itself when it comes to teaching listening. Aside from the cognitive
aspects, teachers should also maintain and track students' progress in the affective
domain.

Keywords: Listening; Songs; Affective domain; Taxonomy; ELT

1. Introduction
Listening relates to other abilities since it also requires students‟ awareness
(Sedjiu, 2013). The process is similar to how people learn and acquire language as
children to communicate with others (Scott, Roberts, & Glennen, 2011). Anderson and
Lynch (1998) contend that children are able to respond to conversations because they
have experienced listening as infants. Children cannot understand spoken languages.
Even so, they acquire language at the end and are able to communicate. In some ways,
this might be similar to what English is used as the language in the classroom. Listening
activities in the classroom makes students aware of language that they learn (Green,
2004).
English language learners consider listening as a difficult skill to master (Seng,
2009). Listening to English involves a complex and active process where the students
should be able to differentiate the sounds uttered by speakers (Vandergrift, 1999). This
is due to the fact that listening in a second language is different from listening in a first
language. Students are required to be familiar with sounds, stress pattern and semantic
features (Siegel & Siegel, 2013). To comprehend sounds, listeners need to pay more
attention and concentrate. Lack of listening ability will make students unable to
comprehend the lesson better since listening is a crucial skill in language learning (Al
Jawi, 2010).
In listening activities, there are quite a lot of materials that can be used in the
classroom. Silviyanti (2014) noted that students are able to learn so many interesting
things with the help of the Internet, one of which is English song. According to Setia et
al (2012), the use of songs is effective in learning because students will acquire
vocabulary and at the same time improve their pronunciation. Taking advantage of
songs in English language teaching can improve a student's ability to spell and know
phrases effectively (Setia et al, 2012).
Indonesian curriculum of 2013 states that students should be able to understand
the meaning of songs (ref 4.18 for grade XI and ref no 4.20 for grade X). The teacher
could use songs for English lessons in two grades (grade X and XI) of senior high
school). In Malaysia, the syllabus design also emphasizes the importance of using song
in the classroom (Tse, 2015), because when someone is listening to a song, “he tries to
appreciate the lyrics, rhythm, vocal melody, and meaning” (Nuhung & Hastini, 2013,
p.2). Schoepp (2001) mentioned the following reasons why songs are valuable in the
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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

ESL/EFL classroom. Those are: affective reasons which emphasizes on creating

supportive learning atmosphere such as making non-threatening learning place and
environment. Next reason is cognitive reason which emphasizes on how the topic (song)
can enhance students‟ knowledge. Last, linguistics reason emphasizes on building
students‟ competence in using language such as fluency.
Songs are sometimes used by teachers for cognitive reasons, such as to assess
students' understanding about spoken words or the meaning of songs (Millington, 2011;
Schoepp, 2001). In the process of learning, the cognitive aspects should not stand alone.
Affective factors should also play a significant role. According to Allen and Friedman
(2010), students' affective is developed by their feelings, attitudes, and values, which
later will develop their cognitive processes.
Consequently, this affective domain creates a positive learning environment for
students, teachers and the environment as a whole. Affective domain is related to
personal and social development (Martin & Reigeluth, 1999) as well as the growth of
„emotion, feeling, interest, attitude and value‟ (Anderson, 1981, p.44, as cited in
Darmadji, 2014). This social development should lead to affect, and these affects might
not be separated from curriculum (Beanne, 1990, as cited in Martin & Reigeluth, 1999).
Burden and Byrd (2010, p. 71) mention that affective domain is related to
students‟ feelings and attitudes. There are three components in the affective domain
(Pierre & Oughton, 2007), they are: (1) emotion, a fundamental factor for learning; high
level of intrinsic value and positive emotions like enjoyment of learning, hope for
success, and pride of a given task result in more effective learning (Schutz & Pekrun,
2007, p. 73); (2) attitude, an attitude is composed of affective, cognitive, and behavioral
components that correspond, respectively, to one‟s evaluations, knowledge, and
predisposition to act toward the object of the attitude (Wagner, 1969, p. 7); and (3)
motivation, which is an important area of research on student learning. Self-
determination theory (SDT), one aspect of motivation theory, is a useful starting point
that describes students‟ willingness to engage in an activity or lesson based on fulfilling
three fundamental psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Ryan
& Deci, 2000, p. 59).
There are many papers have discussed about the use of song for cognitive
domain, yet, not many studies explore using songs for affective domain. Since
knowledge should not be separated from attitude or behaviour, it is also important to
study the issue. Thus, this paper will fill in the gap and we formulated two research
questions:

1) In what ways does the use of songs promote the students‟ affective domain in
learning listening?
2) What are the teachers‟ and students‟ responses towards the teaching and learning
listening activities by using song?

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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

2. Literature review
Songs are popular among people. Songs are also a great source of knowledge
(Saricoban & Metin, 2000), for example, when young children learn about new
subjects. In English language learning, the Indonesian curriculum for senior high level
also includes lessons on songs and poetry. Students are expected to understand the
meaning of a song and to explain it in their own words.

2.1. Using songs in language learning

Gardner (1999) mentioned musical intelligence as one of human
intelligences. Several studies suggested that songs can reduce students' anxiety and
create a more relaxed classroom atmosphere (Almutairi & Shukri, 2016; Fata &
Aprilya, 2021; Tseng, 2012). Furthermore, music can also evoke emotions, such as
exhilaration, nostalgia, and melancholy (Lip, 2005). Lip explains that when emotions
are involved in a learning process, retention is increased, and unmotivated students are
likely to wake up and enjoy the learning process. This is why learning should involve
both cognitive and affective domains.
The process of listening to songs requires repeated exposure (Schoepp, 2016). In
other words, one song may be played more than once so that students are exposed to the
sentences and lyrics of that song. Kurnierek (2016), as cited in Eken (1996, p.23),
argued that there are eight reasons why teachers should utilize songs in English
language classrooms. These reasons include (1) presenting new topic, (2) introducing
new vocabulary, (3) developing students' cognitive learning, (4) practicing lexis, (5)
listening activities, (6) encouraging students to discuss their feelings and attitudes, (7)
creating a relaxed atmosphere, and (8) encouraging students to be imaginative and
creative.
The use of songs as media for language acquisition is common (Salcedo, 2002),
and students may improve their lexis and vocabulary. Song creates a relaxed
atmosphere, which will promote the students' willingness to learn English (Tse, 2015).
Considering that songs combine music and language, Seng (2009) pointed out that they
possess innumerable virtues that merit our attention, “…their richness in cultures and
themes, their idiomatic and poetic expressions, their therapeutic functions, and so forth
make songs an impeccable tool for language teaching" (p.88).
Using song in ELT can be beneficial in a variety of ways, such as (1) fill-in-the-
gap exercises, where students learn to recognize foreign words (Seng, 2009), (2) using
lyrics to solve listening problems (Hadian, 2015), and (3) repeated playbacks of songs
to help students understand the words spoken (Schoepp, 2016). These activities can be
developed to train students to develop their competences in others skill as well.

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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

2.2. Domain in language learning

2.2.1. Bloom‟s taxonomy
For all subjects in Indonesian curriculum, lesson plans are designed according to
Bloom's Taxonomy. In designing tasks and instructions, Bloom's operational keywords
are adopted. Bloom, Englehart, Furst, Hill, and Krathwohl‟s (1956) theory consists of
three domains: cognitive, emphasizing knowledge; affective, emphasizing attitudes; and
psychomotor, emphasizing skills. Miller (2015) contended that Bloom et al.'s domains
are still relevant even though they were developed many years ago. Since the 2000s,
character aspect has also been integrated into the curriculum. The affective domain is
also becoming more important.
As part of Indonesian's 2013 Curriculum, character education is integrated in a
learning process. Therefore, the output of learning should be assessed not only in
cognitive but also in affective terms. Wibowo (2012), as cited from the Ministry of
Education (2013), asserted some values that students must have, they are religious,
honest, tolerance, discipline, hard work, creative, independence, curios, grateful,
friendly, bibliophile, and social care. Teachers' incompetence in integrating character
values into classroom lessons is one of the barriers that may arise (Fidyati, Fhonna, &
Suryani, 2018).

2.2.1.1. Affective domain

The affective domain can facilitate the development of social work, students'
value, ethics, aesthetic, and feeling (Allen & Friedman, 2010). According to Darmadji
(2014), attitude is characterized by a tendency to like or dislike something. Furthermore,
he explained that the positive attitudes come from positive actions or performances. In
affective learning, feelings, attitudes, and values can shape someone's thinking and
behavior (Allen & Friedman, 2010). It also involves motivation, attitudes, and values
(Smith & Ragan, 1999). In affective domain, the emphasis is on the internal changes or
processes of the student's behavior during the learning process (Martin & Reigeluth,
1999).
In 1973, Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia proposed the affective domain model.
They explained that affective domains are composed of five levels, starting with
characterizing, organizing, valuing, responding, and ending with receiving.
1. Receiving: In this level, the students‟ awareness, willingness to receive, and
attention are indicated. For example, students pay attention to teachers or other
students‟ presentation.
2. Responding: Students‟ action such as consent, responses, and satisfaction are
included in this stage.
3. Valuing: The objectives included in this level are students‟ acceptance,
preference and commitment.

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4. Organization: In this level, the conceptualization and organization of values are

involved.
5. Characterization: A set of values and characterization or philosophy are
included in this stage.

2.3. Previous studies

Beasley and Chuang (2008) investigated the relationship between songs and
listening ability. The study was conducted in Taiwan on 196 students and the findings
showed that the students were able to enjoy their learning environment. This has
resulted on students‟ positive point of view of learning listening with the correlation
value 0.704 (r=0.704). Different study was conducted by Hadi (2019) on the 7th grade
students of junior high school in Indonesia. The results indicate that song motivates
students to become more active and involve in classroom activities. In addition, he
noted that the cognitive aspect also improves with each cycle, coming with a higher
score on the test. Another study was conducted by Hadian (2015) towards the second
grade students of junior high school in Indonesia. The data were collected form
teachers‟ field note, students‟ checklist, and video transcription related to their
behaviour towards the use of song. In the first meeting, some students acted negatively
because they did not understand the lyrics and responded reluctantly to the teachers. In
the following meetings, however, the students felt positive and learn listening
enthusiastically. They gradually engaged in meaningful activities, such as using song
lyrics to address their listening issues, and their motivation increased.
Despite some studies measuring students' attitudes towards songs, limited
research has only focused on the affective domain of listening. Thus, we utilized the
framework proposed by Krathwohl et al. (1973) and analyzed the characteristics of five
steps of the affective domain.

3. Method
According to Khotari (2004, p. 5), qualitative research consists of assessing
attitudes, opinions, and behaviors of the subject of the study. In this qualitative study,
samples were taken from a junior high school in Greater Aceh, Indonesia. All of the
participants were in the seventh grade. The school has a language lab which facilitates
the learning process. Twenty-five students were selected from one class. The class was
chosen based on the teachers' suggestions since there were time and access limitation to
do research for all classes.
The data were collected through a checklist sheet that consisted of five criteria
of affective domain. These criteria were (1) receiving phenomena, (2) responding
phenomena, (3) valuing, (4) organization, and (5) internalizing values (see results).
During the data collection process, the researcher observed the teaching and
learning process from the back of the class. The class took place in two meetings and

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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

used an English song to teach English. The lesson lasted in 2 x 45 minutes for one
session (or 90 minutes). The teacher played the songs from a laptop that connected to
the speaker and the students were sitting facing the front class. Following the
observation process, the teacher and four selected students were interviewed based on
the open-ended questions. There were a total of eight questions regarding the influence
of song on students' affective domain. The interviews were conducted in 15 minutes for
each interviewee. The interview questions were related to how the students felt about
the use of songs in English learning. The participants‟ responses were used to support
the observation data. Subsequently, the data were analyzed based on Creswell‟s (2009)
framework of qualitative data. The data analysis outline can be seen in the following
figure.

Interpreting the meaning of

theme/ description

Interrelating themes/ description

Validity the Qualitative Study
accuracy of
the Themes Description
information

Coding the data(Hand)

Reading through all data

Organizing and preparingdata for

analyzing

Raw data transcript and observation

Creswell‟s qualitative data analysis (2009)

The data were organized, read, and coded based on the plausible information
from the observation and transcription. Next, the coded data were divided into specific
themes and descriptions, and further interpreted the themes and descriptions.

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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

4. Findings
According to the results of the observation, using songs to teach listening had a
positive impact on students' affective domain. The students listened eagerly to the songs
and tried to remember the titles of the songs during the learning process. They were
eager to participate in class discussions. Furthermore, song has encouraged students'
ability to value, organize, and internalize values.
In order to fill in the blanks, they paid attention to the words or the lyrics.
During the song's performance, they were quiet and did not disturb their friends. In
addition, the responses from the interview with both students and teacher revealed that
the students were motivated to learn listening. The students were asked whether they
would like to learn listening using songs in the future and they positively said yes. They
seemed very enthusiast and happy about the possibility. Besides, the students also
admitted that they had improved their vocabulary after all the activities.

4.1. Observation results

The teacher administered a two meetings English class using songs activities.
This classroom meeting is in accordance with the allocated time dictated in the syllabus.
The teaching activities are as follows:

4.1.1. Pre activities

As the lesson started, the teacher greeted the students and followed by
attendance list checking. Afterward, the teacher asked the students about what they have
learned in the previous lesson, and the students answered the teacher's questions based
on their knowledge. Following that, the teacher explained the topic of the day as well as
the learning objective. Right before the main activity, the teacher provided sufficient
explanations for the students.

4.1.2. Core activities

The students were asked to work in pairs. They sat next to each other. As the
activity started, the teacher set the speaker and laptop to play a song. The song was
selected based on students‟ level. The genre of song was pop songs. There were two
different songs played for the two meetings. The level of vocabulary used in the songs
was suitable with the students‟ grade.
Having explained the task, the teacher distributed the worksheet containing
lyrics of the song. The students were asked to fill in the blanks with accurate words. The
song was played four times. The students seemed confused at first. Afterwards, the
teacher paused and explained the instructions again by providing examples. During the
process, the teacher paused several times to give students a chance to fill in the blanks.
When the song was played a second time, some words were already familiar to the
students. Despite not being able to obtain all the words, the students kept trying and

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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

kept paying attention. Sometimes, when the teacher paused the song, the students began
discussing the possible answers with their partners. The activities continued until the
song had been played four times. The students had to be able to find the words without
teacher's help anymore.
After they successfully filled all the blanks in, the teacher gave the students a
chance to discuss their answers with their peers. Afterward, both the teacher and the
students checked the answers one by one. Later on, the teacher invited the students to
write their answers on the whiteboard. Wrong answers or spelling mistakes were
corrected together. Additionally, the teachers taught the students how to pronounce the
words in the songs correctly and translated them orally. Lastly, they sang the song
together.
During the observation, it was found that the students listened and respected
their partners‟ opinions. The students demonstrate their problem solving ability during
the learning process. Every answered on the worksheet was discussed at the end of the
listening section with their peers. They managed their time well. Between short pauses,
the students directly discussed the answer and tried to find the right one. The details of
the results are shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1
Observation results.

Categories Characteristics Y N Comments

Receiving 1. Listen to others with  Students were
Phenomena: respect. eager to listen to
Awareness, the song. They
willingness to listen,  stayed quiet
during the
selected attention. 2. Listen for and listening
remember the name of process.
newly introduced
people.

Responding to 3. Participates in class  Students were

Phenomena: Active discussions. enthusiast in
participation on the class. The class
part of the learners.
4. Gives a presentation.  participation
increased when
Attends and reacts to a 5. Questions new ideals, the teacher
particular concepts, models, etc. in  asked the
phenomenon. Learning order to fully understand students to write
outcomes may them. down their
emphasize compliance answers on the
in responding, whiteboard.

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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

willingness to respond, They were

or satisfaction in willing to be
responding volunteers.
(motivation).

Valuing:
6. Sensitive towards  They respect
The worth or value a individual and cultural other students‟
person attaches to a differences (value answers even
particular object, diversity). though said
phenomenon, or students were
7. Shows the ability to  those of low
behavior.
solve problems. English
proficiency

Students
discussed the
problems with
their peers.
Organization: 8. Recognizes the need for  They were able
Organizes values into balance between to work in pairs
priorities by contrasting freedom and responsible and shared their
different values, behavior. responsibility.
resolving conflicts  For example,
between them, and 9. Accepts responsibility assigning one
creating an unique value for one behavior. student to open
system. The emphasis is dictionary, and
on comparing, relating, another would
and synthesizing values. answer.
Internalizing values 10. Shows self-reliance  They were
(characterization): Has a when working happy and
value system that independently. confidence in
controls their behavior.  doing the tasks
The behavior is 11. Cooperates in pair in pairs. If their
pervasive, consistent, activities (displays answers were
predictable, and most teamwork). incorrect, they
importantly,  were happy to
characteristic of the 12. Revises judgments and be corrected.
learner. Instructional changes behavior in
objectives are concerned light of new evidence. In terms of
with the student's general working
patterns of adjustment individually,
(personal, social, they still need
emotional). help.

Adapted from Krathwohl, Bloom, & Masia (1973).

During the observation process, the students paid attention to the teacher‟s
explanations. They were eager to listen to the song being played and kept quiet during
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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

the lesson. From this aspect, the students tried to listen with respects. They also asked
the teacher to replay the song. They were happy and enthusiastic in the classroom. This
positive feeling has led to their willingness to listen and enjoy the class. Overall, almost
all criteria were completed by the students except for three points; giving presentation,
questioning new concept (responding to phenomena) and self-reliance. These
limitations mainly happen because the students only answered the questions from their
seat. They did not come in front of the classroom to present their answer.
The reason why categories 4, 5, and 10 did not happen as expected was likely
due to time limitation. The duration of the lesson was only 90 minutes and the teacher
had to play the song several times to make the students be familiar with the song. This
time constriction might become further concern that the teacher must pay attention to.
However, the students seem to be more excited and happy in learning English.

4.2. Interview results

The interviews of each participant (one teacher and four students) were
conducted separately. The results are discussed in two sub-sections.

4.2.1. Teacher‟s and students‟ responses

The questions were related to their challenges or difficulties during the teaching
and learning. The teacher‟s responds were referred as „T‟ and the students‟ were
referred to „S‟.

4.2.1.1. The students find difficulty to catch the words due to some technical things
(1): “Mhm. The difficulty is when I listened to the song, the song sounds
cracked. We were not able to listen to it clearly. For example, we hear
„said‟, meanwhile the true word is „say‟. What being told and with what
we hear is different.” (S1)
(2): “If the sound is set louder, the music and lyrics sound are unclear. But, if
the sound is small, we can hear the lyrics clearly. Then, there are some
words that I cannot hear the sounds which made me unable getting the
words.” (S2)
(3): “Mhm. It is difficult to get the words from the song. So, I was left behind.”
(S3)
(4): “ When listening to the song, there are songs that have fast and slow tempo.
If the song is fast, it is difficult for me to get the words.” (S4)
(5): “The difficulty….It is difficult for students to know the meaning of
words from the song. Many words are new for the students. That is why I
have challenge in helping them improve their ability in vocabulary
aspects.” (T)

From the interview, some technical things occurred, mostly related to speaker
and volume. To overcome these barriers, the teacher should be fully prepared in regard
of equipment before the class started, such as setting the volume, bass and loudness
appropriately before the lesson.
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4.2.1.2. Song helped the learning process become more fun and make the students
happy
The result indicated that songs have made learning process become more
interesting and fun. Meanwhile, some of the respondents stated that song helped them
improve their listening skills.
(6): “I think using song is good, Miss, because we seldom use English language.
With the use of song in learning listening, we easily understand what is
being learned. Besides, using song made us feel comfortable.” (S1)
(7): “I think learning listening by using song made me easier in
comprehending the lesson.” (S2)
(8): “It is good. I think using song made us easier in understanding words.” (S3)
(9): “It is really fun. I can learn in easier way and the environment in the class is
more comfortable, made me enjoy the learning.” (S4)
(10): “If we learned in common ways, I felt bored. But, now, using song, I felt
happy.” (S2)
(11): “I can learn in comfortable, funny and happy ways.” (S4)

Teachers confirmed that

(12): “Song makes students relax. They did not have to worry about the
mistakes they made during listening. Besides, the students are already
familiar with song since they gradually listen to. Hence, it makes them
confidence in learning as well as feel comfortable around the environment
that created by the use of song in the class.” (T)

4.2.1.3. Songs increase students‟ motivation

The students admitted that the use of song has a positive influence on their
attitude and motivation of learning. On the following are their reasons:
(12): “I feel my attitude change in learning listening. I mean I more focus
during learning.” (S1)
(13): “The influence is hm-mm I became good in listening.” (S2)
(14): “I understand the lesson better and feel motivated in learning. (S3)
(15): “I feel high motivation for learning. Because, usually when I learned, I felt
bored and scared. But, with use of song, I am more relaxed in learning.”
(S4)
The teacher supported the students‟ answers by saying that:
(16): “I am aware that my students looked more focus and paid attention while
learning listening using song. And I believe this is a good indication that
song influences my students‟ attitude and motivation.” (T)
(17): “My students seemed better in learning. They also find it easy in
comprehending the lesson.” (T)

4.2.1.4. Students prefer to learn listening by using songs

The result showed that all students agree and prefer to learn listening by using
song.

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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

(18): “I prefer using song in listening. Usually, while teacher explains the
lesson in the classroom, students are chatting and make the class noise.
But, yesterday, when learning using song, the students were quiet and paid
attention to the lesson.” (S1)
(19): “I prefer learning using song. It is made me faster in learning and
understanding the lesson.” (S2)
(20): “I like learning by using song, because it makes us become easier and
faster in learning.” (S3)
(21): “I like listening using song. Usually, I feel bored but using song I am more
enjoy and comfortable.” (S4)
The teacher confirmed that:
(22): “The application of song depends on the curriculum. If it is stated in the
standard competency of curriculum, then I teach the students using song.
Hence, I could not say how many times exactly but I did use it if needed.”
(T)
(23): “Usually, I need a lot of preparations to teach listening. But, using song, I
only need song as the media and focus on the way I teach the students the
vocabulary, pronunciation, and listening aspects.” (T)
(24):“After recognizing my students‟ changes of behavior during learning using
song. Of course, I would like to teach them using song again. But, I also
have to manage the use of song in order to avoid students become bored of
application of song in teaching-learning listening in the classroom.” (T)

5. Discussion
The data for the first research question “In what ways does song promote the
students‟ affective domain in learning listening by using songs?” were formulated and
organized following the affective domain criteria suggested by Krathwohl, Bloom, and
Masia (1973). These criteria consist of five major categories: receiving phenomena,
responding phenomena, valuing, organization and internalizing values. Each category
was divided into several actions, such as listening with respect, remembering
the names of newly introduced people, participating in class discussions, and making a
presentation.

5.1. Receiving phenomena

The students listened and respected their partners' opinions. Most of the
students remained silent and eagerly listened to the song being played. Likewise, they
listened and remembered the title of the newly introduced song. Ryan and Deci (2000)
agree that students‟ willingness to engage in activities is based on three fundamental
psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

5.2. Responding phenomena

The students were enthusiastic to participate during classroom activities. They
readily volunteer to write down their answers on the whiteboard without being asked to
do so or being worried that their answers might be incorrect. With regard to item 5 (see
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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

Table 1), however, it was found that the students did not challenge new ideals concepts,
models, etc. They simply accepted the teacher's explanation of the topic learned,
and they readily understood it.In self-determination theory (SDT), Ryan and Deci
(2000) agree that students‟ willingness to engage in an activity or lesson is determined
by fundamental needs such as autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

5.3. Valuing
Students were able to solve problems by working together. They need their
partners‟ help to find the best solution to the problem they encountered. Fata and
Aprilya (2021) explain that song is a good material in learning, especially when it
comes to listening skill. During the learning process, the students show no reluctance of
understanding individual and cultural differences. They even discussed the answers with
their peers before writing them down on their own worksheets.

5.4. Organization
When the song was played again, the students discussed the answer directly and
tried to recall the correct answers. This indicates that the students realized that
there was no time for discussion when the song was playing. Beasley and Chuang‟s
(2008) study also revealed that this positive environment has led to students to enjoy
their learning process.

5.5. Internalizing values

Students‟ participation in listening song activity increased (item 10 and 11).
However, it was evidence that the students were still not having self-reliance when they
worked individually. Sometimes, they sang the song along by looking at the lyrics
which supposed to be filled. The teacher reminded the students that they have to listen
to the song carefully and kept quiet, just then the students become silent. They became
quiet and focused in listening to the song as well as filling the answer sheet given. A
total concentration during listening is necessary considering this aspect of English skill
is difficult to master (Seng, 2009). This difficulty is mainly due to the fact that listening
involves a complex and active process where the students should be able to differentiate
the sounds uttered by speakers (Vandergrift, 1999). Thus, more and more practices are
needed to train students.
Related to the second question, the study found that the students' English
abilities improved after learning the language trough songs. The use of song in English
learning can increase students‟ interest, particularly if the song is the popular one (Chen
& Chen, 2009, p13). Furthermore, song can encourage students to talk about
their feelings, emotions, and attitudes (Kusnierek, 2016, p.23). The result
of the interview with teacher and students also indicate that songs have had a positive
impact on students‟ listening skill. Furthermore, students also felt that the class

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 Using songs to promote the affective domain in learning listening of EFL students

atmosphere is more comfortable and enjoyable during learning listening using song (see
interview results). Using song in teaching listening contributes to a better learning
environment in the classroom (Chuang & Beasley, 2008, p. 1).
Despite some positive results, the students still have difficulties in catching some
words especially when the song is rather fast (see interview no 1-4). This is likely the
reason why the students are still unable to work independently (see Table 1 no 10).
Thus, group work and teacher‟s help is needed.

6. Conclusion
This study tried to analyse the affective domain in terms of students‟ behaviour
when they used song in listening class activity. From the finding, students‟ affective
domain is seen from the students‟ active participation in the classroom. In addition,
students‟ motivation also increases. The study reveals some positive attitudes towards
using song in English language learning such as how students have more fun, happy and
motivated during the learning process. However, some difficulties also appear. In
cognitive domain, students find it difficult to catch the correct words mentioned.
However, trough group work, pair, and class discussion, they can readily solve the
problem, especially those that related to words that they cannot pick up from the song. It
is pivotal that teachers use songs that consist of rich vocabulary that have meaningful
insight for students. Furthermore, teachers can vary the tasks that not only limited to
catching the words and filling in the blank. Some activities such as blind listening
(without looking at lyric) can be done as a prior activity to activate their ability to listen
to English words. Teachers can also train students‟ pronunciation and tone. The
activities can also be done for other skills such as speaking and writing.
Last, this study is limited only to assess behaviour and attitude as reflected in
Taxonomy Bloom (more popular name for learning taxonomy). More studies related to
affective domain and the correlation to cognitive and/or psychomotor domain is also
necessary. Thus, we recommend this area will be researched in the future.

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