songs. b.
Folk song. It is defined as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers.
c. Popular song. It is a song which is usually made for commercial
purpose and presented in recording formation. It is often called “pop song”.
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Furthermore, Dale T. Griffee classified songs based on their length and tempo. First is all songs. It is called so because any activity can be used with this kind of
song. Second is shortslow song. It means that the activity which is in line with this kind of song is the activity that does not need lots of energy; slow activity like
sleeping. Third is song that tells stories. It is a song that has a chronological order stories. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Fourth is instrumental music. It is a
kind of song which is presented in the form of music only, no words within the song. Fourth is long song. This kind of song is a song which is four minutes long or longer,
and it is usually difficult to sing because it is fast. Students often call it with rock music. The last one is short, fast song. This song typically has no repeating phrases or
refrains. It has also a quick tempo and a short time; it is under three minutes long.
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From the explanation above, it can be concluded that song can be classified according to its function and duration. According to its function, song is divided into
art song, folk song, and pop song. Meanwhile based on its length, song is classified into all songs, shortslow songs, songs that tell stories, long song, and fast songs.
3. Advantages of Using Songs in Language Teaching
There are at least three advantages that teachers can take if they use songs as the medium of learning in the class room:
a. Students can be more focused on the material they are learning. It is
16
Retrieved from http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiSong on October 28th, 2010, at 8 p.m.
17
Dale T. Griffee, Songs in Action, New York: Prentince Hall, 1992. p.11.
based on the research done by Dr. Georgi Lozanov, a Bulgarian Psychologist, it is stated that
“relaxation which comes together with music makes mind always be ready and focused
”.
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b. Songs have a valuable contribution to students’ understanding because
they are simple and can be heard for a short time. c.
Songs also have a personal quality that makes the listener react as if the song were being sung for the listener personally.
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In other words, songs have many valuable contributions in leading students to an enjoyable teaching learning process. As a result, they can easily
retrieve the material they are learning.
4. Criteria of Good Songs for Language Teaching
There are many songs can be used for the purpose of education, and actually there is no specific rule in selecting the songs to be used in the classroom activity.
However, there are several things to be considered before starting listening to the songs activity in the classroom.
According to what Dale T. Griffe stated in his book, Songs in Action, it can be concluded that there are at least four things that must be considered by teacher before
selecting the songs which will be used in the classroom. Those four things are: a
The class. Before using the song in the classroom, teachers must know the age of students and their musical interests; teachers must know kind of
song which students like. Moreover, teachers must also consider the time of day in which they play the song in the classroom.
b The teacher. It is good to use song that both teachers and students like,
and one way to get it is by asking the students to bring the songs, with the lyric they like into the class.
18
Bobbi De Porter and Mike Hernacki, Quantum Learning Translated Edition, Bandung: Penerbit Kaifa, 1999. p.72.
19
Dale T. Griffee, Songs in Action, New York: Prentince Hall, 1992. p. 4.
c Classroom opportunities. It means that teachers have opportunity to use
song in the classroom if the song is related to the material they are going to teach.
d The music. Teachers must pay attention to the music of the song they will
use in the class, whether the music is too loud or to slow, whether it will disturb the other class or not.
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The most important of all is that teachers have to use the song which they like, the students like, and the song that fits to the material. It is all done to achieve the
objective of learning easier.
C. Memory
