Song in Learning Environment

26 Teaching and Learning through Multiple Intelligences, 1996:134 There are many examples of successful research through music conducted by several educators. For example, there was a report found by the Music Educators National Conference in 1987-1989. Students who are taking music courses are scored an average of 20 to 40 points higher on both verbal and math portions than students who are not taking such courses. In addition, a College Entrance Examination Board study found that students who took four or more years of music and the other arts scored 34 points better on verbal SAT scores and 18 points better on math SAT scores than students who took music for only one year 1996:134. Another finding, Yamaha sponsored studies in K-1 classrooms in the United States that associate music instruction with remarkable achievement in reading. One study in the Downey Unified School District in Downey, California, showed that reading skills for first grade children who had a single year of music instruction were nearly one grade higher than those of their peers 1996:142. Don Schlitz, a songwriter, provided testimony to the National Commission on Music Education in Nashville, Tennessee in 1990. He described how important music was for him as a secondary student: “I’ll tell you about a class I had…music appreciation. I did not really think of it as a class. I thought of it as the period where we went and sang songs. We were learning that English precisely presents a writer’s thoughts and feelings, that songs are a form of communication. We were learning history through the songs of the nation. It was better than any other history class in my life. We were learning math, discovering the relationships between parts, and that composition followed mathematical rules. And, we were learning to listen; if you don’t listen you can’t learn. This music 27 appreciation connected my entire studies” 1996: 144. As mentioned above, those are few examples of successful research of teaching and successful learning achievement using music or song. Schiltz says that those previous researches have a role as a basis to strengthen the research conducted by the researcher 1996:144. Based on the researches above, it can be summarized that song influences and stimulates the academic success. It includes the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Through song, the students can also learn a new vocabulary that never been heard and taught before. While listening to a song the students can also learn how to pronounce the words appear in a song correctly. That is why song can be a part of language teaching.

B. Theoretical Framework

This section involves the summary of the theories previously reviewed to picture the orientation of the study. Learning technique is evidently vital for students to acquire a second language, since it allows learners to have opportunities of language acquisition. Among current techniques, teaching and learning using songs is seen as one of the most supportive for learners to learn a second language since it provides learners various vocabulary of second language acquisition and also involves real-world contexts. There is many vocabulary contain in a song. Songs also allow the students to learn English better since it allows them to practice listening in a different way and it provides them with numerous vocabulary. It appears that