The Effect of English Popular Songs on Learning Motivation and ...

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Effect</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>English</strong> <strong>Popular</strong> <strong>Songs</strong> on Learning 17Motivation and Learning Performancefosters creativity” is the one that agrees withwhat our government has been advocating.In 2002 the Ministry <strong>of</strong> Education regulated<strong>The</strong> White Paper on Creative Education.Teachers at all levels <strong>of</strong> different disciplinesare encouraged to seek innovative ways toimprove the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> teaching andlearning. That is, creative teaching is highlyvalued.Creative teaching refers to teachingthat results from the teacher’s creativity, notto teaching that is intended to develop thelearner’s creativity. Even so, creativeteaching enhances students’ performance(Schacter, Thum, & Zikfin, 2006).According to Chiu (2007), creative teachingcan be understood by four renowned Ps <strong>of</strong>creativity: person, process, product andplace/environment. Environment can beseen as the most comprehensive element, forit can work as a provider <strong>of</strong> resources orconstraints. Without the environmentalsupport, a learner may not have the chanceto display his or her creativity within. <strong>The</strong>physical environment is one aspect <strong>of</strong>learning. By building a creative learningspace, it is found that students become moreactive in the learning process (Jankowska &Atlay, 2008). Moreover, an appropriateatmosphere that makes students enjoylearning is also important. <strong>The</strong> person, thatis, teachers are one crucial component <strong>of</strong>students’ learning environment.Teachers can exert an influence onstudents through their own actions. If a topicis presented in more interesting ways, it islikely that students care more about the topic.<strong>The</strong> use <strong>of</strong> positive emotions in theclassroom is essential to learning. “Fun” asone <strong>of</strong> the positive emotions is veryimportant for young learners and theemotional reaction caused by the nature <strong>of</strong>an event is what makes an event memorable(Gilbert, 2002). For example, novelty is amotivating factor that stimulates the learningpotential <strong>of</strong> learners. <strong>The</strong>refore, to makestudents more engaged in learning, bringingin some variety or material which is leastexpected from time to time might be a goodchoice.2.3 <strong>Songs</strong> in Language TeachingFor young EFL learners, carefullychosen materials are quite important.Among all the materials used in class, songsare <strong>of</strong> great value. <strong>The</strong>y can provide asubstantial amount <strong>of</strong> auditory input, andwhich is most important at early languagelearning stage. Much previous research hasprovided insights into the advantages <strong>of</strong>learning <strong>English</strong> through songs in theclassroom (Schoepp, 2001; Mora, 2000; Liu,2006). For helping learners to develop theirmultiple intelligences, Simpson (2000) believesthat through well-planned teaching activities,linguistic intelligence and musicalintelligence can benefit each other.Teachers may adopt songs in the EFLclassroom for many reasons and they mainlycome from three different aspects: affective,cognitive and linguistic (Schoepp, 2001).First, songs can create a relaxing,entertaining and non-threatening classroomatmosphere in which learners lower theiranxiety filter and be more open to learning.Second, the nature <strong>of</strong> songs is repetitive andit facilitates automaticity in languagedevelopment process. To combine both17