THE BENEFITS OF USING ENGLISH SONGS TO IMPROVE LISTENING SKILLS FOR LEARNERS
Nowadays, learning English is extremely popular because this is the international language. Most learners also have to face with several difficulties while they are learning a new language. During the process of learning another language, there are many skills they have to learn and practice to apply this language effectively in their class as well as their life. Especially, listening skills is one of skills that is the foundation for the main skills to develop the ability of learning foreign language - English. However, the majority of students does not have to be good at listening skills and normally feel difficult or bored while they are learning this skill in class. To raise learner’s interest for studying listening skills more effectively, teachers can apply and combine new methods or approaches to teach; especially using songs to enhance learner’s listening skills will be more efficient. Therefore, using songs in classroom is one of methods that will bring several benefits in order to promote listening skills in English as well as other skills.

According to Vandergift, listening is probably the least explicit of the four language skills, making it the most difficult skill to learn. Listening is the ability to identify and understand what others are saying. This involves understanding a speaker’s accent and pronunciation, his grammar and his vocabulary and grasping his meaning (Howatt &