Abstract:
As stated by Feyten (1991) listening has emerged as an important component in the
process of Second Language Acquisition. Although a child exposes to his First Language
(L1) through listening, in the Second Language (L2) learning environment, teachers pay
the least attention to developing listening skills. As diminutive provisions have been
provided in Sri Lankan English as Second Language (ESL) syllabuses, the teachers use
diverse strategies in teaching listening. The use of songs in teaching listening has recently
attracted attention in the ESL context. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the use of
songs to enhance the listening comprehension of ESL students. The researcher decided to
focus on a limited sample because of time and resource constrictions. The study was
conducted with special reference to Udagama Maha Vidyalaya in Balangoda and the
sample of the study consists of eight ESL teachers of grades ten and eleven and the
sample was selected using a convenient sampling method. The structured interview
method was used to obtain data and data was analysed quantitatively and qualitatively.
The findings of the study illustrated that songs which are in the textbooks had been used
to practice listening skills. Further, it indicated that the difficulties faced by the teachers,
such as lack of resources, limitation of time allocated for practicing songs in the
classroom, and difficulty in giving attention to students individually. Sometimes the
students could not comprehend the songs because of the speed of the words and the
unacquainted accent so that the teachers had to replay the song. Also, the students were
not interested in the songs that they found in the syllabus. Therefore, this study concluded
that the incorporation of songs enhances the listening comprehension of ESL students if
the songs are well-chosen by considering the facts; the predilection of the audience,
language proficiency of the students, and the content of the songs.
Keywords: Incorporating songs, Listening comprehension, English as a second language
