Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers’ Perceptions on the Use of English Children’s Songs

Oct 15, 2026

English children’s songs are widely used as pedagogical tools for teaching English to young learners, yet few studies examine their limitations. This qualitative descriptive study explored pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions on using English children’s songs, involving interviews with teachers and students plus classroom observations. Findings indicate strong learning benefits, alongside technical constraints such as limited internet and facilities and non-technical issues in selecting suitable songs. Solutions include providing proper classroom technology and preparing song materials with rubrics and lesson plans.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Challenges in Teaching English to Young Learners

English Songs as Pedagogical Tools

Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers’ Perceptions on the Use of English Children’s Songs Khurin In Khumairo1, Dian Inayati2, Peptia Asrining Tyas3 [Corresponding Author:](Corresponding Author: khurinkhumairo@gmail.com)[ ](Corresponding Author: khurinkhumairo@gmail.com)[khurinkhumairo@gmail.com](Corresponding Author: khurinkhumairo@gmail.com) Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia DOI : 10.35974/acuity.v7i2.2720 Abstract English children’s songs have been commonly used as pedagogical tools to teach English to young learners. Despite its popularity, few studies focus on its limitation. This study aimed to explore preand in-service teachers’ perceptions on the usage of English Children’s songs in teaching English to young learners. This study applied a qualitative descriptive method involving two pre-service teachers, two in-service teachers, and four students. Data were collected through pre-and in-service teachers’interviews, students’ interviews, and classroom observation. The findings showed that English children’s songs offer numerous benefits for young learners in learning English. However, there were technical limitations such as lack of internet connection and school facilities and non-technical limitations such as selecting the right song for the students and providing various songs to prevent students’ boredom. To overcome those limitations, it is suggested that the school facilitate teachers with proper technology such as a projector and speaker to improve the students’ teaching and learning activities. The teachers could prepare the songs using rubrics based on learning needs and lesson plans. Keywords: English Children’s Song, Perceptions, Pedagogical Tools, TEYL. INTRODUCTION Teaching children could be challenging since young learners have different characteristics than older learners. Young learners, students less than 12 years old (Fajarina, 2017), tend to be more energetic and eager than adolescent and adult learners. They are more interested in pleasing the teacher than pleasing their peer group. They will participate in an activity even if they do not understand why or how (Cameron, 2001) . Nonetheless, young learners tend to have a short attention span, so they can rapidly become bored and lose interest after around ten minutes unless the activity is engaging (Harmer, 2007) . Hence, teaching English to young learners could be challenging for teachers and thus requires teachers’creativity as young learners may easily get bored and not interested in dull activities. “Indonesian students often experience problems when learning English, specifically vocabulary, because English differs from Bahasa Indonesia (the Indonesian language) in its structure, pronunciation, and vocabulary”(Katemba, 2019, p. 88) . Keeping young learners motivated is one of the challenges that exist in teaching English. Naturally, most children have characteristics to be keen on learning and motivated to explore things (Copland, Garton, & Burns, 2014) . The challenges in teaching young learners may result in various strategies and media used by teachers. Further, Katemba (2020) stated in the study conducted that more resources and facilities supplied by schools are increasingly assisting students in improving their language capacity,. One of them is using popular media that are relatable and entertaining for young learners, such as using English songs. English songs have been widely utilized as a pedagogical tool for teaching English to EFL learners. Some teachers use English songs to teach pronunciation (Asmaradhani, Evendi, Mursid, & Gani, 2018) , to improve students’listening comprehension (Lestary, 2019), or to teach speaking (Wijaya, 2018) . Numerous previous studies are in consensus regarding the benefits of songs on young learners ’ cognitive development (see Pogue, 2018, for instance) . The usage of songs provides engaging activities for students to develop their English language ability. Song, as an instrument, als

FAQs

What is the study’s main purpose?

To explore pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions on using English children’s songs to teach English to young learners.

How was the research conducted?

Using a qualitative descriptive method with interviews for pre-and in-service teachers and students, together with classroom observation.

What limitations were identified in using English children’s songs?

Technical limitations include lack of internet connection and school facilities, while non-technical limitations include choosing the right songs and providing varied songs to prevent boredom.

Oct 15, 2026

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