Using a listening log based on English and Italian pop songs, this thesis aims to investigate how spontaneous use of music can promote incidental foreign language learning. Its main goal is to explore how secondary school students go about listening to music in the comfort of their own homes and how they respond to a music-based non-evaluative activity, which allows them to share their thoughts about the songs they hear.
For the purposes of the study, a playlist of 20 English and 20 Italian songs was prepared and 34 secondary school students studying both English and Italian were assigned 14 days to listen to and comment upon the selected songs at home in a specially prepared listening log. After the completion of the activity, they were given a questionnaire, which investigated whether they had enjoyed the activity, what they had focused on, how they had approached it, what they had learned in the process, what their preferences had been language-wise, and whether they thought their language proficiency could benefit from listening to pop songs. The students were fonder of the listening part than of the log-keeping part. The vast majority focused primarily on music, but there were also many interested in lyrics. On average, participants preferred English songs over Italian ones and believe foreign language proficiency can be improved by listening to pop music.
|
