Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture. Vol.7 No. 2. 2022 https://jurnal.unai.edu/index.php/acuity 236 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: 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 pre- and 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 mailto:khurinkhumairo@gmail.com Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture. Vol.7 No. 2. 2022 https://jurnal.unai.edu/index.php/acuity 237 engaging activities for students to develop their English language ability. Song, as an instrument, also serves as an effective tool for teachers to instill enthusiasm in the students’ English learning experience. Young learners subconsciously practice their speaking, listening, pronouncing, and even imitating while singing a song. Thus, teachers must be innovative and aware of their students’ favorite songs to make the learning process meaningful, so English learning goals can easily be accomplished. In learning a language, young learners begin to learn through the process of listening. Thornbury (2002) states that because children have not yet learned to read, they will obtain the listening skill first. The listening process is supported by visuals, facial expressions, movement, mime, and pictures. The entire process is the young learners’ entry point into language learning, which underlies the essence of using songs in language learning. Listening to English songs is necessary for developing young learners’ linguistic potentials by appealing to the multifaceted development of human intelligence through attractive melodies and various rhythms. Lo & Li (1998) recommend using songs as a teaching technique due to the benefits such as creating a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere for young learners while also helping them strengthen their language skills. Additionally, it serves to entertain young learners instill a positive attitude while acquiring the structure of language through songs (Saricoban & Metin, 2000). According to Hare & Smallwood (2008), song and rhymes can also assist learners to enhance their listening and distinctive sounds and their memory and learning abilities. Psycholinguistic research demonstrates that songs have the ability to engage language acquisition and learning in both hemispheres of the human brain (Carroll, 2008). Fairbanks (1997) also argues that learning through music can be helpful to stimulate the brain while it processes knowledge. Their opinions strongly suggest that the employment of music will have a substantial impact on the young learners’ learning process. On the basis of the aforementioned theories, it can be concluded that the usage of songs is essential for language learners. Songs are necessary to get their attention as it satisfies their curiosity and help young learners develop their language skills in a fun and meaningful way. Additionally, the usage of songs facilitates a learning process subject to their language learning level. To sum up, songs have a positive influence as media in pedagogical activity, which is to improve students’ listening skills, speaking skills, vocabulary, knowledge on sentence structure and patterns, and increase enjoyment. However, teachers might face obstacles in using songs in teaching English (Millington, 2011). Although there are numerous grounds why songs can be considered effective pedagogical tools, there are several things to consider. For example, teachers have to be careful in selecting appropriate songs for students. Certain songs use grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structures that are significantly dissimilar to common spoken English. To keep variation in the classroom, teachers must have a great song repertoire. While young learners are happy to sing the same song multiple times, their interest in it might eventually fade if used too frequently. Several non-native English-speaking teachers might be concerned about teaching the correct tension and timing of songs and are thus more inclined to employ only songs they have already been familiar with. Acknowledging the importance of using songs as the right and suitable pedagogical tool to teach young learners, this study is also important to explore teachers’ perceptions of the pedagogical use of English children’s songs. Perception helps us to learn about something based on the way it is being captured and constructed by personal experiences (Démuth, 2012). Therefore, learning about teachers’ perception on using English children’s songs as pedagogical tools in teaching English will help teachers understand what needs to be improved from using songs pedagogically. Children’s songs have been known to have an external, pedagogically oriented function that teachers are likely to use to deliver knowledge and values to young learners (see Conesa & Rubio, 2015). Moreover, the teacher will determine which Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture. Vol.7 No. 2. 2022 https://jurnal.unai.edu/index.php/acuity 238 songs are used in the classroom. Children might not have the capability to distinguish which music is considered good or bad, appropriate or not. In other words, for young learners, music is music (Vinge, 2017). Thus, teachers ought to have control to choose and utilize children’s songs to facilitate young learners in learning English. Even though various studies on the use of English children’s songs to teach young learners have been conducted, they mainly focus on students’ perceptions instead of the teachers’ perceptions. Even though there were also some studies about the teachers’ perceptions on the use of English children’s songs, it was rarely any studies that focused not only on the benefit of the use of English children’s songs but also the limitation. This study involved not only pre-service teachers who taught English for the first time at the school but also in-service teachers who previously only observed English learning activities but later helped teach English as well. The researcher combined all the teachers’ perceptions to get different perspectives according to their respective experiences. Therefore, various benefits and limitations of the usage of English children’s songs in teaching English to young learners can be found. Thus, this study focuses on the benefits as well as the technical and non- technical limitations on the use of English children’s songs based on the pre-and in-service teachers’ perceptions. The main issue to be explored in this study is the pre-and in-service teachers’ perspective on the usage of English children’s songs as pedagogical tools in teaching English to young learners. This study was conducted during the implementation of the teaching campus program, and pre-service teachers were placed at a public elementary school in a rural area of Banten. Previously, there were no English lessons taught in this school due to a shortage of educators. Therefore, pre-service teachers introduced and taught English through songs. Besides pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, who taught second and third grades, also applied the use of English children’s songs even after the teaching campus program was done. In-service teachers taught various subjects such as Indonesian language, civic education, mathematics, and other subjects included in thematic learning. Thus, the objectives of this study are to: 1. Explore the benefits of the use of English children’s songs in teaching English to young learners based on the pre-and in-service teachers’ perceptions. 2. Explore the limitations of the use of English children’s songs in teaching English to young learners based on the pre-and in-service teachers’ perceptions. METHODS The qualitative research method was used in the study. This study applied a narrative inquiry which has the nature to describe phenomena and perspective through words. The participants of this study were two pre-service and two in-service teachers who taught second and third grades. Both of the pre-service teachers were female in their 20s and were English education program undergraduate students from one public university in Indonesia. They were placed at Nambo Tangerang public elementary school for three months during the teaching campus program organized by The Ministry of Education and Culture. Meanwhile, both of the in-service teachers were female in their 30s, earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary school teacher education study program and permanent teachers at Nambo Tangerang public elementary school. They taught various subjects such as the Indonesian language, civic education, mathematics, and other subjects included in thematic learning and have been teaching for about five to ten years. Four students were also selected to be the participants with the criteria that they must be familiar with the use of English children’s songs, and it was measured by how well the students knew the songs. Prior to conducting structured interviews, the researcher ensured that all participants had Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture. Vol.7 No. 2. 2022 https://jurnal.unai.edu/index.php/acuity 239 given their consent to become participants and were willing to be interviewed. The researchers explained the purpose of the study, the reasons the participants were selected as research subjects, data collection procedures, and information about the amount of time the data subjects were expected to participate (the number of sessions, duration of sessions, total time spent). In addition, the researchers included information about the expected benefits for the community or society, as well as what scientific knowledge is expected to be obtained from the research. The researcher ensured the participants that their information would be kept confidential and would be utilized only for the aims of the study. To maintain confidentiality, the researcher used codes and pseudonyms to refer to the participants, such as pre-service teacher 1, in-service teacher 1, student 1, and so on, to identify the participants. Once their consent was obtained, the data were ready to be collected. The data collection technique utilized in this study was structured interviews for pre- and in-service teachers, structured interviews for students, and classroom observation. The structured interviews for pre-and in-service teachers were the main data collection technique. It consisted of five questions about the usefulness of Children’s songs and two questions about limitations in using children’s songs (Millington, 2011). The structured interviews for students were used to increase the credibility and validity of the pre-and in-service teachers’ interview results. The classroom observation was used to record the happenings or occurrences of teachers’ implementation of English Children’s songs in their classes. However, to answer the research problems of this study, the data discussed are mainly drawn from the results of the interview with the pre-and in-service teachers. The Indonesian language was used for the interview to ease the participant. After collecting the data, the researcher analyzed it by transcribing the interviewee’s response verbatim from the audio recording into the written text and translating it from Indonesian to English. Next, the researcher reduced the unimportant data from the interview. Then, the researcher validated the result of pre-and in-service teachers’ interviews by students’ interviews and classroom observation. Finally, the researcher drew a conclusion based on the result of the data that has been analyzed. FINDINGS This section described the findings of pre-and in-service teachers’ perceptions of using English children’s songs when teaching English to young learners. This study’s findings covered two main aspects, the benefits and the limitations of the use of English children’s songs in teaching English to young learners. Data from students’ interviews and classroom observation also enabled comparisons and increased the reliability of the pre-and in-service teachers’ interview data. Additionally, the interview results with the participants were cited to substantiate the findings of this study. The benefits of using English children’s songs in teaching English to young learners The findings implied that pre-and in-service teachers reported positive perceptions of using English children’s songs when teaching English to young learners. The benefits were helping young learners improve their listening and speaking skills, memorizing vocabulary, helping in teaching about sentence structure and patterns, and increasing students’ overall enjoyment of learning English. The researcher examined the results for each category within the following subsections. Improving listening skills The first question was related to the beneficial use of English children’s songs for students’ listening skills. In response to this question, the pre-and in-service teachers reported that English Children’s songs improved students’ listening skills. The following statements Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture. Vol.7 No. 2. 2022 https://jurnal.unai.edu/index.php/acuity 240 are the results of the structured interviews that describe their perceptions. According to pre-service teacher 1, the usage of English children’s songs aided significantly in the development of students’ listening skills because they were required to concentrate more on listening to English songs that were being played or heard. Similarly, pre-service teacher 2 thought that English children’s songs could improve students’ listening skills because students get used to listening to English and help students be more responsive when hearing English words. In addition, in-service teacher 1 stated that English children’s songs were definitely helpful because she believed that one of the keys to improving listening skills was getting used to listening to the language. Likewise, in-service teacher 2 emphasized that English Children’s songs, indeed, have many advantages in which one of them was to hone students’ listening skills from a young age. Through repetition, young learners can get used to English songs. In conclusion, English children’s songs were beneficial to improving students’ listening skills. It could help the students form a habit of listening to English songs and help students be more responsive in listening to words in English. Improving speaking skills The second question was related to the beneficial use of English children’s songs for students’ speaking skills. In response to this question, pre-and in-service teachers stated that English children’s songs improved students’ speaking skills. The following statements are the results of the structured interviews that describe their perceptions. Pre-service teacher 1 stated that since listening skills were related closely to speaking skills, English children’s songs would also likely improve students’ speaking skills. The students were not only asked to listen to the song but also would be encouraged to sing along to the song, which would indirectly help students to exercise their speaking skills. Similarly, pre-service teacher 2 said that it could be seen that students’ speaking skills were improved because the English children’s songs taught were also sung and repeated at every meeting. When singing, students also know how to pronounce a word in English. According to in- service teacher 1, there was an improvement in speaking skills. Previously, some students were silent and shy in the class. However, the students were happy using English children’s songs, so they wanted to sing along. Therefore, she thought that this pedagogical tool improves speaking skills, especially on students’ pronunciation abilities. Likewise, in-service teacher 2 stated that listening to English children’s songs repeatedly and slowly helped students enhance their speaking abilities and helped them develop pronunciation skills with good intonation. In conclusion, aside from being beneficial to teaching listening to young learners, English children’s songs are also helpful to students to improve their speaking skills, especially their pronunciation. Improving Vocabulary Mastery The third question was related to the beneficial usage of English children’s songs for students in improving their vocabulary mastery. In response to this question, the pre-and in- service teachers shared that English children’s songs improved young learners’ vocabulary mastery. The following statements are the results of the structured interviews that describe their perceptions. Pre-service teacher 1 stated that since Children’s songs usually have a repetitive style in the lyrics, it helped students memorize particular words and eventually helped them understand a new vocabulary in English. Likewise, pre-service teacher 2 stated that students’ improvement in vocabulary mastery was the most observable change compared to other skill improvements because students have just started getting used to English in the last few months. In her opinion, this song media was effective maybe because the rhythm contained in a song could help to remember words better. In-service teacher 1 said that English children’s Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture. Vol.7 No. 2. 2022 https://jurnal.unai.edu/index.php/acuity 241 songs could increase students’ vocabulary because they were made familiar with English first through English children’s songs and sung repeatedly so that gradually the vocabulary stuck to students’ memories. Similarly, in-service teacher 2 said that English children’s songs could improve students’ English vocabulary because repeating the songs’ lyrics helped students master new words quickly, like a repetition of ordinary words in English class but with background music. In addition to increasing the credibility and validity of the pre-and in-service teachers’ interview results for this question, the researcher added the data from the students’ interviews. The question was related to students’ perceptions of learning English through English children’s songs. In response to this question, the students reported positive perceptions about the usage of English children’s songs when teaching English to young learners. The following statements are the results of the structured interviews that describe their perceptions. According to student 1, she had never studied English before, so she knew more about English vocabulary by using English children’s songs. Student 2 stated that she got to know some new English words. Student 3 said that it was easy for her to memorize vocabulary because of learning through English children’s songs. Similarly, student 4 said that he knew some new vocabulary using English children’s songs, and it became easy to memorize them. In conclusion, English children’s songs were beneficial to improving students’ vocabulary mastery because the rhythm in them can help students remember words better. Helping in teaching about sentence structure and patterns The fourth question was related to the beneficial use of English children’s songs for pre- and in-service teachers in teaching sentences and patterns. In response to this question, the pre-and in-service teachers had different answers, but all of them had the same method in teaching sentence structure and patterns, that is, by indirectly teaching the young learners. The following statements are the results of the structured interviews that describe their perceptions. According to pre-service teacher 1, the main focus of using Children’s songs was neither about the structure of the sentence nor patterns or grammar. However, the teacher could introduce particular patterns and structures to students by reading and learning the lyrics. Similarly, pre-service teacher 2 stated that the learning did not directly aim to understand the structure of the sentence being studied but indirectly so that students were familiar with the English language structure. For example, with the song “What’s Your Favorite Color?” and “Finger Family Song,” students knew the structure of the subject + verb and also WH question words. Likewise, in-service teacher 1 said that some songs indirectly taught the sentence structure, such as “Counting 1 to 10,” which helped students be familiar with the concept of counting in English, singular, and plural. In conclusion, English children’s songs were beneficial for pre-and in-service teachers to teach sentences and patterns indirectly. Increasing students’ overall enjoyment of learning English The fifth question was related to the beneficial usage of English children’s songs to increase students’ overall enjoyment of learning English. In response to this question, the pre- and in-service teachers asserted that English children’s songs made the students happy and interested in participating in the classroom activity and helped them enjoy learning English without getting bored in the classroom. The following statements are the results of the structured interviews that describe their perceptions. According to pre-service teacher 1, the use of English children’s songs made students happy so they could be interested and enjoy learning English in class. In addition, students did not feel bored quickly by using songs so that they would be more interested in the learning process. Pre-service teacher 2 stated that students became more active in learning. Previously they were silent and shy because they were not used to English lessons, and now, they had Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture. Vol.7 No. 2. 2022 https://jurnal.unai.edu/index.php/acuity 242 become more confident because they were getting used to it. According to them, learning English songs became more fun and less scary with the media. In-service teacher 1 stated that the students were very excited about learning to use songs because they not only sang but were also invited to move according to the lyrics of the song. Sometimes, at the beginning of the lesson, someone asked to sing together first, so she felt that the students became more motivated in learning English. Similarly, in-service teacher 2 said that students became more enthusiastic and did not get bored quickly in learning because the learning was not monotonous as usual but used songs that cheer up the classroom atmosphere. In addition to increasing the credibility and validity of the pre-and in-service teachers’ interview results for this question, the researcher added the data from the students’ interviews. The question related to students’ feelings about learning English through English children’s songs. In response to this question, the students reported positive perceptions of using English children’s songs to teach English to young learners. The following statements are the results of the structured interviews that describe their perceptions. Student 1 stated that learning English by using English children’s songs was fun and made her enjoy learning English because it was not just singing, but some movements made me excited. Student 2 said that the learning activity was fun and exciting because she liked singing. Similarly, student 3 stated that it was fun and made him happy, so he was not afraid to learn English. Likewise, student 4 said he felt pleased and not tense when learning English. In conclusion, English children’s songs were beneficial in increasing students’ overall enjoyment of learning English. Students enjoyed singing and responded positively to the usage of English children’s songs in the classroom. It helped foster a relaxed and informal ambiance in the classroom, making it a less intimidating place. The limitations of using English children’s songs in teaching English to young learners The findings implied that after explaining the benefits of using English children’s songs to teach English to young learners, pre-and in-service teachers explained the limitation of the usage of English children’s songs in their classrooms. In this finding, the researcher divided the limitation of the usage of English children’s songs in teaching English to young learners into two categories, technical and non-technical limitations. Technical limitations The first question was related to the technical limitations that pre-and in-service teachers had when using English children’s songs to teach the students. In response to this question, each pre-and in-service teacher shared their struggles of technical limitations in using English children’s songs to teach young learners. The following statements are the results of the structured interviews that describe their perceptions. Pre-service teacher 1 stated that she had technical limitations when using English children’s songs to teach the students because the school did not provide additional facilities, so teachers must bring their laptops and speakers to play songs to students. The internet connection was also lacking because the school was in the village. Therefore, the song to be played must be downloaded first. Pre-service teacher 2 also had a similar problem because there were no sockets, projectors, or speakers in the classroom that could be used, so the teacher must be brought a laptop with a full battery and speakers. The internet connection was also quite difficult, so they ensured the song was already on their laptops. Likewise, in-service teachers 1 and 2 said that the technical limitation was inadequate school facilities because, in the school, everything was lacking, so they had to prepare the media by themselves. In conclusion, pre-and in-service teachers had technical limitations in using English children’s songs to teach young learners, such as internet connection and school facilities such as a speaker, a projector, and sockets in the classroom. Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture. Vol.7 No. 2. 2022 https://jurnal.unai.edu/index.php/acuity 243 Non-technical limitations The second question was related to the non-technical limitations that pre-and in-service teachers had when using English children’s songs to teach the students. In response to this question, each pre-and in-service teacher shared their struggles of non-technical limitations in using English children’s songs to teach the young learners. The following statements are the results of the structured interviews that describe their perceptions. According to pre-service teacher 1, the non-technical limitations that pre-and in-service teachers had when using English children’s songs to teach the students was that the teacher must have much time to determine the suitable material for students when using songs. The teacher must consider many aspects such as content, vocabulary, grammar, of the song, and whether it was appropriate to the students’ language levels. Pre-service teacher 2 stated that the non-technical limitation she faced was because this was still in the introductory stage or what was being taught was still basic. The chosen song could not be too long and not too difficult in terms of vocabulary. Therefore, the teacher must be selective in choosing which songs the students could easily memorize. In-service teacher 1 said that the songs used must be varied because if every meeting the song was the same continuously, the students would get bored, so to prevent this, she usually changed the songs depending on the student’s request. Similarly, in-service teacher 2 thought that although the students were initially excited about learning by using the song, if the song were often repeated, their interest in the song would surely fade, and they would get bored. In conclusion, pre-and in-service teachers had non- technical limitations in using English children’s songs to teach young learners, such as picking the right song for the students and providing various songs to prevent students’ boredom. DISCUSSION The study’s findings indicated that pre-and in-service teachers perceived English children’s songs as beneficial pedological tools in teaching English to young learners. The first benefit, listening to the English children’s songs could help students in improving their listening skills. Because songs are easily accessible and can train students’ ears to listen, it could be utilized to develop students’ listening skills (Listiyaningsih, 2017). The second benefit, aside from being beneficial to teaching listening to young learners, was that English children’s songs also help students improve their speaking skills, especially their pronunciation. Students become more acquainted with English sounds and are able to enhance their speaking abilities, particularly their pronunciation, through the usage of songs (Baltazar, 2017). The third benefit, English children’s songs can be used to practice vocabulary. They are frequently themed or subject-based and serve as a backdrop for vocabulary acquisition. The majority of English children’s songs contain monosyllabic words, numerous of which are repeated many times. This repetition exposes students to these concepts on a more frequent basis and may aid in vocabulary development (Millington, 2011). The fourth benefit, English children’s songs were helping pre-and in-service teachers in teaching about sentences and patterns indirectly. Numerous English children’s songs have simple sentence patterns or rhythms that might become ingrained in the learner’s mind. Songs can also be used to enhance educational concepts. Children’s songs are often brief in length and frequently employ simple conversational vocabulary (Millington, 2011). The last benefit was that English children’s songs increased students’ overall enjoyment of learning English. Most young learners enjoy singing and often respond positively to the use of songs in the classroom. It helps foster a relaxed and informal ambiance in the classroom, making it a less intimidating place. Songs can help students develop an interest in and motivation to learn English by alleviating anxiety (Millington, 2011). The classroom observation was used to record the happenings or occurrences of Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture. Vol.7 No. 2. 2022 https://jurnal.unai.edu/index.php/acuity 244 teachers’ implementation of English Children’s songs in their classes and to increase the credibility and validity of the pre-and in-service teachers’ interview results. Based on the result of classroom observation, while participating in learning activities, the students showed positive responses. They were excited and receptive to the implementation of English Children’s songs in their classes. When the students knew they would be listening to the songs during their learning activities, they became incredibly enthused. Nevertheless, at the initial meeting, the students were unfamiliar with the English language since previously there were no English lessons in their school due to the lack of educators. The teacher could handle this problem by playing the song that the students were probably familiar with, such as “Baby Shark” in the first meeting, and then change the song for the next meeting by considering the students’ language levels since the learning was still in the introductory stage. However, teachers might face limitations in using songs in teaching English (Millington, 2011). Although there are numerous grounds why songs can be considered effective pedagogical tools, there are several things to consider. The teacher has to take care when selecting appropriate songs for students. Certain songs use grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure that is significantly dissimilar to spoken English. There are additional issues that the teacher must deal with. The teacher must have a wide variety of songs to keep things interesting in the classroom. Even if young learners are eager to sing the same song over and over again, if it is used too frequently, their interest in it may wane. The findings in this study indicated that after explaining the benefits of using English children’s songs to teach English to young learners, pre-and in-service teachers explained the limitation of the usage of English children’s songs in their classrooms. The limitation was divided into two categories, technical and non-technical limitations. The technical limitations that pre-and in-service had when using Children’s songs to teach young learners were the lack of internet connection and school facilities such as a speaker, a projector, and a socket in the classroom. At the same time, the non-technical limitations they had were difficulty picking the right song for the students and providing various songs to prevent students’ boredom. To overcome those limitations, pre-and in-service teachers prepared the media themselves. Due to inadequate school facilities, they brought their laptops with a full battery and speakers to play songs to students. Because of the lack of internet connection, the song to be played must be downloaded first. To pick the right song for the students, pre-and in-service teachers considered many aspects such as content, vocabulary, the grammar of the song to be used, and whether or not it is appropriate to the students’ language levels. Since the learning was still in the introductory stage, the chosen song was not too long and not too difficult in vocabulary. To prevent students’ boredom, pre-and in-service teachers provide various songs, and the song is usually changed every meeting depending on the student’s request. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION Based on the findings of the interviews conducted with pre-and in-service teachers at Nambo Tangerang public elementary school, a brief conclusion can be drawn from this study, which is that teachers have positive perceptions about the usage of English children’s songs in teaching English to young learners. As perceived by pre-and in-service teachers, incorporating English children’s songs into the classroom when teaching English to young learners can give numerous benefits to the students. When students listen to English children’s songs, they can enhance their listening abilities, which will subsequently enable them to improve their speaking skills, particularly their pronunciation. English children’s songs can also help students to practice their pronunciation by singing along to the song. Even more, using English children’s songs also helps the students improve their vocabulary mastery since they can learn new words from the lyrics and memorize the new word by repetitively listening Acuity: Journal of English Language Pedagogy, Literature, and Culture. Vol.7 No. 2. 2022 https://jurnal.unai.edu/index.php/acuity 245 and singing to the song. Teachers believe that young learners must first learn the basic level at a young age, hence they did not directly or explicitly teach the students about sentence structure and patterns. The use of Children’s songs also motivates and entertains students in learning English in the classroom. Aside from all the benefits and positive perceptions, teachers also have technical and non-technical limitations in using Children’s songs to teach the young learners in Nambo Tangerang public elementary school. Based on the limitations, some suggestions could be implemented by the school and teachers to improve the use of English children’s songs in teaching English to young learners in Nambo Tangerang public elementary school. The first suggestion, the teachers mentioned that the main technical limitation in using English children’s songs is insufficient technology support in the classroom. It is suggested that the school should facilitate teachers with proper technology to improve the teaching and learning experience in the classroom. The school can provide one projector and one speaker for the teachers, and they can use the media in turns. The second suggestion, another limitation, is non-technical for the teachers, that is, about the song selection. It is suggested for the teachers to prepare the songs using rubrics based on what the classroom needs from the song and the lesson plan. For example, the rubric consists of a list of verbs teachers want to teach and a particular theme. It will help teachers to find proper songs in a more structured way. The main contribution of this study in teaching English to young learners was the discovery of English children’s songs benefits as pedagogical tools as well as technical and non-technical limitations they faced as previously explained and how they overcome those limitations. Therefore, by reading this study, other English teachers could consider implementing English Children’s songs in their classes, and other schools could facilitate their teachers facilitate teachers with proper technology so that the teacher would not face technical limitations. The main limitations of this study were the short period of research and the lack of the number of participants. 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