324 Copyright © 2023 The Author IDEAS is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 License Issued by English study program of IAIN Palopo IDEAS Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) Volume 11, Number 1, June 2023 pp. 324 - 332 Improving the Students’ Motivation In Learning Vocabulary Using Song Lyrics Setiana Sri Wahyuni Sitepu1, Eka Safitri2, Nur Najibah Sukmawati3, Laksmy Ady Kusumoriny4, Sukma Septian Nasution5 dosen01057@unpam.ac.id1 1,2,3,4,5Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Bahasa dan Sastra, Tangerang Selatan, Banten Received: 2023-02-08 Accepted: 2023-07-02 DOI: 10.24256/ideas.v11i1.3588 Abstract This study aims to increase the students' motivation in learning vocabulary using song lyrics in the seventh grade of SMP Citra Bangsa. This classroom action research uses tests, observations, questionnaires, and documentation to determine the improvement that occurs in each cycle. Tests given to Pre-Test, Post-Test cycle 1, and Post-Test cycle 2 showed that the average score of each vocabulary test in the class increased significantly. In the Pre-Test, the mean score was 41.25. Then in the Post- Test cycle 1 the average score raised to 56. In the Post-Test cycle 2, the average score reached 63.5. The improvements proved that song lyrics is worth implementing in teaching vocabulary. It is supported by the results of observations which showed an increase in terms of students' motivation in learning vocabulary. The results of the questionnaire also showed an increase in the number of positive questions. While the number of negative questions decreased. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a significant increase in motivation and vocabulary achievement of seventh grade students of SMP Citra Bangsa after they are taught to use song lyrics. Keywords: learning motivation; students’ motivation; song lyrics Introduction Learning English is something that every student needs to obtain because it is the most widespread language and there are many countries that use English as an official language. Therefore, English is an international language, a language that can be used as a means of communication between humans in various countries. Learning English is needed by students and it requires students to learn not only the language but also the elements that exist in English (Sukmawati & Nasution, 2020). There are many important elements in learning English and one of them is vocabulary. Vocabulary is a list or collection of words in a language consisting of pronouns, adjectives, nouns, conjunctions, adverbs, verbs, interjections, prepositions or can be referred to as part of speech or can be referred to as part of speech. To learn English, Students must have a wide range of vocabulary without which, students cannot communicate well. Some experts mention definition of vocabulary such as; Richard & Renandya (2002) who state that vocabulary is the core component in a person's language skills that also affects the skill in learning http://u.lipi.go.id/1457703302 IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 325 English. Based on the statement, vocabulary is the main component in a language that will affect other components in learning English such as speaking, listening, reading and writing. Those components will be related to each other in learning English. Therefore, students need to learn and master vocabulary as a core component in learning English. Another definition is from Cameron (2001) who highlights that vocabulary is one of the knowledge areas in English which has an important role for students in acquiring the language. It tells that when someone wants to be competent in a language, they need to know many kinds of words in that language. The last definition is from Hatch & Brown (1995) who argue that vocabulary is a list of various words in a language used by each of the speakers of the language. From the three statements, it can be concluded that vocabulary is a collection of various words in a language, especially English spoken by speakers. It is an important part of learning a language because students need to know and have a list of vocabulary if they want to master the language. However, there are many problems faced by students in learning vocabulary, such as low memory, low self-confidence, and low learning motivation. This is also felt by students at the intended school that was used as a research location. Based on the pre-observation, it was found that the students have low motivation in learning vocabulary and the writers found five characteristics of students who have low motivation as follows: (1) students look lethargic when learning takes place; (2) they do not focus on the teacher; (3) they look sleepy and bored; (4) they do not voluntarily answer or ask the teacher; (5) they prefer to talk to their friends. Meantime, learning motivation is an encouragement that arises both from inside and outside students which should create enthusiasm in learning and provide direction to students. However, due to students have low learning motivation, there is no motivation to learn from students and no direction is created goals for the students. It concluded that the students' low learning motivation towards vocabulary was a problem that affected the learning of English and the provisions of student learning achievement. Motivation is the main issue for students' learning success in learning a language because it affects the learning process and triggers effective learning (Dornyei, 2007). From that statement, motivation supports the success in learning a language. Therefore the low motivation will have an impact in learning process. Putri & Subakthiasih (2020) highlight that students' motivation comes from their own subjective experience, about their willingness to be involved in learning activities and also the reasons. Based on the statement, when students have low motivation to learn, English learning activities will be a dull moment for them. Students cannot focus and achieve the learning targets. Students will be comfortable and understand the lesson well if they have high motivation to learn. Students with low motivation to learn vocabulary will be further left behind from the learning materials. Vocabulary and students’ motivation are the priorities needed by students if they want to improve their English language skills. Such situation can be caused by various factors, such as lack of interest in English. They did not know English from an early age, and being influenced by the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to have an innovation that can change students' low motivation in learning vocabulary. Setiana Sri Wahyuni Sitepu, Eka Safitri, Nur Najibah Sukmawati, Laksmy Ady Kusumoriny, Sukma Septian Nasution Improving the Students’ Motivation in Learning Vocabulary Using Song Lyrics 326 Nowadays, most teenagers are interested and like to hear songs that come from the west. They love songs and continue to make western songs viral, and often listen to many western songs. Roberts, Christenson, & Gentile (2003) tell that people and especially teenagers like to listen to songs because it gives pleasure. Song is a collection of words that have a rhythm. Shen (2009) emphasizes that song can be called an amusing friend that is fun for people, and songs have many benefits such as enriching, and increasing knowledge of a language. Based on the statements, listening to songs is a fun activity, and many people like to listen to songs, listening to songs can make anyone feel relaxed, and happy, also songs can touch everyone's life and it is connected with their various interest, and also everyday experience, most of the past popular songs related to the same topic about love, friendship, sorrow, dream, and others common feelings. The use of songs in class can create a very positive association in learning a language, while in the minds of most people learning a language only be seen as a tedious task, one that requires examination and frustration (Murphey, 1992). Therefore, songs can be used as a method of teaching a language. In a song, there are many of vocabularies that can be found. Thus, learning vocabulary using a song is a good strategy. Based on the problems mentioned, the students' motivation in learning English, especially in vocabulary, needs to be improved with varieties of teaching method in order that they feel comfortable and happy in participating in the learning process. When students feel comfortable and happy in participating in learning activities, the teacher would be easier to deliver the material taught and it would be accepted by students because of the desire and acceptance that comes from themselves. It also was found that using song lyrics as the learning strategy able to increase students’ enthusiasm for learning so that they find it easy to learn vocabulary because they feel pleasant with its learning strategy. Vocabulary is a crucial component in learning English, for, without vocabulary, students cannot do anything in speaking, listening, reading and writing. The definition of vocabulary differs depending on the understanding of each person, but in general, it has the same meaning and essence. Vocabulary is a central for learning and teaching the English language because without vocabulary, it is impossible for students to understand a language and show students' own ideas (Lessard-Clouston, 2013). From that statement, vocabulary is a core part of learning English. Students who have heaps of vocabulary are able to express their thoughts and understand when talking to their interlocutor. Meanwhile, Thornbury (2002) declared that vocabulary is mostly about collection of items. The statement tells vocabulary is the same as various collections. The collection in question is a collection of words, there are many words in a language, and the words are uncountable. Learning vocabulary is about the skill of remembering, and for remembering the words, students need to see, say, and write the new words continuously until they really know the words and its meaning (Lessard-Clouston, 2013). It can be concluded that vocabulary is about skills of remembering, seeing, and writing. Vocabulary was called as a central in learning English that has collection of items inside it. Meanwhile, motivation refers to the intensity of one’s impetus to learn (Brown, 2001). Based on the statement, motivation is useful for increasing students' interest in learning. Every student must have motivation in learning because it will make IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 327 them more enthusiastic and active in learning or deepening a material. Each subject has its own level of complexity, and each student has different interests. Learning vocabulary is a challenge for every student and one of the ways that they can master vocabulary is with students’ motivation. Student learning motivation can affect the student learning process. In general, there are two types of motivation, internal and external motivation. Ryan & Deci (2000) highlight that intrinsic motivation refers to doing activities for the satisfaction of someone for having done. It means someone who does an activity or a task will enjoy and be satisfied with the activity even when completing it. Meanwhile, extrinsic motivation is related to an activity carried out by someone to achieve some expected result. People do an activity or a task because of the encouragement and desire that will be obtained when completing it. Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation has the possibility to coexist, because people can do some activities that are already attached to themselves and also, they finish the hobby to get permission from someone (Lepper & Henderlong, 2000). There are some learning indicators of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation according to several experts. Lepper (1988) states that obtain some reward, avoid some punishment, and need to pass the exam are the learning indicators of extrinsic motivation. Meanwhile, Harmer (2007) highlights that give incentive, social pressure, and punishment are the learning indicators of extrinsic motivation. Meantime, Laeli (2019) states that someone who have high self-efficacy, high level of interest, and curiosity are the learning indicators of intrinsic motivation. Brophy (2004) mentions student who focus on the task without letting any distractions and keep them away from what they are doing is one of the learning indicators of intrinsic motivation. In addition, song is an art, most people like art because that is fun. Songs have become a part of everyone's life because wherever people are, they will still easily hear songs through speakers in public places, transportation, or enjoy by themselves. Murphey (1992) defines that everyone must like poetry and music. Those are a strong culture and identity. It means everyone needs some fun entertainment, poetry and songs are entertainment that can be enjoyed effortlessly by people. Therefore, most people definitely like both. In general, the song is divided into two and the two types of songs have different definitions and use as follows; 1. Folk songs, it refers to a song that comes from various world regions. According to Rusydah (2015), Folk song is a traditional song that comes from a culture. It is sung from one generation to the next. 2. Popular songs, it refers to songs with a broad appeal because popular songs are simple songs that are easy to remember, and easy to listen to. Therefore, many people like popular songs and many popular songs are created every year. Furthermore, the use of music provides two main advantages, such as the song is highly memorable and highly motivating for children, adolescents, and young adult learners. Meanwhile, there are also some disadvantages of using a song as the learning strategy such as, Students often feel too excited, students only interested in listening and singing, some students may dislike the song, some songs contain limited words and slang words. Setiana Sri Wahyuni Sitepu, Eka Safitri, Nur Najibah Sukmawati, Laksmy Ady Kusumoriny, Sukma Septian Nasution Improving the Students’ Motivation in Learning Vocabulary Using Song Lyrics 328 Method In referring to the study, mixed method was used as the approach, qualitative approach was used to analyze the observations made by the author and the quantitative approach was used to analyze data from testing and questionnaires. Classroom action research implemented as the design of the study to analyze the data of the improving students’ motivation in learning vocabulary using song lyrics. Mixed methods are used to narrow as well as focus the statement of purpose, and each data needs to be analyzed separately (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). It means that the mixed method refers to combining two approaches to be used in a study, but each of the data is analyzed disparately. Creswell (2012) state that in the qualitative approach, the author needs to collect data and not analyze it using statistics but analyze it with words or pictures about a phenomenon under study. It can be concluded that in analyzing a problem using a qualitative approach, people need to collect the data and describe it in detail. In conducting research using a qualitative approach requires people to be active, make an effort, and have practical involvement (Mason, 2002). It means the implementation needs to be done with full involvement by the researcher and the object. Meanwhile, Kemmis, McTaggart, & Nixon (2014) state that classroom action research is one of the kinds of action research models. They also highlight that it usually uses qualitative as an approach to the study, and the process of action research has the steps of the model. Figure 1. The Action Research Spiral In the action research as the design of the study, it used the following steps: research, action, observation, reflection, and it became a guideline in a research model process. The data source was taken in the seventh grade of SMP Citra Bangsa. It is a private school located in a village in Depok called Krukut village. The school has “B” accreditation given by the ministry of education. This study took only one of the classes, and the writers chose a class from seventh grade to be observed, which consisted of 11 female students and 9 male students. The total number of students in the class is 20 students. In collecting the data, the writers used several techniques from data collection at SMP Citra Bangsa as follow: 1. Vocabulary test, testing was carried out at the first meeting (pre-test), the last meeting in cycle 1 (post-test 1), and the last meeting in cycle 2 (post-test 2). The writers tested the students' vocabulary by giving each student 20 questions, in form of multiple choices and short answer. 2. Observation, it is an activity carried out by a person on a process in order to understand and IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 329 obtain information from that process. The writers visited a class to observe directly in a meeting to see students' vocabulary learning activities. 3. Questionnaires are the collection of questions that the writers compiled to be given to respondents in order to get information or answers from the list of questions. There are ten questions that were given to the students and the questions about English subjects, vocabulary, and song. 4. Documentation, during the observation process that the writers had done at Citra Bangsa Junior High School which lasted for one month, on Tuesdays and Fridays that consisted of seven meetings. The writers have collected several documentations of teaching and learning activities that have taken place with seventh grade students in the class. Results and Discussion In this section, the writers elaborated the result and the process of the study. The goal of the study was to find out whether using song lyrics can improve the students’ motivation in learning vocabulary or not. Based on the previous explanation, the result showed that using song lyrics effectively improved the students’ motivations in learning vocabulary. It was proved by the result of the questionnaire, observation, and vocabulary test. This is in line with Wahyuni (2010) that the use of songs in learning vocabulary was more fun and enjoyable for students. However, before elaborating on the results of this study, the process will be discussed in this section. Figure 2. Graph of Questionnaire In conducting the study, the writers gave the same questionnaire to the students three times at different times. The first was in the pre-test or the first meeting, and the second was in the post-test cycle 1 or the fourth meeting, the last was in the post-test cycle 2 or the seventh meeting. The result of each questionnaire showed in Figure 4.1. Based on the data from pre-test, post-test cycle 1, and post- test cycle 2, it can be seen that there was an increase in the total number of the positive questions. It means the students are interested during the treatment, so they prefer to choose positive questions. Meanwhile, there was a decrease in the total score of negative questions. It means that many students disagree with the negative questions. Setiana Sri Wahyuni Sitepu, Eka Safitri, Nur Najibah Sukmawati, Laksmy Ady Kusumoriny, Sukma Septian Nasution Improving the Students’ Motivation in Learning Vocabulary Using Song Lyrics 330 Figure 3. Graph of Observation Then, the writers did the observation in four meetings, and during the observation, the writers wrote the indicators of observation. From Figure 4.2, it can be seen that there was an increase in the graph. The second meeting of the post-test cycle 1 was 30, and the third meeting of the post-test cycle 1 was 33. Meanwhile, the fifth meeting of the post-test cycle 2 was 40, and the sixth meeting of the post-test cycle 2 was 44. It showed that the increase in total numbers occurred although it was not too much. Figure 4. Graph of Vocabulary Test Result Meanwhile, the writers also gave the vocabulary test three times at different times to the students to strengthen the research results. Each vocabulary test consisted of different questions but in the same type. Based on Figure 4.3, the average of each vocabulary test increased significantly. In the pre-test, the average score was 41,25. Then, in the post-test cycle 1, the average score was 56. In the post- test cycle 2, the average score was 63,5. In conclusion, using song lyrics as a learning strategy can improve students' motivation also vocabulary. In addition, the use of song lyrics in learning vocabulary had a positive effect on the students' motivation. Students can recognize and distinguish word classes, whether noun, adjective, and verb. Then students can also read, pronounce and translate new vocabulary for them. As a result, the use of song lyric in learning vocabulary can facilitate them to have the opportunity and encourage their enthusiasm and motivation in learning vocabulary, and song lyric was fun and helpful, especially for seventh-grade students of SMP Citra Bangsa. IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 331 Conclusion After conducting the study and observation 7 times, one meeting for pre-test, two meetings for post-test, and four meetings for treatments in the seventh grade of SMP Citra Bangsa, according to the data analysis, there was an improvement in students' vocabulary that was taught by using song lyric. It was affected because students could understand the word classes of each vocabulary and know much vocabulary that they studied. Furthermore, the student's average score on vocabulary tests was increased. Besides that, the song that the writers used supported students' motivation in memorizing and pronouncing the vocabulary. Moreover, the students' learning motivation increased from the first meeting until the last meeting during the observation in the class. Many students were seen to be focused and cooperative in activities in class. Students also voluntarily asked and gave questions, came into the front of the class to give their answers, and helped their friends understand the vocabulary. Meanwhile, the result of the questionnaire also improved well. Hence, it can be concluded that there was a significant improvement in students' motivation and vocabulary achievement after they were taught to use song lyrics. Based on the finding and discussion, some suggestions are given to the participants who are closely related to this study as follows: (1) for the English teacher: Teachers need to use appropriate learning methods and strategies to make it easier for students to understand lessons in the learning process. It is useful to use song lyrics in learning vocabulary as one of the appropriate activities in learning vocabulary. In conducting the study, the obstacle that the writers had was that students felt bored easily during the lessons, so a teacher should be creative and innovative in sharing the material so that learning is not monotonous and boring; (2) for students: By using song lyrics, the students have opportunities to read a lot of vocabulary, pronounce the vocabulary, guess and share ideas about the meaning of each word in the song lyric; (3) for the researchers: Teaching vocabulary using song lyrics as a learning strategy is recommended by the writers for a long time to get maximum results so that improvement can be seen significantly. References Brophy, J. (2004). Motivating Studnets to Learning. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by Principles (2 ed.). New York: Pearson ESL. Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational Research. (4th, Ed.) 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