The Effect of Using One Direction’s Songs on the Listening Comprehension of Eighth-Grade Students at Kot’olin Public Junior High School
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59011/austronesian.5.1.2026.324-334Keywords:
English songs, Listening comprehension, One Direction, Pre-experimental design, Junior high school studentsAbstract
Students’ difficulties in understanding spoken English remain a challenge in English language learning, particularly when listening activities do not sufficiently engage learners or support their comprehension of spoken texts. Therefore, alternative instructional media are needed to make listening activities more engaging and meaningful. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using One Direction songs to improve the listening comprehension of Eighth-Grade Students at Kot’olin Public Junior High School during the 2025/2026 academic year. The study employed a quantitative approach with a pre-experimental one-group pre-test–post-test design. The participants consisted of 30 students selected through total sampling. Data were collected through listening comprehension tests administered before and after the instructional treatment, which incorporated two One Direction songs, namely “Story of My Life” and “Where We Are.” The data were analyzed descriptively by comparing students’ mean scores and achievement of the minimum passing criterion (KKM) of 75. The findings showed that the students’ mean score increased from 62.00 on the pre-test to 88.16 on the post-test, representing a gain of 26.16 points. Moreover, the number of students who achieved the KKM increased from 3 students (10%) to 22 students (73.3%). These findings suggest that using English songs may be a useful instructional strategy for supporting students’ listening comprehension. However, because the study did not include a control group, the findings should be interpreted cautiously. Further research using a controlled design is recommended to provide stronger evidence of the effectiveness of song-based listening instruction.
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