Affective Meaning in Song Lyrics: Implications for TESOL Practice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/itj.v8i1.10056Keywords:
Affective Meaning, Language Learning, Semantics, Song Lyrics, TESOLAbstract
This study investigates how affective meaning is linguistically realized in English song lyrics and examines its pedagogical implications for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). While songs have frequently been used as instructional media in language classrooms, limited attention has been paid to how emotional meanings are constructed and interpreted semantically by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. This qualitative study analyzed three contemporary English songs—Someone Like You by Adele, Fight Song by Rachel Platten, and Fix You by Coldplay—using Leech's framework of affective meaning. The study also involved 25 undergraduate students from the English Education Study Program at Universitas Musamus, Indonesia, who were observed in the classroom, asked to complete written interpretation tasks, and interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that affective meaning is predominantly realized through three linguistic resources: evaluative lexical items, metaphorical expressions, and connotative symbols. Among these, evaluative lexis was the most readily interpreted by students, whereas metaphorical and symbolic expressions required contextual discussion and semantic scaffolding to achieve deeper understanding. The classroom implementation further demonstrated that guided semantic analysis of song lyrics enhanced learners' interpretative competence, encouraged critical discussion, and promoted greater awareness of emotional meaning in authentic discourse. This study contributes to semantic research by extending the application of affective meaning theory to authentic song lyrics and demonstrates its pedagogical value for TESOL. The findings suggest that song lyrics should be regarded not merely as motivational classroom materials but also as linguistically rich texts that foster semantic awareness, critical interpretation, and contextual language learning.
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