The Value of Songs and Rhymes in Teaching English to Young Learners in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The study aimed to show the impact of using songs and rhymes in teaching English to young female learners in Saudi Arabia. It involved 20 Saudi teachers who were randomly selected from public and private schools in Riyadh city. The age of the female students ranged from 6 to 10 years. Forty parents volunteered to participate, Parents were asked to answer an online survey comprising ten different questions. Interview questionnaire and online survey were the tools used for data collection. About 9 of all teachers don't use songs and rhymes activities in teaching English. 15 of teachers out of 20 said that it is not a mandatory part of the curriculum. 13 of the teachers believe that it is very important and 2 teachers believed in using songs and rhymes to facilitate remembering. 16 of teachers out of 20 noticed that their students are actually using the songs or their vocabularies outside the classroom and 17 of all teachers stated that songs and rhymes helped their young learners' English language development. 82.50% of parents in Saudi Arabia support teaching English to their children, 47.50% of parents stated that their child is using English only in the classroom. Only 7.50% of the parents were not aware of this classroom activity while 92.50% of them are aware. 2.50% of parents expressed their disagreement. The study found out that songs and rhymes are rarely used in teaching English to young learners in the Saudi Arabia and curriculum was not rich enough with activities like songs and rhymes.