Exploring First-Year Students’ Perceptions of Using English Songs via Spotify to Enhance Listening Skills in the English Education Study Program

Abstract

Developing listening skills remains a significant challenge for EFL learners, largely due to a shortage of engaging, authentic materials. This study explores how first-year English Education students at Universitas Galuh perceive the use of English songs on Spotify for improving their listening skills. Adopting a descriptive qualitative design framed by Creswell (2023), data were gathered from five participants via a Likert-scale questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, followed by descriptive and thematic analysis. The findings reveal a highly positive reception among students. While most initially used Spotify for entertainment, they soon recognized its educational value. Repeated listening enhanced their speech recognition, while the platform's lyrics feature allowed them to bridge the gap between spoken and written English, leading to natural vocabulary acquisition. Ultimately, students found this approach enjoyable and self- directed rather than a rigid classroom chore. This positive outlook was driven by Spotify’s convenience, interactive features, and regular exposure to authentic language, suggesting that the platform serves as a practical, motivating supplement to formal EFL listening instruction.