Exploring the use of Spotify and YouTube to enhance students' vocabulary mastery

This study investigates students’ experiences in using Spotify and YouTube to enhance their English vocabulary mastery. Employing a descriptive qualitative design, six students from the English Education Study Program at Universitas Ahmad Dahlan were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically. The findings show that students actively used strategies such as reading lyrics, replaying songs, and using translation tools to understand new words. Both platforms provided authentic and engaging input that improved vocabulary recognition, pronunciation, and motivation. Learning through music also increased learners’ confidence and autonomy by transforming entertainment into meaningful learning. Although students faced challenges such as slang and unfamiliar accents, they developed coping strategies to overcome them. The study concludes that Spotify and YouTube effectively support vocabulary development and can be integrated into EFL learning to promote independent and enjoyable language acquisition.