THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF USE OF AUTHENTIC SONGS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Working with authentic materials in foreign language education is one of the most efficient ways to improve the students’ communicative competence and motivate them․ Songs as authentic materials occupy a special place among all authentic materials because of their abundance of words, cultural components and emotional impact․ This study reviews the theoretical basis for the use of authentic songs in foreign language classes․ Several key linguistic and psycholinguistic theories, such as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), Krashen's Input Hypothesis, Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory support the application of authentic songs in the classroom․ They also have the potential to aid vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, intercultural competence, and the motivation of learners․ The potential role of authentic materials in EFL lessons (such as songs) has been widely discussed․