A Small-Scale Corpus Study of Metal Songs: Metallica’s ‘The Black Album’

Abstract

Music is an integral part of our lives, resonating with nearly everyone, and its unique qualities have garnered the interest of English Language Teaching (ELT) scholars, particularly in vocabulary acquisition. Numerous studies have investigated the educational potential of various genres, however metal music remains largely underexplored. This corpus study seeks to address this gap by analyzing the educational value of metal songs in ELT. It analyzes the CEFR levels of words and idioms, as well as the prominent lexico-grammatical structures in a corpus of approximately 3,000 words, employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings show that about 80% of the words fall within the A1, A2, and B1 levels, though a significant portion at the A1 level are function words. In contrast, most idioms are classified at the C2 level, followed by C1 and B2 levels. The study also identifies five frequent lexico-grammatical patterns, such as personal pronouns, determiners, imperatives, modal verbs, and metaphors/similes. These patterns contribute to a conversational tone in metal lyrics while fostering critical thinking and creative language use among learners.

Keywords

• English language teaching
• vocabulary learning
• metal music
• CEFR levels
• lexico-grammatical structures

Metal Şarkılar Üzerine Küçük Ölçekli Bir Derlem Çalışması: Metallica’nın ‘The Black Albüm’ü

Abstract

Müzik, hayatımızın ayrılmaz bir parçasıdır ve neredeyse herkesin ruhuna dokunur. Bu eşsiz özellikleri, özellikle kelime öğrenimi bağlamında, İngiliz Dili Eğitimi (ELT) alanındaki akademisyenlerin ilgisini çekmektedir. Çeşitli müzik türlerinin eğitsel potansiyelini araştıran çok sayıda çalışma yapılmış olsa da metal müzik büyük ölçüde göz ardı edilmiştir. Bu derlem çalışması, ELT’ de metal şarkılarının eğitsel değerini analiz ederek bu boşluğu doldurmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmada, yaklaşık 3.000 kelimeden oluşan bir derlemdeki sözcüklerin ve deyimlerin CEFR seviyeleri, ayrıca öne çıkan sözcük-dilbilgisel yapıları hem nicel hem de nitel yöntemlerle incelemektedir. Bulgular, kelimelerin yaklaşık %80’inin A1, A2 ve B1 seviyelerinde olduğunu, ancak A1 seviyesindeki kelimelerin önemli bir kısmının yapısal sözcükler olduğunu göstermektedir. Buna karşılık, deyimlerin çoğunluğu C2 seviyesinde sınıflandırılırken, bunu C1 ve B2 seviyeleri takip etmektedir. Çalışma ayrıca beş sık kullanılan sözcük-dilbilgisel yapıyı tespit etmiştir: kişi zamirleri, belirteçler, emir kipleri, modal fiiller ve eğretilemeler/benzetmeler. Bu yapılar, metal şarkı sözlerinde konuşma tarzı bir ton oluştururken, öğrenenlerin eleştirel düşünme ve yaratıcı dil kullanımı becerilerini geliştirmelerine katkı sağlamaktadır.

Keywords

• İngiliz Dili Eğitimi
• kelime öğrenimi
• metal müzik
• CEFR seviyeleri
• sözcük-dilbilgisel yapılar

References

1. Abbott, M. (2002). Using music to promote L2 learning among adult learners. TESOL Journal, 11(1), 10-17. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1949-3533.2002.tb00061.x
2. Akbary, M., Shahriari, H., & Hosseini Fatemi, A. (2016). The value of song lyrics for teaching and learning English phrasal verbs: a corpus investigation of four music genres. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 12(4), 344–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2016.1216121
3. Aras, B., Bozkurt, S., & Önen, S. (2024). Exploring figurative language usage in contemporary music: Pedagogical implications for English language instruction. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 18(2), 29–51. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13860646
4. Barros, A. (2022). The teaching and learning of English vocabulary through songs: A survey of teachers’ views (Unpublished master’s thesis). Universitas Brawijaya.
5. Batluk, L. (2015). Does listening to English songs motivate students to expand their extramural English? A case study of Swedish upper-secondary school students’ perceptions of possible impact of listening to vocal music on their extramural English (Master’s thesis, Linnaeus University).
6. Bértoli, P. (2018). Song lyrics: From multi-dimensional analysis to the foreign language classroom. In V. Werner (Ed.), The language of pop culture (pp. 217-239). Routledge.
7. Biber, D. (1988). Variation across speech and writing. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511621024
8. Bonsu, E. M. (2023). ‘Trapping my way up’: a corpus-assisted discourse analysis of Black Sherif’s songs. Critical Discourse Studies, 22(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2023.2269276

9. Council of Europe. (2020). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment—Companion volume. Council of Europe Publishing. https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages English Profile. (n.d.). English Vocabulary Profile. Cambridge University Press. https://www.englishprofile.org/wordlists/evp
10. Garnier, M., & Schmitt, N. (2015). The PHaVE List: A pedagogical list of phrasal verbs and their most frequent meaning senses. Language Teaching Research, 19(6), 645-666. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168814559798
11. Goyak, F., et al. (2021). Conversational mental verbs in English song lyrics. Asian Journal of University Education, 17(1), 222-239. https://doi.org/10.24191/ajue.v17i1.12619
12. Gumelar, A. (2018). Corpus-based analysis of linguistic features in heavy metal songs from 2000–2018 (Sarjana thesis). Universitas Brawijaya. Retrieved from http://repository.ub.ac.id/id/eprint/166593
13. Halliday, M. A. K. (1970). Language structure and language function. In J. Lyons (Ed.), New horizons in linguistics (pp. 140-465). Harmondsworth: Penguin.
14. Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics (pp.269-293). Harmondsworth: Penguin.
15. Isnaini, S., & Aminatun, D. (2021). Do you like listening to music?: Students’ thoughts on their vocabulary mastery using English songs. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 2(2), 62–67. https://doi.org/10.33365/jeltl.v2i2.901
16. Kuzembayeva, G. A., Zhumakhanova, A. Zh., & Anessova, A. Zh. (2022). Errors and deviations in English songs and their impact on language learners. Vestnik Toraighyrov University: Philological Series, (3), 116–123. https://doi.org/10.48081/DVYK8453
17. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. (n.d.). Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English online. Pearson. https://www.ldoceonline.com/
18. Li, X., & Brand, M. (2009). Effectiveness of music on vocabulary acquisition, language usage, and meaning for Mainland Chinese ESL learners. Contributions to Music Education, 36(1), 73-84. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ864263
19. de Leeuw, R. N. H., Janicke-Bowles, S. H., & Ji, Q. (2021). How Music Awakens the Heart: An Experimental Study on Music, Emotions, and Connectedness. Mass Communication and Society, 25(5), 626–648. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2021.1956542
20. Makkai, Adam. (1972). Idiom Structure in English. The Hague: Mouton.
21. Metallica. (1991). The Black Album. Metallica. https://www.metallica.com/releases/albums/the-black-album.html
22. Rolling Stone. (2016, August 12). Metallica: The Black Album, 10 things you didn’t know. Rolling Stone. Retrieved from https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/metallicas-black-album-10-things-you-didnt-know-252307/
23. Millington, N. T. (2011). Using songs effectively to teach English to young learners. Language Education in Asia, 2(1), 134-141. https://doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/11/V2/I1/A11/Millington
24. Muhamad, N., & Rahmat, N. H. (2020). Investigating challenges for learning English through songs. European Journal of English Language Teaching, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v6i1.3270
25. Murphey, T. (1992). The discourse of Pop songs. TESOL Quarterly, 26(4), 770-774. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586887
26. Murphey, T. (2013). Music and song. Oxford University Press.
27. Nguyen, T. C., & Nguyen, H. B. (2020). Teachers’ perceptions about using songs in vocabulary instruction to young language learners. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(6), 2678–2685. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2020.080652
28. Oxford University Press. (n.d.). Oxford learner’s dictionaries online. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
29. Ozturk, M. (2017). Vocabulary load of English song lyrics for EFL learners. Journal of Foreign Language Education and Technology, 2(2). 54-73
30. Palmer, F. (1990). Modality and the English modals (2nd ed.). Longman.
31. Palmer, F. (1976). Semantics: A New Outline. Cambridge University Press
32. Patmawati, K. A. S., & Jayantini, I. G. A. S. R. (2024). Idiomatic expressions found in Taylor Swift’s song ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version)’. Sintaksis: Publikasi Para Ahli Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris, 2(5), 227–236. https://doi.org/10.61132/sintaksis.v2i4.996
33. Phisutthangkoon, K., & Panich, M. (2016). Effectiveness of English song activities on vocabulary learning and retention. The European Conference on Language Learning 2016 Official Conference Proceedings. Retrieved from https://papers.iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/ecll2016/ECLL2016_28332.pdf
34. Putri, A. W. K., & Rustipa, K. (2023). Using songs to teach English vocabulary to young learners in kindergarten. Edunesia: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan, 4(3), 1017–1030. https://doi.org/10.51276/edu.v4i3.485
35. Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
36. Ristanti, P., Nugrahani, D., & Sukmaningrum, R. (2023). Idiomatic expression in song lyrics from Arianna Grande's album Positions. International Journal of Research in Education, 3(1), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.26877/ijre.v3i1.12484
37. Rivers, W. M. (1976). Speaking in many tongues: Essays in foreign-language teaching (2nd ed.). Newbury House Publishers.
38. Salakka, I., Pitkäniemi, A., Pentikäinen, E., Mikkonen, K., Saari, P., Toiviainen, P., & Särkämö, T. (2021). What makes music memorable? Relationships between acoustic musical features and music-evoked emotions and memories in older adults. PLoS ONE, 16(5), e0251692. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251692
39. Semino, E., & Demjén, Z. (Eds.). (2017). The Routledge handbook of metaphor and language. Routledge.
40. Shehadeh, I. I. A., & Farrah, M. A. A. (2016). The effectiveness of using children’s songs in developing elementary graders’ English vocabulary and pronunciation in Jerusalem, Palestine. Journal of Creative Practices in Language Learning and Teaching (CPLT), 4(2), 44–59.
41. Tegge, F. (2017). The lexical coverage of popular songs in English language teaching. System, 67, 87–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.04.016
42. Thornbury, S. (2002). How to teach vocabulary. Pearson Education Limited.
43. Wilkins, D. A. (1972). Linguistics in language teaching. Edward Arnold.