<![CDATA[Vocabulary is a fundamental component of English proficiency, and mastering it needs meaningful and repeated exposure to words. Songs offer authentic language input and may help students learn words in context. This study aimed to determine the effect of using rock songs on students’ vocabulary mastery and to investigate students’ perspectives on their use in vocabulary learning. A pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design was employed with 36 students of Class XI 1 at SMA Negeri 1 Lenek in the 2025/2026 academic year. Data were collected through a 20-item vocabulary test administered before and after three treatment sessions using selected rock songs, and a 15-statement perception questionnaire administered after the treatment. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, a paired-samples t-test, effect size analysis, gain score analysis, and questionnaire mean scores. The mean vocabulary score increased from 36.81 on the pretest to 48.47 on the posttest, a mean difference of 11.67 points. The paired-samples t-test showed a statistically significant difference, t(35) = -3.564, p = .001, with a Cohen’s d of 0.594, indicating a medium effect. The overall mean score of students’ perceptions was 3.31 (Neutral), with the most positive responses relating to understanding new vocabulary, motivation, and understanding vocabulary in context. These findings suggest that, within the context of this study, rock songs accompanied by structured vocabulary activities may help improve students’ vocabulary mastery, although students’ perceptions of their use were neutral overall.]]>
