ABSTRACT
Through pop music German students encounter a wide range of Englishes and anglophone cultures outside the classroom. Thus, pop music seems very promising for ELT and applied linguists have repeatedly highlighted this didactic potential. However, the analysis of two German ELT textbook series shows that although pop songs appear frequently, they are not central to language learning but mainly included as additional material or for their motivational value. The discussion of an exemplary task on Jamaican Creole in the song The System by the Jamaican artist Popcaan illustrates how tasks on the language and content of pop music may foster competences crucial for TEIL. By using pop music in ELT, students can be exposed to various Englishes and anglophone cultures, they learn not to discount lyrics distinct from Standard English as gibberish, and they acquire the media competences to engage with pop cultural material critically.
