Teaching English As A Second Language Through Music Research

Running Head: CAN MUSIC HELP TEACH CHILDREN A SECOND LANGUAGE?

Can Music Help Teach Children a Second Language? A Technique for Second Language Teaching Megan Smith Crandall University

Author Note This paper was prepared for Education 3163, taught by Professor West.

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CAN MUSIC HELP TEACH CHILDREN A SECOND LANGUAGE?

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Abstract Second language teaching changes as the young population of learners becomes more easily distracted in their learning environments. The change in attention levels has led teachers and researchers to find new ways to captivate and improve the rate at which children absorb an additional language. In the past few years studies have shown that music, being used in various ways, can help improve a second language learner’s education process. This information means that the role music plays in children’s lives can be used to the advantage of teachers as a method for second language teaching in primary. This analysis of music being used as an oral teaching method on young learners is about how music is used and how it impacts students. The paper takes into account multiple situations and examples in which music is being used to teach in schools in several places across the world. This study of children’s second language education brings to light the importance of diverse teaching methods in the education system.

Keywords: children, music, second language learning, second language teaching, education, teaching methods

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Can Music Help Teach Children a Second Language? A Technique for Second Language Teaching For the past decade, second language (hence forth L2) education programs of the world have been continuously declining due to a lack of commitment and interest in language learning. For example, despite East and Southeast Asia’s attempts to commit to L2 teaching programs, their researchers have found the L2 programs “requires books and materials (i.e. curriculum, materials and methods policy)… Support for such teaching also appears to be inadequate. Unless such programmes are properly resourced, one might predict massive failures and the unfortunate waste of resources” (Baldauf, Kaplan, Kamwangamalu, & Bryant, 2011, p. 310). In most failing L2 programs, the lack of resources are the route of the problem, with little solutions being put in place. As more of the L2 speaking programs approaches to teaching are being put into classrooms, hoping for success. In recent years, music is being incorporated in immersion classes, captivating the attention of young students. This analysis of music being used as an oral teaching method demonstrates favourable solutions to the issue of L2 learning by answering the following questions. 1. How is music successful in teaching a L2? 2. How is music being used in the second language classroom? 3. Is music the best solution for all second language learning students? Comprehending the amount of success music has in teaching a L2 and the severity of the problem, researchers and teachers will establish that learning a L2 with the use of music will help improve the L2 learning programs.

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How Is Music Successful in Teaching a Second Language? After discovering that music was a viable way to teach young students a L2, researchers wanted to find out why music succeeds in teaching. Leśniewska and Pichette (2016) hypothesized that “better recall was expected for items that the children encountered in both stories and songs, compared to items encountered in only one condition” (p. 26). Their study had as an objective to explore preschool children and their vocabulary acquisition in English as a L2, hoping to fill the missing elements of the child’s current knowledge of a language they do not typically hear in the environments they typically reside in. The study researched using multiple variables to answer their main research questions, such as the comparison between stories and songs, a child’s experience with lexical items, animacy, and first language lexicon (p. 22). Leśniewska and Pichette discovered that the young preschool students were more susceptible to learning through methods such as books and music which capture their attention, rather than simply listening to teachers and looking at objects. Though reading in a L2 showed higher final results than L2 usage in music, both results were positive, further concluding that the diversity in using both methods made teaching a second language simpler and more effective (p. 28-29). Music involved games help students increase proficiency in a L2. Young students will concentrate more on activities than they would on a speech from a teacher, which is why amusing recreations are the most successful methods to teach elementary school students (Castro Huertas, & Navarro Parra, 2014, p. 13). The methodology behind this experiment was to have teachers observe and reflect on how effective or non-effective their teaching methods are, based on the results viewed in the classroom using oral music activities (p. 14). Using songs as a learning tool on first grade Columbian students, they discovered what categories worked best on the students and concluded the following:

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The cognitive development of first-graders allows them understand and produce discourse and vocabulary in very basic ways in the English language, although they might not be able to understand complex grammatical structures. In our experience, the children made evident the acquisition of new vocabulary and the creation of meaning webs in their first attempts to communicate orally in English (2014, p. 13). The experiment done on the children showed that first graders that are taught for as short a time as one year in an ESL program can successfully learn an important amount of the English language, enough for the children to understand how to say basic sentences and words. This exemplifies music can be very effective on young and absorbent minds. Moreno, Lee, Janus, and Bialystok (2015) conducted a study done in 2015 involving four-to six-year olds to test their lasting cognitive memories of their recently learned L2, which had been taught to them using music. There were two groups of students who had never had experiences involving music, the French language, or even a L2. There were four phases to determine if the methods had successfully incorporated the L2 and musical capabilities into the minds of students. These phases involved L2 learning through music within classroom discussions, an informative movie test, and two follow-up tests separated by a year to determine the results. The researchers concluded after the test was complete that “training in music and second-language learning induced training-specific effects and domain-general changes (i.e., French group in the music note condition; music group in the French vowel condition), indicating the bidirectional link between music and language processing (Bidelman et al., 2013)” (p.397-404). This research shows that through a few years of part-time exposure to languages and music, a child can learn to use a L2 in basic conversations. Ultimately this demonstrates that with long-term exposure to a previously unknown language with the help of music and other

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methods, a student’s commitment to that language will be noticeable and would most likely be bilingual after years of integration into the language. How Is Music Being Used in the Second Language Classroom? Many L2 programs of the world, such as the ESL programs, are being integrated less and less in the school systems. Mady (2014) reported that there was low numbers concerning the inclusion in FSOL (French as a second official language) classes in the more English speaking populated areas of Canada (p.333). This lack of involvement in the L2 programs does not only cause a cultural problem, but a socioeconomic problem as well. With easier and better teaching methods such as music, classrooms would be inclusive for every student and not just the Canadian-born students. Music is being integrated in elementary classrooms, teaching all subjects, including L2 teaching classes, art classes, math classes, and physical education classes. For example, in Králová and Kolodziejski (2015) research paper Bennington (2004) stated “teachers of various subjects such as Math, Science, Physical Education, Social Studies, Foreign Languages and Native Language, should mutually co-operate” and integrate music into their classes, as it helps the young learning brains of children concentrate. Bennington also added that he noticed the K12 students were more positive, worked better with their peers, and had an overall, good attitude (qtd. in Music and Class Climate in Lower Secondary Education). This is because music can be played in the background as students work, helping them concentrate and keeping a constant pace with the rhythm for progress. Music can be a motivational tool and therefore should be considered in almost all teaching environments to captivate learning minds.

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Is Music the Best Solution for All Second Language Learning Students? The basic forms in which students learn are orally, physically, and visually. Music, an oral method of teaching, has proven to be effective for the majority of students at a young age. Leśniewska and Pichette’s (2016) demonstrated how L2 teaching using songs is successful because “songs are widely recognized as helpful because the melody, the presence of rhyme, and the frequent repetition of items seem to facilitate the memorization of new elements of language (p. 20). The reason that music is effective with children is because at an elementary school level, students are able to learn in a variety of ways, as their attention spans are shorter. Not only is learning a L2 through music beneficial and effective for young people, but it has been proven to be effective throughout the whole lifespan. Studies show that learning multiple languages and music for a minimum of five years before the age of 18 can decrease an individual’s chances of developing mild cognitive impairment. This lower risk is due to the association of instruction with higher initial level of cognitive function rather than with rate of cognitive decline. The results suggest that cognitively enriching experiences during childhood are related to cognitive health in old age (Wilson, Boyle, Yang, James, & Bennett, 2015, p.297). All this to say that memory impairment is less likely to happen if the areas of the brain that deals with second languages are developed long-term. Given that this helps the brain’s long-term functioning, second languages being taught through music is a reason why music is one of the best solutions for every L2 learner, for the health benefits alone. Music has continuously surprised researchers by being one of the best methods in teaching early childhood L2 skills, yet that cannot be the only method and solution to the worldwide problem of diminishing L2 education programs. While music has proven to be an effective method to teaching L2 skills to children, it needs to be a tool that is used by teachers on

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a global scale. If teachers continue to love what they teach and progressively find new ways to interest the leaders of tomorrow, L2 learning as a problem in our education systems will no longer exist. Overall, teachers want to see progress for children in their skills, but also make sure that they enjoy and have an interest in what they are being taught. In Castro Huertas and Navarro Parra’s research paper conducted in 2014, the conclusion highlighted what teachers truly want for their young learners. They stated that teachers want students to start the ESL programs at a young age, while making sure that students focus on the linguistic aspects of the language while being aware that a L2 can be different, yet enjoyable at the same time. The researchers added that when they were observing the students, they saw that using songs to teach English improved the children’s overall mood, such as their happiness levels and their confidence (p. 21). Though only slowly being fixed, L2 programs have numerous solutions that teachers have been rightfully putting to use to keep the programs as successful as possible. Though music is only one solution of many and is not always effective on all students, research has proven that music interests children and can having a lasting effect on the young students’ brains. While progress has been made in schools, further development is needed to continue on the path to a permanent and effective solution.

CAN MUSIC HELP TEACH CHILDREN A SECOND LANGUAGE? References Baldauf, R. B, Jr, Kaplan, R. B., Kamwangamalu, N., & Bryant, P. (2011). Success or failure of primary second/foreign language programmes in Asia: What do the data tell us? Current Issues in Language Planning, 12, 309-323. doi: 10.1080/14664208.2011.609715 Castro Huertas, I. A, & Navarro Parra, L. J. (2014). The role of songs in first graders' oral communication development in English. PROFILE Issues in Teacher’ Professional Development, 16, 11-28. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/profile.v16n1.37178 Duarte Romero, M., Tinjaca Bernal, L. M., & Carrero Olivares, M. (2012). Using songs to encourage sixth graders to develop English speaking skills. PROFILE Issues in Teacher’ Professional Development, 14, 11-28. Retrieved from http://www.revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/profile Králová, E., & Kolodziejski, M. (2015). MUSIC AND CLASS CLIMATE IN LOWER SECONDARY EDUCATION. Review of Artistic Education, 152-163. Retrieved from https://www.ceeol.com/search/journal-detail?id=471 Lesniewska, J., & Pichette, F. (2016). Songs vs. stories: Impact of input sources on ESL vocabulary acquisition by preliterate children. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 19, 18-34. doi:10.1080/13670050.2014.960360 Mady, C. (2014). Learning French as a second official language in Canada: Comparing monolingual and bilingual students at grade 6. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 17, 330-344. doi: 10.1080/13670050.2013.767778 Moreno, S., Lee, Y., Janus, M., & Bialystok, E. (2015). Short-term second language and music

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training induces lasting functional brain changes in early childhood. Child Development, 86, 394-406. doi:10.1111/cdev.12297 Wilson, R. S., Boyle, P. A., Yang, J., James, B. D., & Bennett, D. A. (2015). Early life instruction in foreign language and music and incidence of mild cognitive impairment. Neuropsychology, 29, 292-302. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000129