Music's+Influence+on+Language+Dev.,+Vocab.,+&+More+(Leah)


 * Literature Review Topic **

I spent several months collecting and reading articles that showed me how music enhanced //**language skills**//, particularly //**phonological awareness, vocabulary and verbal skills.**//

 **Phonological awareness** means to have the ability to hear certain letter sounds and to be able to manipulate those individual sounds (Ming & Dukes, 2010, p. 22). The student first learns this skill when they realize that words they use to speak are made up of sounds that are unique and different (Pogorzeliski & Wheldall, 2005, p. 2). Therefore, when a student can find words that rhyme, break apart sounds in a word and put sounds together orally to form words, they have gained phonological awareness.

 **Vocabulary** is the words we need to know to be able to communicate with others. To increase student's expressive vocabulary, which is the student’s ability to know and use words while writing or speaking to others, teachers must find interesting ways to submerge the students into the words.

 **Verbal skills** refer to children’s ability to talk about new concepts and how they communicate with other children their own age or adults.

Ming, K., & Dukes, C. (2010). Gimme Five: Creating a Comprehensive Reading Lesson with All the Essential Elements. //TEACHING Exceptional Children//, 42(3), 22-28. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.

Pogorzelski, S., & Wheldall, K. (2005). The Importance of Phonological Processing Skills for Older Low-Progress Readers. //Educational Psychology in Practice//, 21(1), 1-22. Retrieved from EBSCO//host//.

**Literature Review Findings ** Throughout my literature review, I found many interesting results that showed me which musical activities enhanced phonological awareness, vocabulary and verbal skills.

**Musical activities that enhanced phonological awareness skills ** Nursery Rhyme music, music that deals with rhyming chants and rhyming games has been proven to enhance phonological awareness since it alouds children to manipulate sounds and words. These activities allow children to hear how words are related (how them rhyme), thus persuading them to manipulate or play with other words sounds (Bolduc, 2009; Gan & Chong, 1998).


 * Instrumental Instruction that enhanced phonological awareness skills **

Practicing musical instruments have been found to help students better discriminate sounds (Forgeard, Schlaug, Norton, Rosam & Iyenger, 2008, pp. 389-390). Bolduc (2009) and Forgeard, Schlaug, Norton, Rosam & Iyenger, (2008) found that students that were taught how to play a musical instrument had better result the phonological awareness skills test than students who were not taught how to play an instrument (pp.42-44; p.390). Therefore, this showed that teaching a child to play an instrument can increase their phonological awareness skills.

**Music Instruction that enhanced vocabulary skills ** Teaching students nursery rhymes, chants, playing musical games and having the student practice antiphonal singing has been shown to increase vocabulary knowledge in English Language Learners and students who were developmental delayed (Gan & Chong, 1998 pp. 44-45; Hoskins, 1988, pp. 82-83). These activities explained new vocabulary words by describing them through a song or activity. For example, antiphonal singing is when a teacher sings a description of an object and then has the students sing the same phrase about that object. This type of singing allows students to understand what objects are and what they are used for (Hoskins, 1988, pp. 77- 78). Overall, these activities allow students to learn the meaning of new words through songs or musical games (Gan & Chong, 1998 pp. 44-45; Hoskins, 1988, pp. 82-83).

**Instrumental Instruction that enhanced vocabulary skills ** Instrumental programs that directly teach children how to play particular instruments have shown to increase vocabulary knowledge in upper elementary students (Forgeard, Winner, Norton & Schlaug, 2008; Piro & Ortiz, 2009). This music training allowed students to learn new words and research believes that playing an instrument helps increase students listening skills, which would help them remember the meaning of new words (Piro & Ortiz, 2009, p. 337). Overall, the studies showed that students who play musical instruments had higher scores on vocabulary knowledge on standardize test than students who did not play an instrument (Forgeard, Winner, Norton & Schlaug, 2008, p. 5; Piro & Ortiz, 2009, p. 335).

**Singing helped enhance verbal skills ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Gan & Chong (1998) and Harris (2011) both found that singing helped increase young children’s verbal skills. Singing nursery rhymes and chants have been show to help children pronounce difficult words (Harris, 2011, p. 146). The interactive singing activities helped English Language Learners build upon their sentence fluency skill, which means they were better able to speak in complete sentences that sounded correctly (Gan & Chong, 1998, pp. 44- 45).

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Instrumental instruction enhanced verbal skills ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Testing results showed that students who were taught how to play an instrument had better verbal skills than students who were not taught how to play an instrument (Forgeard, Winner, Norton & Schlaug, 2008, p. 6; Harris, 2011, p. 146). Parents who taught their children how to play musical instruments also encouraged them to talk about what they learn, which in turned helped increase their communication skills (Harris, 2011, p. 146).

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Musical Knowledge and Phonological Awareness skills ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;"> My literature review also indicated that musical knowledge and phonological awareness skills are related (Anvari, Trainor, Woodside & Levy, 2002; Peynircioglu, Dunrgunoglu & Oney-Kusefoglu, 2002). Researchers found that students that had high musical knowledge or aptitude score could complete phonological awareness task better than students who had low musical knowledge (Anvari, Trainor, Woodside & Levy, 2002, p.126; Peynircioglu, Dunrgunoglu & Oney-Kusefoglu, 2002, p. 77).

For Literature Review References Click Here!

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">How My Literature Review Results Can Help Educators ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This particular literature review gave me insight as a future literacy specialist and classroom teacher on which language skills are enhanced by music and musical activities. Nursery rhymes have been used for years to help students begin to discriminate the differences between how words sound in a fun and interactive way. However, I have not seen much musical instruction that incorporates musical instruments. According to my research, teaching students how to play musical instruments have been found to enhance phonological awareness, vocabulary and verbal skills in multiple different ways. Musical songs and activities also have been proven to enhance phonological awareness, vocabulary and verbal skills in a wide range of children. Therefore, it is apparent that teachers should integrate more music into the classroom.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Professional Resources that deal with Music and Language Skills ** <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This article speaks about Down syndrome and how music is used to help enhance language skills in children that have Down syndrome. It also provides a list of songs that have been successful in helping enhance language abilities.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://potsdamliteracyarts.wikispaces.com/Kate+%26+Melanie <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This specific lesson plan integrates mad libs and musical terminology pieces that could be sung to help students become more comfortable with new musical vocabulary words.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This particular article describes how music and movement is essential for language development starting in the preschool years. This article would be a great reference for new preschool teachers since it describes the developmental process and how music is a great tool for language acquisition.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This website shows PowerPoint’s that speaks about how vocabulary is enhanced by music instruction.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This website discuss how music and movement helps enhance vocabulary skills. It also has links to professional academic journals that you can explore about the link between music and vocabulary.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This is a great song that could be used in early elementary classrooms that will help enhance components of phonological awareness.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">How my Literature Review could help Parents and Family Members ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">My literature review showed that singing nursery rhymes, structured songs and playing musical instruments help increase students’ language skills in various elementary grades. My research also showed that family involvement in musical activities helps enhance young children’s verbal skills. Therefore, family members showed get involved in musical activities with their children since it could possibly enhance their language abilities.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Family Resources that deal with Music and Language Skills ** <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This article talks about the importance of having children play a musical instrument since it has been shown to help students with their language abilities.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This website is a great resource for family members to explore with young children since it has songs that would help increase phonological awareness, vocabulary and verbal skills. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This website discusses the importance of music in enhancing language skills. It also discusses the importance of letting a child experiment with different instruments.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This website teaches parents and teachers about allegro. It reveals information about the program, the type of music that is used and some places where parents and children can attend to learn more about the program.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This video helps young children understand new words through music and movement. This particular video describes the word “PLAY.” This site also has links to other songs that are similar to the “PLAY” song. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This site has many nursery rhyme songs that helps enhance language skills.