A musical approach to shared reading: effects upon English vocabulary acquisition in an Arabic environment

Abstract

The notion of music enhancing language learning is increasingly common in the bilingual classroom. Yet, little is known about the effects of music on second language vocabulary acquisition. This article investigates the potential impact of a musical approach to Shared Reading on the English vocabulary acquisition of bilingual learners. Subjects were one hundred and fifty Grade One Arabic/ English speakers, of mainly Kuwaiti nationality. Six intact classes were divided equally into two groups, Treatment and Contrast. The No-Music group subjects (Contrast) shared stories without the benefit of Music while the Music subjects (Treatment) heard a sung version of the same stories and simultaneously viewed the printed text. Quantitative results indicated statistically significant differences between the groups, having music and not having music. Implications for the use of music in Shared Reading instruction in the second language classroom are discussed and further research is recommended.