Singing increases written fluency Jenni Alisaari (University of Turku) and Leena Maria Heikkola (Åbo Akademi University) INTRODUCTION RESULTS A number of researchers have reported the benefits of music Written fluency increased in all the six groups. Written fluency increased significantly more in the singing groups than in other groups. Fluency increased the least in the reciting groups. and singing, especially for second or foreign language learning (see for example Coyle & Gómez Garcia, 2014; Legg, 2009). One of the reasons for this is that music stimulates memory and thus improves learning (Eerola & mean 35,54 % SD 47,47 % N = 67 Saarikallio, 2010, 265‒266). Ludke, Ferreira and Overy (2014) examined how singing, rhythmical speech and speaking normally affected the learning of a sentence in Hungarian. Their results indicated that singing is the most efficient method in learning to memorize a sentence. However, few studies have investigated the benefits of singing in language classroom (Sposet, 2008). Within second language acquisition studies, investigating fluency, as well as accuracy and complexity, is a continuing concern (see for example Housen, Kuiken & Vedder, 2012). ANOVA: groups differed statistically significantly from each other (F2, 63 = 3,472; p = .037). However, little is known about the effects singing and music have in written fluency. OBJECTIVE & HYPOTHESIS Objective - To investigate how three different pedagogical methods affect fluency in written stories by Finnish learners Hypothesis - Singing increases written fluency more than other methods - Reciting the lyrics rhythmically increases written fluency more than listening to songs Post Hoc comparisons between groups (Tukey HSD): - Singing and reciting groups differed significantly (p = .038; Bonferroni corrected). - Singing and listening groups did not differ significantly (p = .213; Bonferroni corrected). - Listening and reciting groups did not differ significantly (p = 1.0; Bonferroni corrected). Looking at effect sizes of comparisons between singing and listening groups (d =.51), and listening and reciting groups (d = .22), the difference could have been significant with a bigger sample. References METHOD Participants: 67 learners of Finnish language from two beginners’ courses; students on the courses were further divided into three groups, all together six groups, by a level test. Data collection: Pre-test and post-test: written stories based on comic strips. Data analysis: - Fluency: word rates in pre- and post-test written stories. - Qualitative and quantitative methods (ANCOVA, independent t-tests). Coyle, Y. & Gómez Gracia, R. 2014. Using songs to enhance L2 vocabulary acquisition in preschool children. Teaching English to Young Learners 68 (3), 276–285. Eerola, T. & Saarikallio, S. 2010. Musiikki ja tunteet. In J. Louhi-vuori & S. Saarikallio (eds.), Musiikkipsykologia. Jyväskylä: Atena. Legg, R. 2009. Using music to accelerate language learning: an experimental study. Research in Education 82, 1–12. Ludke, Karen M., Ferreira, Fernanda & Overy, Katie 2014. Singing can facilitate foreign language learning. Memory and Cognition 42, 41–52 Sposet, B. A. 2008. The role of music in second language acquisition: A bibliographical review of seventy years of research, 1937–2007. Lewiston: Edwin Meller Press. Housen, A. & Kuiken, F. 2009. Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency in Second Language Acquisition. Applied Linguistics 30 (4), 461–473. Acknowledgements Maria Dunaeva, participants and the staff of the courses Eero Laakkonen, Marja Vauras, Elina Kouki, Kirsti Siitonen The pedagogical methods used in the study: 1) singing, 2) listening to songs and 3) reciting song lyrics. Jenni Alisaari [email protected] Leena Maria Heikkola [email protected]
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