Singing is a Celebration of Language: Using Music to Enhance Young Children’s Vocabularies

Abstract

Music engages children in language learning, offering them opportunities to understand and express their ideas and communicate with others in ways that go beyond words. This article, based on two ethnographically-framed studies and the use of two real-life vignettes, demonstrates how singing and musical experiences (e.g., composition, soundscapes, musical improvisation) have the power to enhance children's lexical acquisition and semantic knowledge at various levels of development. Results demonstrate that singing and musical experiences, whether biologically or socially shaped, provide opportunities to celebrate language and enhance young children's vocabulary building.

Singing our song: the affordances of singing in an intergenerational, multimodal literacy programme

“…“Music is an excellent pedagogical partner” (Montgomery and Smith, , p. 29) is the generalised sentiment in much of the literature for the teaching of early pre‐reading skills, as it has been found to help increase phonemic and phonological awareness (Hansen and Milligan, ). Early literacy researchers have also cited singing as beneficial to the acquisition of print literacy given that singing is said to “encourag[e] oral language skills, physical development, and an understanding of concepts such as sequence and patterning” (Connors, , p. 22), broaden vocabulary development and “enhance children's lexical acquisition and semantic knowledge” (Winters and Griffin, , p. 78). Pairing music and print within song‐based picture books has also been shown to support children's oral language and concepts of print (e.g., Barclay, ), while musical prosody (i.e., “the complex interrelationships of rhythm … and pitch” (Gabriel and Countryman, , p. 45)) has been shown to support reading fluency and enhance reading programmes (Frasher, ).…”

“…Though print literacy may be at the forefront of the above literature, some of this work has also suggested that singing has additional potential for people's meaning making. Winters and Griffin (), for instance, have argued that when print literacies and music intersect, communication opportunities change: “Music engages children in language learning, offering them opportunities to understand and express their ideas and communicate with others in ways that go beyond words” (p. 78). Building on the work of Small (), Gabriel and Countryman () found that the process of musicking , “singing, playing, moving and listening to music” provides children with openings “for exploring the nature of relationships (both sound relationships and people relationships)” (p. 43) that can be emotionally evocative (Frith, ).…”

“…Building on the work of Small (), Gabriel and Countryman () found that the process of musicking , “singing, playing, moving and listening to music” provides children with openings “for exploring the nature of relationships (both sound relationships and people relationships)” (p. 43) that can be emotionally evocative (Frith, ). Further, communication opportunities have been seen to expand through music “as the sonic interplays with the lexical” (Winters and Griffin, , p. 81). Studies such as these have expressed an appreciation for the expanded literacy and relationship options afforded through music and singing, yet music and singing have less status in domains such as school than print literacy (Tomlinson, ).…”

“…Frasher (), for instance, highlighted that music and print literacy both draw on oral and print forms of communication. Music and print literacy have been described as ‘parallel’ to “each other in terms of grammatical structures, phonemes …, syntax …, and semantics” (Montgomery, 2002, cited in Winters and Griffin, , p. 80). Music and language have also been explained as similar in function with both described as meaning making practices that “define identities, represent thoughts, symbolize feelings, mobilize knowledge, and unite communities through social practice” (Winters and Griffin, , p. 79).…”

Integrating the Arts into Science Teaching and Learning: a Literature Review

“…Implementation of AI programs has been effective across the PreK-12 continuum. Four studies described the effectiveness of AI in preschools (Brown & Sax, 2012;Cremin et al, 2015;Phillips et al, 2013;Winters & Griffin, 2014). Twenty studies illustrated how AI in science benefit students and teachers in elementary schools (Baker, 2013;Brouilette & Jennings, 2010;Cremin et al, 2015;Duma & Silverstein, 2014;Hardiman et al, 2014;Hendrix et al, 2012;Jakobson & Wickman, 2015;Klopp et al, 2014;Liu & Lin, 2014;Luftig, 2000;Lynch, 2007;Marshall, 2016;Nelson & Norton-Meier, 2009;Overton, 2004;Poldberg et al, 2013;Rufo, 2016;Scholes & Nagel, 2012;Stellflue, Allen, Gerber, & Boody, 2005;Webb & Rule, 2012).…”