The effect of songs on vocabulary retention of preschool young English language learners

Abstract

The present study was an attempt to investigate the effectiveness of teaching English vocabulary through song to preschool young English Language Learners in Aligoodarz, Iran.The participants of the study consisted of 103 preschool young learners, who were divided into two groups of experimental group and control group. The experimental groups were consisted of 62 young learners and the control groups were consisted of 51 young learners at the age of six. The experimental groups were instructed using song and the control groups were instructed using non-song methods. Twenty sessions were spent working on teaching vocabulary for each group. Before starting the treatment, an interview was done as a pretest by the teacher to confirm that learners did not have any prior knowledge of English. After finishing the treatment, the post-test was administered by the teacher to measure the amount of learning vocabulary items in each group. The data then was analyzed using the SPSS. The findings revealed that the experimental group improved significantly in terms of vocabulary retention compared to control group.

The Impact of Musical Mnemonic on Vocabulary Recalling of Iranian Young Learners

“…This finding corresponds with previous studies in which English learners could remember greater words following musical mnemonics sessions than non-musical learners (Abdolmanafi-Rokni & Ataee, 2014;Burhayani, 2013;Kusnierek, 2016;Madani & Mahmoodi Nasrabadi, 2017;Mudawi, 2015;Razak & Yunus, 2016;Shakerian et al, 2016;Salcedo, 2010). Abdolmanafi-Rokni and Ataee (2014) claimed that background music help learners pay attention more to instructions and develop vocabulary retention in those who were exposed to music.…”

“…According to Kusnierek (2016), using songs for teaching vocabularies is helpful in a way that it sticks the words into long-term memory and improve retention of words. Madani and Mahmoodi Nasrabadi (2017) showed that songs assist learners to remember new vocabularies easier and improve their vocabulary learning. Mudawi (2015) believed that songs and nursery rhymes are useful tools to help children absorb information like core words in learning language.…”

“…In a research study, Madani and Mahmoodi Nasrabadi (2017) investigated the effect of songs on vocabulary retention of preschool EFL learners. Participants of the study were 103 six years old young learners.…”

“…Results from SPSS showed that experimental group outperformed control group in vocabulary retention. The experimental data of Madani and Mahmoodi Nasrabadi (2017) are controversial and there is not enough information about pretest and posttest process. Researchers did not mention to criteria and process of interviews as pretest and posttest and how learners were scored.…”

“…In addition, Gardener`s (1993) theory of multiple intelligences referred to musical intelligence as an ability in every human being. In addition, he stated that music has useful effect in learning language since it improves learning process in learners with strong right hemisphere (Madani, Mahmoodi, 2017). Another point is that in Iran, which is a foreign language context, most learners do not develop a balanced interlanguage regarding different dimensions of production, and most of them have problems in fluency and difficulty performing tasks in real-life tasks.…”