How Does Art And Music Help With Language Development?

The study found that when developing students are learning to play and instrument that they develop the ability to not just hear and appreciate the sounds of music differently but also process the sounds in a different way compared to kids of the same age not learning an instrument. This is due to learn to play an instrument help develop neurophysiological distinction which has been linked to aid and boost literacy and this which possibly improve success in academics. A quote that I believe is really great in driving home this point is by Nina Kraus in her book “Frontiers in Psychology” and that quote is, “We like to say that making music matters, Because it is only through the active generation and manipulation of sound that music can rewire the brain.” And she was saying this after hosting a study at Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Lab. And the experiment was to see if a music appreciation class had the same effect as actually learning and participating in band class. And they found that the kids that were in the process of learning an instrument has better of improved neural processing skills than the students who were only in music appreciation group.

Although technique and natural talent are big factors in music performing, it is suggested that a major skill needed for a developing music performer is the ability to sight-read (Paul), which is an important factor in acquiring and expanding music literacy (Gromko). However, music literacy is a compositional ability that requires many different abilities (Gromko, Lehmann and Ericson).

Studies show that music appears to support kids’ normal skills to interpret sounds and words. Learning to read and play music, appears to be related to an amount of assistance for kids, including improved processing of language and better reading skills. Music exercise in kids play develop key skills that will aid them in listening, attention, remembrance, and reading skills. Lisa Miller thinks,” in Europe was as crucial to becoming a cultivated person as knowing the works of Mozart or Rembrandt” ( ). Music is a foundation of human culture; it is a learning device, a way of communication, and, a way of

The curriculum emphasizes phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, oral reading fluency, requires the use of small groups, frequent performance feedback, and uses engaging arts- based interaction with students. In the beginning, students in experimental and control groups had similar reading levels. By the end of the Kindergarten, the program had a positive effect on phonemic awareness and systematic phonics. Between the groups, oral reading fluency had similar gains (Rose & Magnotta, 2012). Denac (2008), looked at the way in which preschool teachers show interest in musical instructional activities. Most of the teachers in his research preferred to use compact disk players to expose students to music. The sample of students were questioned concerning their music preference, data showed greater interest in listening to popular and folk music. Denac noted that the compact disk music used was not mainstreamed popular or folk music and that preschool teachers should pay attention to encouraging the interests of students (Denac, 2008). In a town near Bogotá, Colombia, mainstream music was used as a strategy to develop oral communication in a group of first grade English language learners. The six and seven year old students enjoyed the lesson and appeared to be singing along with the music. Upon further investigation, the students were not making meaningful

Aheadi, Dixon, and Glover were able to identify the benefits of musical training in a study involving the Mozart effect. Aheadi et al. state that, “Evidence suggests musical training can lead to long term enhancement of intelligence” (Aheadi, Dixon, and Glover, 2009, pg. 1). The results in this study showed that musicians had a higher overall performance compared to non-musicians. In a 1998, study completed by Overy, they were able to show that musical training tends to lead to increased intellectual abilities. They extrapolated that musical training improves cognitive functioning in attention, coordination, language, and concentration (Overy,

Not only does playing musical instruments improves memory ability, it also enhances cognitive skills. There are three main cognitive skills which are stimulated by music training; logical, verbal and spatial ones. Musicians need skills of fluently reading notes and counting rhythms which can help math or logical skills. According to the Center of the Developing Child at Harvard University,

Over the past 20 years, numerous scientific studies found a strong positive relation between playing music, intellectual capacity, personal growth and social interaction with others. Researchers maintained that music can also help children in acquiring literacy, consequently improving their academic achievement. We now know that music impacts different areas of child development; including intellectual, social and emotional, motor, language, and literacy skills (Barrett & Bond, 2014).

The first article showed the correlation between third grader, with various degrees of musical experience, who were tested on a battery of auditory processing and reading related tasks. One-hundred eighty four third-grade children from three mainstream public schools were participants in the study. Many of these participants had no previous knowledge of hearing or neurological problems. Of the 184 third-grader 13 failed to complete portions of the testing protocol and 15 failed provide information about their musical history and therefore were excluded. Of the 156 remaining children, 108 took music lessons at time of the study and the other children never participated in any form of formal music lessons. Some children with musical experience had between 1-36 months of experience and were taking music lesson and playing a musical instrument at least once a week. (http://journals.plos.org)

Many modern studies show that students who play instruments or sing in their school’s choir do better in their classes than students who do not. The increase in grades occurs because concentrating on singing, playing, and reading music acts as a stimulus for the human brain. This motivates the player or singer to work and study harder, which leads to increased

Music -- whether it be musical instruction or simply listening to music -- has been shown to improve cognitive abilities. Making music is a complex process that requires the tuning of fine motor skills, which

One of the studies conducted was by Professor Hallam at the University of London. Her studies have shown that young kids in school benefited positively in their school work when listening to music (Hallam). One of the skills studied that many young kids who listened to music at a young age acquired quicker and easier was the ability to read and speak. Speech and music have a number of shared processing systems. Musical experiences which enhance processing can therefore impact on the perception of language which in turn impacts on learning to read (Hallam) Children who are exposed to music at a young age learn how to pick up on phonemes, syntax and other word structure. Learning the phonemes of words, any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another, can help the child to develop better speech and learning habits as they mature to school ages. The children can learn how to properly pronounce letters that are often confused such as T, P, B and D (Augustyniak 2013). The syntax of a sentence is the sentence structure or the words put together to

Playing an instrument engages both the left and the right brain, builds and strengthens connections between brain cells, and basically makes the brain work harder (Wilcox 2012). Students who play an instrument have higher SAT scores. Research has shown that students in music programs score 63 points higher on the verbal and 44 points higher on the math sections of the SATs than students who do not participate in music programs (Johnson 2006, Catterall UCLA 2006, The College Entrace Examination Board). The most remarkable test score improvements are found in the lower socio-economic groups of kids (Catterall 2012). Research studies in 2005 (Columbia University, Bastian) and 2007 (Barry, Cutietta) both showed improved academic performance, higher IQs, and better scores on standardized tests in students who play one or more musical instruments (U.S. Department of Education, Catterall 2002, Helmrich 2010). Almost all the past winners of the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science, and Technology for high school students played one or more musical instruments. Data has shown the neurological benefits of musical education in processing foreign languages due to the subject’s brains being able to process sounds, pitches, and frequencies (Northwestern University Auditory Neuroscience 2011). The Neurosciences Institute (Karus

Music, the fine, and performing arts, as well as athletics, are also integral to a child’s healthy development. Learning to play an instrument, sing, dance, act, throw and catch, are critical for children’s developing awareness of the

Additional sub-genres propelled music’s influence on the world. Music is important in fostering English language education, introducing new languages, and personal expression. Music has a significant influence on early language development. Humanity has a basic need to communicate with one another, and spoken language is the chosen mode of communication. In her article, Enhancing Language Skills Through Music, Charlotte Mizener discusses several methods of incorporating music with early language development in children, beginning with the Orff approach to music.

Although many, one positive way music education is beneficial to students is that it has a large impact on brain stem growth. With the incorporation of music in a student’s daily life, the brain stem’s responses become more robust (Brown). Therefore, the amount of brain stem growth correlates with recent musical training. As stated by Brown, an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore, “student’s that are involved with a large amount of music will see more gains in brain stem growth”. Furthermore, the neural changes that occur in students as adolescents stay with them into adulthood (“Music Matters”). This allows students to be more prepared once they go into the workforce as adults. Along with the brain stem’s responses being more robust, it’s sensitivity to sound increases (“The Benefits” 1). This is abundantly evident from early on, as mother’s sing to their infants to facilitate brain stimulation and development. Enrichment through music, starting at a young age, seems to improve individuals speech sound development and use of more advanced vocabulary. Adolescents’ language also improves with the use of music in a student’s academics (Miller 46). Luehrisen