Music Cognition and Linguistic Fluency: Investigating the cognitive influence of music education in relation to the development of language skills
Author
Stevenson, Karina Michelle Thomas
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2015
Submitted on
2015-06-01
Pages
107
Abstract
Denne pilotundersøgelse undersøgte, hvordan musikundervisning hænger sammen med udviklingen af sprogfærdigheder. Udgangspunktet var tidligere forskning, der fandt en sammenhæng mellem evnen til at holde takten (taktsynkronisering) og flydende oplæsning. Vi udvidede dette ved at undersøge, om taktsynkronisering også hænger sammen med læseflyd på andetsprog. Undersøgelsen var desuden udformet som en intervention for at se, om musiktræning med fokus på taktsynkronisering påvirker sprogudvikling. Endelig blev pulsdata indsamlet for at undersøge, om puls hænger sammen med præstation i tapping eller læsning, hvilket kan hjælpe med at forklare forholdet mellem musik og sprog. Resultaterne understøtter delvist de tidligere fund: evnen til at holde takten var forbundet med læseflyd. I denne undersøgelse gjaldt det for engelsk læsning udført af personer med engelsk som andetsprog, hvilket støtter hypotesen om, at taktsynkronisering også er positivt relateret til læsning på andetsprog. På grund af få statistisk signifikante resultater (dvs. fund, der med høj sandsynlighed ikke skyldes tilfældigheder) fandt vi ikke støtte til hypoteserne om, at musiktræning i sig selv forbedrer sprogfærdigheder, eller at puls er relateret til tapping- eller læsepræstation. Alligevel så vi tendenser, der peger på, at større studier med flere ressourcer og mere finpudset metode kan finde mere tydelig evidens for, at musiktræning potentielt kan gavne sprogudvikling.
This pilot study examined how music education relates to the development of language skills. It was motivated by earlier research showing a link between beat synchronization—the ability to keep time with a steady beat—and oral reading fluency. We extended this work by asking whether beat synchronization also relates to second-language reading fluency. The study also included an intervention: music training focused on beat synchronization, to test whether such training influences language development. In addition, heart rate was recorded to explore possible links between physiological arousal and performance on tapping or reading tasks, which could help explain connections between music and language abilities. The findings partly support earlier results: stronger beat synchronization was associated with greater reading fluency. In this study, English reading was performed by non-native English speakers, supporting the hypothesis that beat synchronization relates positively to second-language reading. However, because few results reached statistical significance (i.e., were unlikely to have occurred by chance), we found no clear evidence that music training itself improved language skills, or that heart rate was related to tapping or reading performance. Even so, several trends suggest that larger studies with more resources and refined methods may detect clearer effects and provide stronger evidence that music training could benefit language development.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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