ERIC Number: EJ1260693
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0034-0553
EISSN: N/A
Sound Stories: Using Nonverbal Sound Effects to Support English Word Learning in First-Grade Music Classrooms
Lawson-Adams, Jessica; Dickinson, David K.
Reading Research Quarterly, v55 n3 p419-441 Jul-Sep 2020
Early vocabulary knowledge is vital for later reading comprehension and academic success. Studies have found that augmenting explicit teaching of word meanings with nonverbal visual aids, particularly pictures and gestures, assists young learners in building rich lexical representations. Research has focused on the effects of visual supports in fostering word knowledge but has not considered the effectiveness of using sound-based supports. Working from a semiotics perspective, the authors used a music instructional strategy known as a sound story to examine the impact of using sound effects to teach words to first-grade students. Words were taught with explicit instruction in combination with sound effects or no sound effects during music class. All sound effects were created and performed using musical instruments in the classroom. Students' receptive and productive definitional word knowledge were assessed. The productive measure was used as a measure of depth of word knowledge. The authors found that students had deeper knowledge of words that were taught with an associated sound effect compared with words taught with no sound effect. Analysis of the types of information students provided about words showed that students gave more contextual information and gestural responses for words that were taught with sound compared with words taught with no sound. These results provide evidence that vocabulary learning can be fostered during specialist music classes using methods familiar to music educators.
Descriptors: Grade 1, Elementary School Students, Music Education, Musical Instruments, Acoustics, Vocabulary Development, Auditory Stimuli, Semiotics, Teaching Methods, Receptive Language, Expressive Language, Context Effect, Comparative Analysis, English
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 1; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A