Singing as a language teaching method - Teachers' beliefs and practice

Author(s):

Jenni Alisaari(presenting / submitting)Leena Maria Heikkola

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

31. LEd – Network on Language and Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

31 SES 06 A, Teachers' Beliefs, Language Education and Collaboration

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-23

15:30-17:00

Room:

W4.24

Chair:

Joana da Silveira Duarte

Contribution

Several language learning studies suggest that music and singing greatly enhance verbatim recall and both receptive and productive learning of vocabulary and grammar, as well as increases written fluency (Alisaari, 2015; Alisaari & Heikkola, 2016; Legg, 2009; Ludke, Ferreira & Overy, 2014; Medina, 2000). Furthermore, other studies report other positive effects of music: It increases relaxedness, enhances energy levels and brings joy due to the increased amount of oxytocin produced in the brain (Grape, Sandgren, Hansson, Ericson & Theorell, 2003; Huron, 2006). Music also increases the sense of togetherness (Wiltermuth & Heath, 2009), helpfulness (Kircshner & Tomasello, 2010), and performance in tasks due to positive and relaxed mood (Hallam, Price & Katsarou, 2002).

In spite of considerable amount of research reporting the positive effects of music, little is known about teachers’ beliefs or practice related to singing, listening to music, or reciting poems as a teaching method, or how these beliefs and practice relate to each other. Actions are not always in line with the actors’ beliefs (Negueruela-Azarola, 2011). However, Borg (2011) points out that our beliefs are the basis of our actions, and thus, teachers’ beliefs affect their teaching.

In this study, we investigate what kinds of beliefs Finnish language teachers (n = 94) have about singing, listening to songs, or reciting poems as teaching methods, and how teachers use songs and poems in their classrooms. We also investigate whether the teachers’ reported beliefs are in line with reported actions. Moreover, we are interested in whether singing as a hobby affects the teachers’ beliefs and practice.

Method

The data were collected with a web survey. The participants of the survey were 94 Finnish as a second language teachers in Finland and abroad. The teachers worked on different levels of education, from kindergarten to university. Three main areas were covered in the questionnaire: a) teachers' beliefs about singing, listening to songs, and reciting poems as language-teaching techniques; b) teachers' practice in language classrooms concerning the three aforementioned teaching techniques; and c) background information, including teachers' formal training and teaching experience, as well as their music related hobbies. In the questionnaire there were some open-ended questions (N = 18). However, the main focus was on Likert-scaled (1–4) statements (N = 153). Respondents could use “zero” to indicate that a particular question did not apply to their context (e.g., “I use songs with children”) or that they did not know how to answer the specific question. These responses were eliminated from the analysis. In the data analysis, descriptive statistics were used to describe beliefs and practices related to the three teaching techniques, namely singing, listening to songs, and reciting poems. The results for the three teaching techniques were first analyzed separately to reveal any similarities or differences among them. Subsequently, sum variables were created to examine the overall effects of the three teaching techniques. Frequency distributions of individual statements, their correlations, and Cronbach's alpha were calculated to investigate the reliability of the survey. The validity of the survey’s structure was proven by principal component analysis. In addition, the reliability of the questionnaire was investigated by calculating Cronbach's alpha scores between the individual statements within one sum variable. The scores were high (0.86–0.95). Also, the frequency distribution of the answers supported the reliability of the questionnaire. To investigate possible differences in beliefs and practices among the three teaching techniques, dependent-samples t-tests were calculated. To analyze the relationships between teachers' beliefs and practices, crosstables were used. Lastly, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and cross tables were used to investigate the influence of teachers’ background on their beliefs and practices. Open-ended responses were examined by content analysis. Both authors jointly categorized the responses. The categories were the following: positive feelings, negative feelings, active involvement, relaxation, sentimental reactions, empowerment, and group dynamics. The data from the open-ended questions were then reanalyzed independently by the two authors to assign the responses to the categories. The inter-rater reliability was 97.97%.

Expected Outcomes

Teachers' beliefs about songs and poems as teaching methods were highly positive. However, the reported practice did not fully reflect the teachers’ beliefs. The teachers used singing and reciting poems relatively seldom, if ever, in their teaching, although they strongly agree that these methods could be efficient. For example, the teachers reported using singing to teach structures only seldom, although they had valued singing very beneficial in learning structures. Listening to songs was used occasionally, and it was mainly used to teach vocabulary. The teachers who had singing as their hobby (e.g. choir, singing lessons, or karaoke) used songs in their teaching more often than teachers who did not sing themselves. In addition, they differed statistically significantly (p <.05) from other teachers in their beliefs about the possibilities of singing in language teaching: their beliefs were more positive than the other teachers’. For example, singing teachers believed that singing enhances the group’s feeling of togetherness considerably more (M=3.49/4) than those who did not have singing as a hobby (M=2.92/4). The difference was statistically significant (p< .05). Interestingly, other music related hobbies did not seem to have the same effect as singing. Based on the findings of the study, teachers seem to know that songs and music have positive effects on learning. However, they do not use those teaching methods as much as would be expected based on the examined beliefs. We hope that the results of this study encourage teachers to use singing in their classrooms, whether they sing or not in their own freetime. These results also suggest that language teacher education should prepare teachers to use the investigated three methods in their language classroom.

References

Alisaari, J. (2015). Laulaminen paikallissijojen harjoittelun menetelmänä S2-opetuksessa. In M. Kauppinen, M. Rautiainen, & M.Tarnanen (Eds.), Elävä ainepedagogiikka. Ainedidaktiikan symposium Jyväskylässä 13.–14.2.2014. Suomen ainedidaktisen tutkimusseuran julkaisuja. Ainedidaktisia tutkimuksia 9 (pp. 210–224). Jyväskylä: Suomen ainedidaktinen tutkimusseura ry. Retrieved from https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/154156 Alisaari, J., & Heikkola, L. M. (2016). Increasing fluency in L2 writing with singing. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 6(2), 271–292. Borg, S. (2011). The impact of in-service teacher education on language teachers’ beliefs. System, 39, 370–380. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2011.07.009 Grape, C., Sandgren, M., Hansson, L. O., Ericson, M., & Theorell, T. (2003). Does singing promote well-being? An empirical study of professional and amateur singers during a singing lesson. Integrative Physiological & Behavioral Science, 38, 65–74. Hallam, S., Price, J., & Katsarou, G. (2002). The effects of background music on primary school pupils’ task performance. Educational Studies, 28(2), 111–122. DOI:10.1080/03055690220124551. Huron, D. (2006). Is music an evolutionary adaptation? Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 930, 43–61. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb05724.x Kirschner, S., & Tomasello, M. (2010). Joint music making promotes prosocial behavior in 4-year-old children. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(5), 354–364. Legg, R. (2009). Using music to accelerate language learning: an experimental study. Research in Education, 82, 1–12. Ludke, K. M., Ferreira, F., & Overy, K. (2014). Singing can facilitate foreign language learning. Memory and Cognition, 42, 41–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13421-013-0342-5 Medina, S. L. (1993). The effect of music on second language vocabulary acquisition. National Network for Early Language Learning, 6, 1–26. Negueruela-Azarola, E. (2011). Beliefs as conceptualizing activity: A dialectical approach for the second language classroom. System, 39, 359–369. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2011.07.008 Wiltermuth, S.S., & Heath, C. (2009). Synchrony and cooperation. Psychological Science, 20, 1–5.

Author Information

Jenni Alisaari (presenting / submitting)

University of Turku, Finland

Leena Maria Heikkola

Åbo Akademi University

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