How Songs Help Facilitate Language Learning

HOW SONGS HELP FACILITATE LANGUAGE LEARNING

by

Soua Xiong

Advised by Dr. Herbert Geisler

A Masters Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in International Studies

in the School of Business and Professional Studies

Concordia University

Irvine, California

December 2012

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how singing songs help facilitate learning

English for young children attending English focused kindergartens located in Shanghai,

People’s Republic of China. The effects of learning were measured in the following areas: (1)

student’s ability to recall song lyrics, (2) students’ comprehension of vocabulary from song

lyrics, and (3) the ways in which students expressed themselves orally. Findings showed that

teachers placed great emphasis on using songs in lessons and reported positive results on having

students express themselves orally using songs in the correct context.

Keywords: English as a second Language (ESL), music, vocabulary, song lyrics, oral

expression

Acknowledgements

For the duration of this Masters thesis, I have received support and encouragement from a

great number of individuals. Professor Damian Wyman and Dr. Eugene P. Kim have both been

teachers and mentors. Their inspiration, along with many other colleagues, have made this a

thoughtful and rewarding journey. I would also like to thank my thesis advisor Dr. Herbert

Geisler for his support through the process of writing this thesis. His guidance helped to bring

this research from an idea to a completed study.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1

2. Literature Review

4

3. Methodology

10

4. Data Analysis

13

5. Discussion and Limitations

25

6. Conclusion

28

7. References

30

8. Additional Resources

33

9. Appendixes

Appendix 1

35

Appendix 2

37

SONG USAGE IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

1

Introduction

Over the last decade, China has...