Examining the effects of music on teaching english to foreign language learners

Abstract

The research studied the use of music in teaching the English language to second-language learners. It turned attention to the study of the relationship between music and language acquisition. In other words, how music was incorporated into the strategies of teaching the English language elicited an increase in motivation among students for comprehension and retention. The research design used was qualitative, involving in-depth interviews with experienced education professionals. Results revealed that music provided great motivation and significantly decreased anxiety, increasing positive attitudes towards learning. It improved vocabulary retention and pronunciation, hence facilitating fluency with substantial cognitive engagement and storage in long-term memory. The paper concluded that teaching strategies that integrated music in a foreign language ensured a multifaceted approach, which together helped attain an engaging and effective environment in which to acquire another language.