The practical part of my diploma thesis will be dealing with the research I carried out in the time span of 3 months, with 53 subjects (students), in four different groups. The research consisted of five different parts by means of which I wanted to find out the answer to the question if music can help the learners with vocabulary acquisition, and to what extent.
The first two sections describe in detail the parts of my research and the researched groups. The third section provides the results of the first questionnaire, the fourth section covers the song-lesson experiment describing the sequence of activities, the course of the lesson in the groups, evaluation and its results. At the end of this chapter a comparison of the results will be provided.
PARTS OF THE RESEARCH
My research consisted of a questionnaire- based on a song, and two collections of results.
The very first part of the research represented the first questionnaire by means of which I needed to find out what attitude to music the students had, and mainly what kind of music they liked, what kind of music they did not like, which song was their favourite, and if they liked singing. These items of information were the most significant, and the “song-research” was based on them
Table of Contents
1. Research
1.1 Parts of the research
2. Description of researched groups
2.1 Secondary school group (SSG)
2.2 Grammar school group (GSG)
2.3 Language school group A (LSGA)
2.4 Language school group B (LSGB)
3. Planning the research lesson
4. Results of the first questionnaire
5. Description of the song – lesson experiment
5.1 1st activity – Grab a word
5.2 2nd activity – Cut up lyrics
5.3 3rd activity – Singing
5.4 4th activity – Translation
5.5 5th activity – Find the word
5.6 6th activity – Singing
5.7 7th activity – Underline these phrases
5.8 8th activity – Comprehension check
5.9 9th activity – Singing
6. Description of the course of song – lesson experiment
7. Results collection of the song-lesson experiment
8. Results of the second questionnaire
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this thesis is to investigate whether music can assist learners in vocabulary acquisition and to determine the extent of this potential benefit. The study examines how a song-based lesson plan influences student recall of words, phrases, and sentences over time compared to non-musical learning contexts.
- Analysis of students' attitudes toward music and singing.
- Evaluation of a multi-activity song-based lesson design.
- Comparative analysis of vocabulary recall with and without melodic accompaniment.
- Investigation of learner perceptions regarding the effectiveness and enjoyment of musical instruction.
- Assessment of diverse learner groups ranging from secondary students to adult language learners.
Excerpt from the Book
1st activity – GRAB A WORD
Aim – to tune the students in. “To have fun” (T. Murphey, p. 10).
Description
Twelve words from a song plus four arbitrary words were chosen, written on big pieces of paper with points (100-300) under each word, and stuck on the board. Students were standing in front of the board and while the first listening they were supposed to grab a word immediately they had heard it or thought they had. Before playing the song, I read all the words loudly. Unknown words were not translated. At the end the students were instructed to take and keep their grabbed words with them.
Summary of Chapters
Research: Introduces the practical study conducted over three months with 53 subjects, detailing the five-part structure of the research aimed at evaluating music's role in vocabulary acquisition.
Description of researched groups: Profiles the four distinct groups involved in the study, including demographic data such as age, gender ratio, and English proficiency levels.
Planning the research lesson: Discusses the pedagogical strategies and theoretical foundations, such as the 'Engage, Study, Activate' sequence, used to prepare the song-based lessons.
Results of the first questionnaire: Presents findings on student musical preferences and attitudes toward singing, which served as the foundation for tailoring the experimental lessons.
Description of the song – lesson experiment: Outlines the nine specific activities conducted during the experimental lessons, ranging from 'Grab a Word' to 'Comprehension Check'.
Description of the course of song – lesson experiment: Describes the implementation of the lessons across the different groups and notes qualitative observations regarding student engagement and participation.
Results collection of the song-lesson experiment: Explains the methodology behind gathering data two months post-experiment to measure long-term vocabulary retention.
Results of the second questionnaire: Details the final quantitative data regarding student performance and their subjective evaluation of the song-based instruction.
Keywords
Vocabulary acquisition, Song-based learning, Listening comprehension, Language teaching, Student engagement, Musical pedagogy, Recall, Pronunciation, Intonation, Educational experiment, Qualitative research, Language learners, Secondary school, Grammar school, Lesson planning
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research?
The research examines the effectiveness of using songs in English language lessons to improve vocabulary acquisition among students of various ages and proficiency levels.
Which specific themes are covered in the study?
The study covers student attitudes toward music, the planning of diverse classroom activities based on songs, and the comparative recall of vocabulary with and without melodic support.
What is the main goal of the thesis?
The primary goal is to answer whether music helps learners acquire vocabulary more effectively and to quantify the extent of that impact.
What scientific methods were employed?
The author utilized a mix of questionnaires to gauge attitudes, a structured song-based lesson experiment, and a follow-up assessment two months later to measure vocabulary retention.
What topics are addressed in the main body?
The main body covers the theoretical planning of lessons, the step-by-step description of experimental activities, group profiles, and detailed data analysis from questionnaires.
Which keywords characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as vocabulary acquisition, song-based learning, student engagement, and educational experiment.
How were the songs for the experiments selected?
Songs were selected based on student preferences identified in the first questionnaire and the suitability of the lyrics for pre-intermediate and intermediate learners.
How does the author explain the difference in performance between younger and adult learners?
The author highlights that younger learners showed a strong preference for English songs and were highly responsive to the game-based approach, whereas adult learners had slightly different engagement patterns in the translation tasks.
What were the findings regarding long-term recall?
The findings indicate that vocabulary retention, especially of phrases, increased significantly when the initial instruction was accompanied by music.
- Quote paper
- Łukasz Bulik (Author), 2012, Vocabulary Acquisition Through Music, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/273904
