The effects of music on achievement, attitude and retention in primary school English lessons

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of teaching English vocabulary to 5th graders through music on their achievement in vocabulary, attitudes towards English course and retention of new words. While the students in the experimental group (n= 28) were taught new vocabulary in the English syllabus through songs composed by the researchers, the students in the control group (n= 28) were taught new vocabulary using the methods in the current English education program. The study was implemented for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, English Vocabulary Test developed by Koksal (2012) and attitude scale towards English course were administrated. A month later English Vocabulary Test was given to the students again as a retention test and data obtained were statistically analyzed. The experimental group in which music was utilized outscored the students in the control group both on the English Vocabulary test and English Vocabulary Retention test and also on the attitude scale. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.