Effect of music instruction on phonological awareness and early literacy skills of five- to seven-year-old children

ABSTRACT

Multiple studies and systematic reviews have shown that music instruction improves phonological awareness (PA) and early literacy skills in children, although findings vary. In meta-analyses, the reliability and significance of the transfer effect are reduced. The study evaluated the effect of varying durations of music instruction exposure, over a single academic year, on PA and early literacy of young children. Based on the exposure to music instruction, participants were assigned to either a low- or high-exposure group. Additional analyses were conducted for 17 age-matched pairs and to compare participants that only received class music to those that received additional music instruction. Between-groups comparisons showed no significant difference after a single academic year of music instruction. Within-groups comparisons identified more PA improvements in the high-exposure group. Exposure to music instruction for no less than one academic year, is required to conclusively evaluate the effect on PA and early literacy.

KEYWORDS:

• Phonological awareness
• early literacy
• music instruction
• young children

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Research Foundation: [grant number TTK180411319722]; Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education: [grant number IB2017-7004].

Notes on contributors

Renata Eccles

Mrs. Renata Eccles is a doctoral candidate and lecturer at the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Her research focus is on early intervention and innovative responses to developmental and academic challenges faced by young children in South Africa, including literacy. She also has an interest in inter-professional education and collaboration in her teaching and research.

Jeannie van der Linde

Prof. Jeannie van der Linde is a newly appointed Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria. Her research focus has been on improving access to early intervention services in LMICs. Different aspects of service delivery such as early identification through developmental screening and/or surveillance, the use of mHealth technology, as well as screening and community care workers are being explored.

Mia le Roux

Dr. Mia le Roux is a senior lecturer in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She teaches linguistics and phonetics at undergraduate level. Her fields of interest and research are applied linguistics, phonetics, (articulatory and acoustic), second language learning and teaching, and literacy acquisition. She has published a number of articles and contributed to books in these areas, as well as presented papers locally and abroad.

Jenny Holloway

Mrs. Jenny Holloway is a senior statistician at the CSIR and has more than 26 years' experience. She holds an MSc in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Cape Town. Her expertise lie in the research and application of quantitative solutions to complex problems, particularly in the area of multivariate statistical modelling. She is a chartered member of ICCSSA in the field of econometrics and a member of the South African Statistical Association.

Douglas MacCutcheon

Mr. Douglas MacCutcheon is a doctoral candidate in Environmental Psychology at the University of Gävle, Sweden, with a background in music psychology. His PhD research focuses on how environmental, cognitive and sensory factors contribute to speech perception in monolingual and bilingual children, and whether musical training can improve children's speech intelligibility and cognition, in challenging acoustic environments.

Robert Ljung

Prof. Robert Ljung is an associate Professor in Environmental Psychology at University of Gavle, Sweden. His research field covers the relation between sound environment, cognitive performance and behaviour, including outdoor soundscape and indoor acoustics. Mainly the interaction between classroom acoustics and students' school performance connected to individual differences such as working memory capacity, second language learners and hearing impaired students.

De Wet Swanepoel

Prof. De Wet Swanepoel's research capitalizes on information and communication technologies to explore, develop and evaluate innovative solutions and service-delivery models for improved access to ear and hearing care. He is Editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Audiology, past-president of the International Society of Audiology and professor in Audiology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He is also a founder and scientific advisor to the hearX group.