MUSIC AS ALTERNATIVE INSTRUCTION FOR ELLS 1

The Effects that Incorporating and Learning Music from Differing Cultures has as a Form of

Alternative Instruction for English Language Learners

Julie Hawkins

Texas A&M University

Introduction

English Language Learners (ELLs) learn English using a variety of means. Not only do

they have explicit instruction on the English language, but they learn how to develop their

language skills through other traditional subjects such as math, history, and science. ELLs also

develop their language proficiency through social and academic interactions with others at home,

at school, and public spaces. ELLs understanding of English can be advanced through the use of

alternative instruction such as dance, art, or music. Music has a significant impact on people

across the globe every day, so why wouldn’t it influence English Language Learners as they gain

knowledge in the classroom?

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, during the 2014-2015 school

year the percentage of public school students who were ELLs was 9.4 percent or an estimated 4.6

million students, with numbers consistently increasing throughout the years (U.S. Department of

Education, The Condition of Education 2017, 2017, p. 106). As the number of ELL students in

our schools grow, educators need to find more and more approaches to effectively teach them as

every student learns differently. By utilizing alternative forms of instruction into English

Language Learner classrooms, teachers can help these students develop their language

proficiency more effectively while learning about other important aspects of life (Lems, 2005).

Teachers need to understand how music and music instruction can make an impact on their ELLs

as they work to adjust to a new language and culture while trying to maintain their own identity

and fit in. Therefore, the essential questions are: What are the influences of incorporating music

into English Language Learner classrooms while looking at specific possible benefits such as

learning about new cultures, learning the English language, and promoting multiculturalism?
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How can music and music instruction be effectively incorporated into the instruction of English

Language Learners to have a positive effect on their education?

Music as a Form of Alternative Instruction for ELLs

Music is one type of alternative instruction that can be used to support ELLs as they learn

English. Music can be integrated into the curriculum either through a student learning how to

read music and play an instrument, or through music being played in the classroom and opening

the students up to new vocabulary. Some students can benefit just by listening to English music.

This action can expand the student’s vocabulary. Listening to music gives students opportunities

to learn new vocabulary that are lexically demanding (Tegge, 2017). Listening to American

music that is sung in English can develop a student’s understanding of the American culture and

promote multiculturalism (Abril, 2003). Students learn not only by listening to music but by

learning music in the classroom as well.

Learners can develop their understandings of the English language through being taught

how to read and create music. This can help students make important connections in how

language works. Music can detail different learning objectives for ELLs (Lems, 2005). Student’s

language skills and reading fluency can be increased through the use of music (Paquette & Rieg,

2008). Playing and reading music are forms of alternative instruction for ELLs that support their

learning transition from not understanding English to becoming proficient. There are many

strategies teachers can use to incorporate music into their classrooms and support their ELLs

through this alternative instruction.

Effective Strategies to Incorporate Learning Music into ELL Instruction

There are different techniques teachers can use to help students learn English through

music instruction. One technique that teachers can implement involves creating a positive,

culture rich environment. Teachers must bring the energy that they want students to have about

learning into the classroom every day. If teachers are excited about and respectful of other

cultures, that energy will be transferred into their teaching. Teachers need to play music from

diverse cultures so that their ELLs, "discover that something they cherish from their homeland is

still available to them and is acknowledged as important by others” (Lems, 2005, pg. 4).

Instructors need to create activities for cultural exploration through music. Teachers must also

develop empathy for the students to effectively use music instruction with them. Educators need

to be able to step into the shoes of their students and empathize with them. Teachers have to

become more culturally and linguistically responsive to the needs of their ELLs through music

education to meet what their students require (Zhang, 2016). After teachers create a wonderful

classroom environment where they promote their students culture, they can use specific

strategies that connect music to language acquisition.

Listening to songs in the classroom can also be an effective strategy to use music as a

form of alternative instruction. Teachers can play songs in their classroom to help their students

improve their listening comprehension in a new language. “One lesson usable with any age is to

choose a song, create several copies of its lyrics in large type, laminate them, cut the lyrics into

lines, put students in small groups, and have them arrange the lines in the correct order as they

listen to the song” (Lems, 2005, pg. 4). Not only can ELLs learn more about the English

language by listening to songs, but they can learn by singing along with songs.
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Teaching ELLs the words to songs and having them sing those songs in the classroom

can help to improve their pronunciation. Singing or chanting along with songs is a wonderful

way for ELLs to learn how to pronounce words. “For adult students who are already literate in

their first language, reading English can result in confusion because of the mismatch between the

sounds they expect from the alphabet letters and the sounds they actually hear. Reading along

with a song is a great way to close that gap and at the same time improve pronunciation” (Lems,

2005, pg. 5). Using strategies such as singing songs allow students to explore how music and

language go together. “When activities with words are introduced in a musical setting, they

become musical rather than literal. The use of a speech ensemble, as commonly done in the Orff

approach, allows children to create and perform words, which can introduce or reinforce English

vocabulary” (Abril, 2003, pg. 6). While many students will benefit from singing songs or

chanting to develop their oral language, some students may be in the non-verbal phase and need

other supports.

Music is a form of alternative instruction that can be used for learners at all stages.

Therefore, singing or chanting songs may not be an effective practice for non-verbal students.

Teachers can incorporate hand signs to communicate. Teachers need to remember that ELLs are

all in differing distinct stages of language acquisition, and some students may be non-verbal.

Music instruction and using hand signs instead of words is a terrific way to connect with these

students and have them feel engaged in the learning of language. When teachers do this, “the

ELL children do not feel singled out. This will actively engage everyone in the lesson and help

children acquire vocabulary and gain understanding of musical concepts” (Abril, 2003, pg. 6).

While hand signs can help non-verbal students, there are also a lot of broad strategies to connect

music with language instruction to support students in all different phases of learning.
MUSIC AS ALTERNATIVE INSTRUCTION FOR ELLS 6

Aside from all the specific strategies, there are also multiple broad and supportive

strategies teachers can use alongside other practices. Teachers should mix strategies that would

be used in traditional ELL classrooms such as oral language activities, reading aloud with

children, writing activities, phonemic analysis, and word-directed practices along with music

instruction (Miranda, 2011). Educators can use differing theories such as behaviorist, innatist,

and interactionist theory alongside music instruction. While incorporating general strategies to

help ELLs, supporting other sections of learning can be done through music instruction.

Teachers can “reinforce aural awareness of rhyming words and beginning letter sounds

and [write] words on the board to support instruction during songs and chants. For example,

during a lesson on fast and slow tempos, [the teacher] spelled out the words fast and slow on the

board, sounded them out, and then asked the children to move in a way to match the word she

pointed to. On that day, class ended with the children spelling out the words for their classroom

teacher” (Miranda, 2011, pg. 4-5). Teachers need to use supportive strategies to have a positive

effect on their students. Next, we are going to discuss what the effects of incorporating music

into ELL instruction are.

Effects of Music Listening on ELLs Understanding of Language

Music instruction has many positive effects on students and their learning of English.

One positive effect this form of alternative instruction has on ELLs is that it helps them to learn

the English language more quickly and effectively. Research has been done to support the

connection between music and English learning. Music education can be a support for students

who are learning English and have a positive impact on the speed and quality at which they learn
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(Lems, 2005). Music education does help ELLs learn the English language as a whole, but it also

impacts specific objectives in oral language to benefit these learners.

Music can help students’ language comprehension improve orally. Music can address

important comprehension objectives for ELLs through making connections from what they learn

or hear in music to what they speak and hear about in their life (Lems, 2005). By listening to

popular music or singing songs in a choir class, ELLs can expand their vocabulary knowledge.

Although many popular songs are not very lexically demanding compared to other genres, they

do cover many different word families that English Language Learners need to know (Tegge,

2017). When ELLs hear how a word is pronounced modeled in a song, it can help them with

their own pronunciation of words. Songs give them a way to hear the pronunciation of a word

multiple times, and even if it is not a perfect pronunciation, it can help ELLs develop their oral

language and their understanding of how words sound (Lems, 2005). While music instruction

can help ELLs progress through their stages of oral language, it can also aid in their progress of

written language.

Learning about music and how to play it can help develop students’ reading fluency and

comprehension of written language. Music can help students develop their ability to write the

English language while emphasizing grammatical structure (Paquette & Rieg, 2008). While

popular music may not emphasize proper sentences and grammar, learning how to read and write

music can parallel sentence structures for ELLs. Although there are many positive benefits that

ELLs can gain through music instruction, there are some negatives that need to be addressed.
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Using music as a form of alternative instruction provides many benefits, however there

are downsides. Some teachers may utilize music as an instructional method to teach their ELLs,

but they may only ask their students to simply listen to the music or sing along. When teachers

only use music on the surface level, ELLs will not get as many valuable learning experiences out

of the instruction. When incorporating music in the classroom, there will be limited practices of

real interactions and communications. Students will not naturally get these experiences through

music; however, teachers can work to incorporate these opportunities. Another struggle that

comes with this form of instruction lies within the teacher’s knowledge rather than how music is

used in the classroom.

Incorporating music into a classroom as an alternative instruction can be a struggle

because teachers must have prior knowledge to make the strategy effective. It takes a lot of time,

instruction, and external knowledge to be able to teach students how to read, sing, or play music.

Therefore, to make the most out of this alternative instruction, teachers must take more personal

time to prepare and be trained for this. Language is not the only subject matter than music can

assist ELLs in learning. Incorporating music into the learning environment can help ELLs learn

more about multiple cultures, specifically the one that is most practiced where they are living.

Multiculturalism and Music Instruction

Listening and learning about music can support the learning of diverse cultures and create

an environment where culture is celebrated and understood. Music instruction can help ELLs

learn more about the American culture they are living in. ELLs could learn about American

culture through listening to the popular music of the culture. Music can help give students an
MUSIC AS ALTERNATIVE INSTRUCTION FOR ELLS 9

insight and better understanding of the new culture they are immersed in (Tegge, 2017). Music

education and listening to cultural music can not only benefit ELLs by teaching them about other

cultures, but by promoting a multicultural environment where everyone feels their differences

are welcomed.

Music instruction and listening to several types of music can promote multiculturalism

for the students. Teachers can use music to display important components of different cultures

and begin a conversation on the importance of culture. Students will feel as if their culture is

represented and respected through the use of music and can learn more about the cultures of their

classmates. Music education can be used to promote and teach the ideas that create

multiculturalism. This instruction can reform our schools for the betterment of society (Abril,

2003). ELL classrooms can be transformed by using music. Music can help to create a classroom

environment that is full of trust, respect, learning, joy of creativity, culture, and a place where

students can thrive (Paquette & Rieg, 2008).

Conclusion

Music is a form of alternative instruction for ELLs that can be used to support their

learning of English. Educators can incorporate music into their classrooms through playing

music in the classroom or teaching students how to read and play music. The influences of

incorporating music into English Language Learner classrooms include learning about new

cultures, learning the English language, and promoting multiculturalism. Music instruction can

help students with their oral language comprehension, their written comprehension, their overall
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English proficiency, and increase the speed and ease with how they learn the language. Music

instruction can aide in how students learn about culture and understand other cultures.

Music and music instruction can be effectively incorporated into the instruction of ELLs

to have a positive effect on their education using many strategies. These strategies include

teachers creating a positive classroom environment, listening to music, singing or chanting

songs, using hand signs, and mixing music into more traditional strategies to teach ELLs. Music

as a form of alternative instruction has many positive benefits on the education of ELLs and

there are many different strategies teachers can use to effectively implement these practices in

their classrooms.
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References

Abril, C. R. (2003). No Hablo Inglés: Breaking the Language Barrier in Music Instruction. Music

Educators Journal, 89(5), 38-43. DOI:10.2307/3399918.

Lems, K. (2005). Music Works: Music for Adult English Language Learners. New Directions

For Adult & Continuing Education, (107), 13-21. DOI:10.1002/ace.185.

Miranda, M. (2011). My name is Maria: Supporting English language learners in the

kindergarten general music classroom. General Music Today, 24(2), 17-22.

Paquette, K., & Rieg, S. (2008). Using Music to Support the Literacy Development of Young

English Language Learners. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(3), 227-232.

Tegge, F. (2017). The lexical coverage of popular songs in English language teaching. System,

67, 87-98. DOI:10.1016/j.system.2017.04.016.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2017). The Condition

of Education 2017. English Language Learners in Public Schools, (2017-144), 106.

Zhang, Y. (2016). Walking a mile in their shoes: Developing pre-service music teachers’

empathy for ELL students. International Journal of Music Education, 35(3), 425-434.

DOI:10.1177%2F0255761416647191.
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Revisions

Put APA style headers

APA style Title Page

Included a statistic regarding the number of ELLs in the US in the introduction

Added a reference for the statistic regarding the number of ELLs in the US

Changed small words or phrases in the introduction to increase flow and academic language

Changed small words or phrases in the section “Music as a Form of Alternative Instruction for

ELLs” to increase flow and academic language

Changed small words or phrases in the section “Effective Strategies to Incorporate Learning

Music into ELL Instruction” to increase flow and academic language

Changed small words or phrases in the section “Effects of Music Listening on ELLs

Understanding of Language” to increase flow and academic language

Added a paragraph in the section “Effects of Music Listening on ELLs Understanding of

Language” to address some of the negatives of this instruction

Changed small words or phrases in the section “Multiculturalism and Music Instruction” to

increase flow and academic language

Changed small words or phrases in the conclusion to increase flow and academic language

Made corrections to APA format of citations on the “References” page