Songs and poems in the second language classroom. The hidden potential of singing for developing writing fluency

摘要

Despite various studies on the benefits of singing on language learning, little is known about the relationship between singing and the development of second language writing skills. Given that fluency is an essential part of a language learner’s writing skills, it is important to examine the effects of different pedagogical methods on its development. In addition, since teachers’ beliefs influence their language teaching practice, it is beneficial to examine what beliefs teachers hold about language teaching methods. Little is known about language teachers’ practice using songs and poems in their language classrooms. Due to the beneficial effects of singing on language learning, it is reasonable to investigate whether teachers use songs in language teaching.Study 1 examined how singing, listening to songs and reciting poems or song lyrics as language teaching methods affect the development of second language learners’ writing fluency. Participants in this study were 51 language learners enrolled in two intensive Finnish language courses. The participants’ language proficiency level was A2. Written stories based on cartoon strips were used as a pretest and a posttest to collect the data. Their writing fluency was analyzed based on the number of words used. The results indicate that fluency increased the most in the singing groups and the least in the listening groups. There was a statistically significant difference between the singing group and the group reciting lyrics, as well as between the group listening to songs and the group reciting lyrics.Study 2 investigated how singing, listening to songs, and reciting poems or song lyrics as teaching methods affect the writing fluency of Finnish learners (n=32) on language proficiency level A2.1. Additionally, it was investigated how the development of fluency is related to the students’ experiences of the teaching methods used and their preferred methods of studying Finnish. In this study, fluency was investigated by measuring the number of words, as well as number of words in T-units, correct T-units and clauses in stories written in a pre-test and a post-test. Fluency increased the most in the singing group, and the least in the reciting group. There was a statistically significant difference between the singing group and the reciting group, as well as between the reciting group and the listening group. The students in the singing group had the most positive attitudes toward their teaching method, and writing fluency increased the most in the texts of students who reported studying Finnish either by speaking or listening to it.Study 3 examined Finnish language teachers’ beliefs and practices related to singing, listening to songs, and reciting poems as teaching methods, and whether their teaching practices were congruent with their beliefs. Teachers viewed all three techniques as highly beneficial for language learning. Singing and reciting poems were considered the most suitable for teaching pronunciation, and listening to songs was considered the most suitable for introducing topics. For teachers who reported using particular techniques, their practice was supported by their beliefs. However, overall, reported teaching practices did not completely align with teachers’ stated beliefs. In total, the results of this thesis indicate that singing is a beneficial and positively viewed pedagogical method for language learning and teaching. Singing was more beneficial for developing writing fluency, measured by number of the words used, than listening to songs or reciting poems, and students considered singing to be the most positive method among the three teaching methods studied. Teachers also had highly positive beliefs about all three methods. However, they reported using them only seldom or never, listening to songs being an exception even though this method was also reportedly used seldom or occasionally. These findings have implications for teacher training and future research. Further, the contribution of this thesis lies in combination with the theoretical knowledge of the field of second language acquisition through the use of songs, especially singing, in language classrooms. In sum, it could be argued that singing as a language teaching method takes into account not just the technical aspects of a language, but also the dispositions of the learners and how they respond to different types of input. This thesis argues that using singing more comprehensively and in a more goal driven fashion for language teaching should be recommended for language teachers.