ABSTRACT
Children require language skills to cope with tasks in schools and entire life. In contemporary society, early childhood period has been associated with school completion rate and personal living patterns in future. However, research to show the impact of music in promoting children’s language skills is inadequate despite the notable developments that music sounds encourage listening and develop children’s interests to learn meaning of sounds. The purpose of the study was to establish the extent to which teachers use music to enhance children’s language skills in lower primary schools in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study was anchored on teachers’ competences to use music to promote children’s language skills. The theory of Vygotsky was used to guide the study and inform its conceptual framework. Survey design was used. The researcher adopted a descriptive survey methodology to gather quantitative and qualitative data. The dependent variable was use of music to enhance language skills in pupils. Independent variables included teachers’ music skills, teaching experience in music and teachers’ attitude towards use of music to enhance language skills in pupils. The study participants were teachers for standard one and pupils in public and private primary schools in Kiambu, County. Stratified random sampling was used to select the sample for the study. Data was collected using observational checklists and a questionnaire. Pilot study was conducted to enhance validity and reliability of the instruments. The result of the study showed that majority of teachers 73.1% used music in teaching. However, teachers still needed effective training and stronger attitude to extensively use music to enhance language skills in learners. The sampled consisted of 15% of teachers in the sub-county. Ruiru Sub-county has 93 lower primary schools both public and private, hence, the researcher stratified the schools into public and private and systematically selected fourteen schools. Based on the variety of songs used during lesson delivery and teachers positive responses, the study concluded that majority of teachers actively used music during language instruction. The study also observed that teachers’ training directly influenced their ability to use music to enhance language skills. Majority of the teachers who used music had adequate training skills to integrate it to language development and specific language needs for individual learners. Further, it was noted that teachers’ teaching experience influenced their use of music to teach language skills.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
Introduction
In this chapter, the researcher presents background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose and objectives of the study, and also the study’s research questions. Also provided are the illustrations on the significance, limitations, delimitations and assumptions of the study. The chapter also illustrates theoretical and conceptual frameworks on which the study was based as well as operational definitions of terms that were used in the study.
Background of the Study
Use of music as a medium of instruction has largely created necessity for training teachers, acquisition of musical instruments and development of music lessons in schools, an initiative which remains not yet fulfilled. Music educators note that children acquired music concepts long ago since conception (Silton & Silton, 2015). Therefore, teachers’ ability to incorporate music in instruction was a new development and an essential strategy to promote children’s language skills.
A growing concern was observed in developed nations such as Israel where reading abilities in children was declining in schools. This was likely to prevent children from becoming productive members of society and perform low in their academics. Young children enjoy listening to music and dancing to its rhythm.
Unfortunately, there was limited knowledge on teachers concerning the importance of using music to foster language skills in children.
Flottmann (2011) suggested that the use of music during teaching enables children to learn sounds and later appreciates the meaning of sounds through speaking, reading and writing. These are language skills which were globally recognized to foster school achievement and holistic development in their nations. Flottmann (2011) further notes that music experiences help children to acquire emergent language skills such as listening and reading. Children taught by competent teachers in music skills also grow their interest in learning to read sounds and understand their meaning.
Campbell and Kassner (2010) suggest that teachers of music should be competent to use it in teaching language skills. Children are wired to musical sounds, hence only qualified and positive mind teachers will enable them conceptualize and connect music skills and language skills. Runfola et al., (2012) asserted that competent teachers were able to understand other development needs in children, develop locally available music materials and use their music skills to enhance language skills in children compared to those incompetent. Teachers’ competence in use of music to teach children language skills would also add spatial musical abilities and interest to learn other subjects for below average children (Hansen & Milligan, 2012). It was therefore, important to explore the appropriate teaching methods, musicianship skills, experience and degree to which teachers should use music to promote children’s language skills.
Research findings from a study done in Hispanic, Caucasian and Black American 165 preschool children and 11 teachers who were conveniently and criterion selected showed that music abilities enhanced children’s tonal development. The findings of the study further established that children exposed to musical experiences significantly improved their grammatical understanding, oral vocabularies and sound recognition abilities. On the other hand, Campbell and Kassner (2010) found out that music and language are parallel. Both are universal entities and require listening.
In South African elementary schools, teachers who used recent strategies such as listening to CD and watching power point slides increased auditory discrimination in children. This situation places a great concern to incorporate music in promoting language skills. Therefore, it was important to study teachers’ competence on use of music to teach language skills in relation to their experience, music skills and methods they use in Ruiru Sub-county.
Studies conducted in Tanzania and Uganda primary schools found out that teachers’ low level of training was an obstruction towards children’s language skills development (Uwezo, 2011). Lack of enough language materials, classrooms and teacher attitude largely leads to more than 75% of children unable to complete tasks for their next classes.
The Kenya National Early Childhood Development Policy Framework, (2006) suggests that children’s needs should be met holistically in education settings
(NECDPF, 2006). The policy document emphasizes use of thematic approaches to teach activity areas. Kenya Institute of Curriculum Studies also puts emphasis for teachers to promote music skills in early childhood curriculum (KICD, 2014). However, the growing status of low language skills in pupils as revealed by Uwezo (2012) is raising questions.
Hansen and Milligan (2012) emphasize the need to train teachers and develop their music skills for a constructive and holistic teaching and learning on language skills. When teachers use music in teaching language, children easily learn auditory skills and later begin to develop interest in writing the sounds heard. Studies have shown that musical recording during learning of language increased children’s interests to form learning groups (Silton & Silton, 2015). These developments have largely increased pupils’ ability to communicate and excel in other subject activity areas. Therefore, children should have adequate language skills informed by music skills to nurture talents and cope with modern technologies in society.
In Kenya, Uwezo (2012) found out that 30% of children in lower primary schools are not able to read and write effectively. This was due to poor teaching methods, lack of enough language instructional materials and social economic status. This leads to most children completing school without the necessary language skills to cope in society, hence the need to explore on teachers’ competence to use music to promote language skills.
A study by Wairimu (2015) in Kikuyu, Kiambu County involving 30 children and sixty preschool teachers found out that 71.7% of teachers asserted that use of songs increases children’s vocabulary skills, listening skills, oral, fluency and memory abilities. However, the study did not explore on the influence of teacher training, teaching experience and attitude for individual teachers on use of music to enhance children’s language skills.
Statement of the Problem
Music abilities position children to an explorative learning context. There is a close association between music and language development in children. Both require listening, involve sound and more importantly is that music skills develop language skills in children. Reviewed literature has shown that when teachers use music to teach language, children easily develop oral and receptive language skills.
On another note, teaching language skills using music requires certain level of competences. Teachers with these competences learn other developmental needs for children and use their music skills to tap language abilities for children to use during instruction.
Teachers with low competence often do not realize the importance of incorporating music as instructional method to enhance children’s language skills. As a result, children may eventually lag behind in language skills. The status of language deficit makes pupils to drop out of school, repeat classes, and record
consistently poor academic achievements and fail to cultivate their musical talents. Notably, the reviewed studies focused on use of enough materials, increased number of teachers and teaching of music to young children.
Existing documented studies have largely focused on general teacher training and improving classroom environment, without adequately exploring use of music as a strategy to teach literacy skills. Teachers for pupils in standard one will be used because pupils in standard one have just joined lower primary school and are ready to start acquiring language skills in their learning experiences and as such their teachers will be better placed to aid in this study.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to assess the extent to which teachers use music to enhance children’s language skills in lower primary schools in Ruiru Sub-County. The study was also intended to find out the influence of teachers’ music experience, training and attitude on their use of music to enhance children’s language skills in lower primary schools in the sub-county.
