Singing with Children
for Language Enrichment
Many people consider music education as a valuable component of artistic
development. For decades psychologists have told us that the artistic mind and the
rational mind are separate. It is typically said that the right-brain is responsible for art,
music, and emotion, while the left-brain is responsible for language and fact retrieval.
However, more and more research is telling us that left- and right-brain skills are not
completely separate. Music contributes to brain development in ways that enrich the
music practitioner’s overall cognitive or academic ability and not just artistic ability. Music and language are
more intertwined than once thought. An example of this phenomenon is found in a study that shows that
singing with young children enhances vocabulary learning.
Vocabulary is one of the most important factors in overall educational success. Children who start
school with larger vocabularies tend to excel in reading ability. Children who have more knowledge of words
learn to read more quickly but they also gain more knowledge of words from reading experience. This relationship has led many educators to focus efforts on vocabulary enrichment. Typically, the enhancement of
vocabulary and other pre-literacy skills has been associated with reading to young children. As the children
hear new words in the story, they can quickly learn the meanings from the context and pictures. Storybook
reading is an effective way for children to develop vocabulary but it is not the only way to develop vocabulary. Children’s music has also recently found to be effective for developing vocabulary.
A recent study focused on singing as a way to teach young children new words. Early childhood
educators know that singing can be a very successful teaching tool. Young children tend to be highly