Innovation in Language Learning

This paper presents the findings of a fourth-year English major regarding the effects of listening to vocal music while learning English vocabulary. While the positive effects of listening to music on the human brain have been well-documented in the past [1],[2],[3],[4],  there is a lack of studies addressing the influence of vocal music on memorization tasks. The study aimed to determine whether listening to vocal music has any impact on memorization tasks. The student conducted an experiment on her seminar classmates, which included a survey and two English word memorization tests. The survey aimed to identify whether or not participants habitually studied while listening to music, their musical genre preferences, and their reasons for studying while listening to music. After the survey, participants were given a vocabulary list containing English words and their Japanese meanings and were asked to memorize the English words within five minutes without listening to music. They were then tested. Subsequently, participants were provided with a different vocabulary list and asked to memorize the English words while listening to vocal music. A t-test was employed to compare the results, and the findings indicate that listening to vocal music while studying had a negative effect on the participants' focus and concentration.

Keywords: English vocabulary, memorization

[1] Jäncke, L., & Sandmann, P. (2010). Music listening while you learn: no influence of background music on verbal learning, Behavioral and Brain Functions. 6, (3), 1-14.

[2] Tsuyama, M., & Takeyoshi, S. (2015). The effect ambient sound has on learning outcomes during growth. Kyushu Women’s Junior University Bulletin, 51, 61-72.

[3] Rou, E. (2023). Brain’s plasticity. Tokyo: President Inc.

[4] Sridharan, D., Levitin, D. J., Chafe, C. H., Berger, J., & Menon, V. (2007). Neural dynamics of event segmentation in music: converging evidence for dissociable ventral and dorsal networks. Neuron, 55(3), 521-532.