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An ALT’s case study: music for young ESL learners #171

Music in English lessons is important to introduce new grammar and vocabulary to young learners. Niigata City Japanese English Teachers (JTE) and Assistant Language Teachers (ALT) in public schools use original songs in textbooks provided by the Board of Education. Given that students and new teachers take time to remember new tunes, this study suggests utilizing nursery rhyme tunes that students already know to teach pronunciation and syllables. This paper employs a quantitative method to data collection and analysis. It analyzes 38 Grade 4 students’ responses to nursery rhyme tunes when acquiring new English words. Furthermore, students’ response to composing their own lyrics is observed. Students’ evaluation responses find that 79% of participants recalled new English words learned, and 63% found music useful when learning English. 11 participants recalled the lyrics from the previous unit, of which 8 participants managed to write the lyrics in Japanese (katakana). The results suggest activating schemata eases the recollection of words learned previously. Teachers can use this method for any topic in elementary Grade 4 to teach new words by adding familiar musical element. This method will be continuously developed to assist other JTEs and ALTs in various topics as an essential classroom material.