Over the years I have written about the connection between learning music and learning language. Recently there was a study that looked at this connection and it affirms what I have always believed from my own experience: children who have a background in music tend to have stronger language learning abilities. It was a two-year study done at the University of Southern California by researchers at the Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI). There were 37 children ages 6 and 7 from underprivileged neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The researchers compared three groups: (1) those who received musical instruction – practicing up to 7 hours each week; (2) those who did soccer training; (3) those who got no training at all. The researchers tracked electrical brain activity, did behavioral testing and monitored changes using brain scans.
Here are some quotes from the article:
There are “three major areas where music can have an impact on the brain development in children ……………Language development, executive function development and social skills development.”
“The study shows that exposure to music and music instruction accelerates the brain development of young children in the areas responsible for language development, sound, reading skill and speech perception.”
This is surely an excellent reason to promote music instruction (as well and foreign language instruction) in elementary grades! They really go together!
Here is a link to the article: https://www.srpressgazette.com/news/20190619/can-music-help-children-learn
