Music and language development in early childhood

Bright Horizons | Children and Music: Benefits of Music in Child Development

Parents instinctively use music to calm and soothe children, to express love and joy, and to engage and interact. Parents can build on these natural instincts by learning how music can impact child development, improve social skills, and benefit children of all ages.

MUSIC AND THE BRAIN: THE BENEFITS OF MUSIC

A 2016 study at the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute found that musical experiences in childhood can actually accelerate brain development, particularly in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills. According to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM Foundation), learning to play an instrument can improve mathematical learning and even increase SAT scores.

But academic achievement isn’t the only benefit of music education and exposure. Music ignites all areas of child development and skills for school readiness, including intellectual, social-emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. It helps the body and the mind work together. Exposing children to music during early development helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words. Dancing to music helps children build motor skills while allowing them to practice self-expression. For children and adults, music helps strengthen memory skills.

In addition to the developmental benefits, music brings us joy. Just think about listening to a good song in the car with the window down on a beautiful day.

MUSIC GAMES FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES

Try these activities and games with your children to experience the pleasure and learning that music brings.

Infants and Music: Infants recognize the melody of a song long before they understand the words. Quiet background music can be soothing for infants, especially during sleep time. Sing simple, short songs to infants. Try making up one or two lines about bathing, dressing, or eating to sing to them while you do these activities.

Toddlers and Music: Toddlers love to dance and move to music. The key to toddler music is repetition, which encourages language and memorization. Silly songs make toddlers laugh. Try singing a familiar song and inserting a silly word in place of the correct word, like “Mary had a little spider” instead of lamb. Let children reproduce rhythms by clapping or tapping objects.

Preschoolers and Music: Preschoolers enjoy singing just to be singing. They aren’t self-conscious about their ability, and most are eager to let their voices roar. They like songs that repeat words and melodies, use rhythms with a definite beat, and ask them to do things and follow directions. Preschool children enjoy nursery rhymes and songs about familiar things like toys, animals, play activities, and people. They also like fingerplays and nonsense rhymes with or without musical accompaniment.

School-Age Children and Music: School-age children begin expressing their likes and dislikes of different types of music. They may express an interest in music education, such as music lessons for kids.

There is no downside to bringing children and music together through fun activities. We are able to enjoy the benefits of music from the moment we’re born. From the pure pleasure of listening to soothing sounds and rhythmic harmonies, to gaining new language and social skills, music can enliven and enrich the lives of children and the people who care for them.

Music and Language Development in Early Childhood

All parents know that a quiet, gentle lullaby can soothe a fussy baby. As adults, a magnificent symphony can make us swell with excitement. But music also can affect the way we learn. Music is one of the few activities that involves using the whole brain. It is inherent in all cultures and can have surprising benefits not only for acquiring language, improving memory and focusing attention but also for physical coordination and development. Music encourages learning and enhances communication. In recent years, we’ve learned a lot about how the brain develops. Babies are born with billions of brain cells. During the first years of life, those brain cells form connections with other brain cells. Over time, the connections we use regularly become stronger. Children who grow up listening to music develop strong music-related connections that, in turn, strengthen their language skills.

Music plays a very important part in learning both our native language as well as additional ones. Music and language development are very closely tied. As children, we can imitate the rhythm and musical structure of our mother tongue long before we can say the words. Most of us are able to remember several songs and nursery rhymes we learned as children. Music helps us retain words and expressions much more effectively. The rhythm of the music, as well as the repetitive patterns within the song, help us memorize words. Bilingual children, in particular, can benefit from singing songs in their second language. Even if most of the words are unfamiliar at first, mimicking the words in a song can help children practice producing sounds in the new language. Eventually, the sounds give way to actual understanding as the song is practised over and over again. This is how we learn language through music.

Exceptional musical ability is common among multilingual individuals. Likewise, musical people have increased aptitude in foreign language learning due to their superior ability to perceive, process, and reproduce accents. Understanding how music can help with language learning is important, as when listening to music, following the lyrics and melody and/or rhythm requires both sides of our brains to be active, making it easier to remember information that’s simply read.

Music and songs play a very important role in all of the Helen Doron courses. Helen Doron explains, “For language learning, music is extremely important. We pick up the intonation, the syntax, the rhyme, pre-reading abilities, and everything through music. Learning becomes much more integrated into our very being through music.”

Besides making sure your young child attends Helen Doron’s Baby Best Start classes, you can empower your baby’s learning by:

Playing music for your baby. Expose your baby to many different musical selections of various styles. If you play an instrument, practice when your baby is nearby. But keep the volume moderate. Loud music can damage a baby’s hearing.

Singing to your baby. It doesn’t matter how well you sing. Hearing your voice helps your baby begin to learn language. Babies love the patterns and rhythms of songs. Even young babies can recognize specific melodies once they’ve heard them.

Singing with your child. As young children grow, they enjoy singing with you. And setting words to music actually helps the brain learn them more quickly and retain them longer. That’s why we remember the lyrics of songs we sang as children, even if we haven’t heard them in years.

Starting music lessons early. If you want your child to learn an instrument, you don’t need to wait until elementary school to begin lessons. Young children’s developing brains are equipped to learn music. Most four- and five-year-olds enjoy making music and can learn the basics of some instruments. Starting lessons early helps children build a lifelong love of music. Music helps language.

Encouraging your child’s school to teach music. Singing helps stimulate the brain, at least briefly. Over time, music education as a part of school can help build skills such as coordination and creativity. Learning music helps your child become a well-rounded person.

Musical development of young children

At this age, the first aesthetic feelings arise that manifest themselves when perceiving music, singing along, participating in a game or dance and are expressed in the child's emotional attitude to what he is doing.
Therefore, priority tasks are
1. development of the ability to listen to music, memorize and emotionally respond to it,
2. connect movements with music in musical-rhythmic movements.
The musical development of children is carried out both in the classroom and in everyday life.

As a rule, music lessons consist of three parts .
1. Introduction.
Musical and rhythmic exercises. Task is to set up the child for the lesson and develop the skills of basic and dance movements (which will be used in dances, dances, round dances).
2. Main body.
Listening to music. Task - to teach the child to listen to the sound of the melody and accompaniment and to respond emotionally to them.
Singing and singing. The task of is to develop the child's vocal inclinations, to teach them to pure intonation of the melody, to sing without tension in the voice, and also to start and finish singing together with the teacher.
The main part of classes also includes musical and didactic games. Task - acquaintance with children's musical instruments, development of memory and imagination, musical and sensory abilities.
3. Final part.
Games for children or dances. The task of is to deliver emotional pleasure to the child, to evoke a feeling of joy from the actions performed, and interest in music lessons.
The classes, which are held twice a week for 15 minutes, use collective and individual teaching methods, an individually differentiated approach is carried out, taking into account the capabilities and characteristics of each child.

Guidelines

Perception of music. In the first half of the year, children perceive vocal works better, where bright music is combined with an artistic word.
Before starting to listen to a new song, you should bring the child to perception, tune in to what he will now hear. For example, it is planned to sing the song "Cat" (music by A. Alexandrov). The teacher shows the toy, gives the children the opportunity to examine it, stroke the pussy, remember how it meows, and only after that offers to listen to a song about how “the cat asks for milk”; at the same time, it is necessary to invite the children to show how she does it.
Task - the formation of interest in the perception of music and sustained attention. Depends on whether the music director knows how to interest children.

GEF preschool education recommends the implementation of musical development tasks in various activities. At an early age, it will be subject activities and games for children corresponding to age and individual characteristics.

Methods and techniques.

The main thing is clarity, emotionality, accessibility. Expressive (emotional) nature of communication in young children.
Bring pictures, toys, magic bag, flannelgraph.
For the development of emotional responsiveness and thinking - method of contrast comparisons. Works under the same name but different in artistic image or works that combine singing and instrumental accompaniment. For example, songs and instrumental works about a cockerel, horse, rain.

Singing and sing-along are of particular importance, as they involve the active activity of the children themselves, for which a number of rules must be observed.
Songs should be interesting in content, simple in melody construction, easy to pronounce, have a short text with repetitive phrases. Before learning a new song, children should hear it in an expressive performance so that they have an interest in it.
When learning a song, the music director, trying to make it easier to understand, clearly pronounces all words a; at the same time, articulation should not be exaggerated, otherwise the children, imitating the teacher, will copy it. The teacher praises all the children. Those who do not yet sing, but are ready to sing along, are also encouraged. lips articulate words. You can pat the child on the head, say kind words.
Children should be gradually brought to coordinated singing . If harmonious singing is not yet possible, then it is not advisable to interrupt the kids. It is better to let them sing to the end, and then return to those fragments where unanimous singing did not work out.
When developing the ability to clearly convey the sound of melodies, it is necessary to offer the child to sing along with the music director; while the music hands from time to time sings quieter, giving the child the opportunity to sing independently and cleanly. Experience shows that babies sing more clearly if they learn a song from an adult's voice without musical accompaniment. When learning a song, various methodological techniques are used: explanation, demonstration, games a, etc.
It is advisable to include songs in various forms of work in order to create a song repertoire.

Games for children and game exercises. Children of this age, when playing, play with pleasure the roles of birds, animals, conveying the features of their habits. Musical accompaniment should be used to expand the plot of the game. Children, listening to music, are already able to convey the features of its character, but still need the support of an adult. Before the game , a musical and motor demonstration is used.
Adult demonstration - main method . Children are taught to convey the artistic image gradually. If something does not work out for them, these moments can be worked out through special thematic exercises.
New exercises are formation in a circle and movement in a circle . The skills needed for this will be developed later. In the meantime, we are talking about the fact that children are just beginning to be taught how to make such constructions.
Adult demonstration is the main method. Children imitate his actions. Pay attention to the fact that you need to start moving with the beginning of the sound of music, and finish with its end. Learn to feel the contrast of music - change movements accordingly.
Remind educators and parents - music should sound not only during classes , but also in the process of performing certain routine moments, during independent activities, of course - at entertainment and holidays. For example, babies go to bed during the day, and the teacher sings a lullaby to them. When going for a walk, you can sing a funny song. Sometimes musical accompaniment is used in the classes on art and physical education.

Musical and emotional activity in children by the age of 3 is manifested in the following:
• They name their favorite songs (before the start of music lessons), ask them to play or sing, thereby tuning in to listening.
• Recognize familiar songs by the piano introduction.
• Listen with interest to the teacher's stories accompanied by musical illustrations,
• Memorize the music and find out what character or episode it 'talks' about.
• “Help” (one by one or two or three) an adult to sing unfamiliar songs, expressing pleasure from their participation in singing.
• Quickly memorize and reproduce new movements shown by adults in accordance with the music. By the end of the year, rhythmicity appears in dance movements and group marching.
• In the process of independent activity or play, children try to make sounds from musical instruments played by a music director in their presence.
• Reproduce the movements learned in music lessons while singing a familiar song, and complement the visual impressions (saw a pussy) with a song of appropriate content.

Dear teachers! If you have questions on the topic of the article or have difficulties in working in this area, then write to comments . I will definitely help.

Golovina Bela Gennadievna, site administrator.

Musical activity as a means of speech development of children with severe speech disorders in the system of preschool, school and vocational education in conditions of inclusion

Authors : Astapova Vera Alexandrovna, Grebenkina Natalya Vyacheslavna, Pronina Olga Vadimovna

Heading : Pedagogy

Posted by in young scientist №52 (394) December 2021

Publication date of : 12/23/2021 2021-12-23

Article viewed: 52 times

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References:

Astapova, V. A., Grebenkina, N. V., Pronina, O. V. Musical activity as a means of speech development of children with severe speech disorders in the system of preschool, school and vocational education in conditions of inclusion. - Text: direct // Young scientist. — 2021. — No. 52 (39four). - S. 371-373. — URL: https://moluch.ru/archive/394/87232/ (date of access: 12/14/2022).

The article considers the approaches and technologies of musical and speech development of children with severe speech disorders in the system of preschool, school and vocational education.

Keywords: children with severe speech disorders, inclusive education, integration of speech and musical activities.

Inclusive education is a progressive way of learning that has great prospects in modern society, gives hope that every child, including those with disabilities, will be able to realize the right to receive a quality education adapted to his abilities and needs, to find his place in life and realize your life chance and potential. In Russia, the practice of inclusive education is being introduced everywhere. Its priority areas include teaching children with disabilities of the category with severe speech disorders among peers without speech disorders.

Correctional work with children with TD takes place in various educational areas, among which musical activity plays a separate role. The musical activity is synthetic, it includes the perception of music, singing, rhythm, dance, playing music, musical games. The relevance lies in the fact that each type of this activity already contains a corrective developmental potential for the development of a child's speech.

The role of music in the educational process is great. It is able to unite several people with different interests and different levels of speech development into a single friendly team, to unite and build effective interaction in their group. It is in the power of music to liberate introverted persons, help them overcome shyness, reveal the general motor-speech functional reserves of the body, and develop confident communication. To raise the general mood, to make the work of the team more fruitful is also in the power of music. In addition, musical creativity has a positive effect on reducing the student's dependence on many problems due to the peculiarities of his educational needs, and also leads to an increase in the creative potential of the individual, which contributes to its adaptation and socialization in society. Music lessons using a complex of logarithmic correctional and developmental games and exercises, as well as speech therapy classes, have common goals - expanding the vocabulary of children, working out grammatical topics, automating sounds, developing phonemic perception, with the only difference being that all speech material is supported by rhythmic movements or musical movement exercises.

Musical activity includes various elements that are components of the language. Music develops the ability to distinguish sounds by ear, develops children's imagination, the ability to express thoughts in words, movements and gestures. The integration of music and speech covers all activities: listening to music, singing, moving, playing children's musical instruments.

The integration of speech and musical activity increases cognitive interest, favors the formation of phonetic, lexical and grammatical speech, serves as an effective means of corrective work (with the help of music, many speech disorders are eliminated, including such complex forms as stuttering, logoneurosis, dysarthria).

In an organized inclusive pedagogical process, the development of speech through music occurs in stages, begins at birth and then continues in preschool, school, professional institutions. The inclusive vertical provides for an individual educational route for a child with disabilities, provides him with constant comprehensive psychological and pedagogical support throughout the entire period of study and promotes his socialization.

After upbringing in the family (mainly through the means of children's oral folk art and children's musical folklore), work on speech development is carried out in kindergarten. In music classes, it is organized on the basis of highly artistic educational material and permeates all types of musical activity. Thus, the replenishment of the vocabulary of preschoolers, the formation of monologue and dialogic speech, the alignment of a logical sequence, the figurative expression of thoughts occurs in the course of conversations about music, when learning poetic lyrics, in the process of musical and theatrical creativity. The development of the articulatory apparatus, breathing, voice, diction, orthoepy takes place in singing [2, p. 5–8]. Musical-rhythmic, logo-rhythmic exercises, musical-dance and musical-speech games have a corrective effect on speech. Finger games and playing musical instruments solve the development of fine motor skills and auditory perception - important factors in the formation of active speech.

The speech development of preschool children with TNR in the course of musical activity is carried out in two directions: the understanding of adult speech is improved and independent speech activity is formed. In many ways, this is facilitated by the linguistic nature of music. Structural features, intonation capabilities, programmability and colorfulness of musical works make it possible to form a child’s rhythmic, timbre, pitch and dynamic hearing, a sense of tempo and time, and emotional responsiveness.

The knowledge, skills and abilities acquired by children in kindergarten are then skillfully used at school. By that time, the vocal cords are strengthened in children, the volume of breathing increases, coordination between hearing and voice improves, and the pronunciation of individual sounds and words becomes more accurate. An in-depth study of the principles of the activity of the vocal apparatus and the rules for dealing with the organs involved in voice formation allow students to correctly control their voice. However, a number of problems remain: some students are characterized by excessive haste in speech, indistinct pronunciation of words, “swallowing” endings, or an excessively slow manner of pronouncing words. At music lessons, work continues to expand vocabulary, work on articulation and diction, on the development of coherent speech, its prosodic side. The puzzles, riddles, musical and motor exercises used in the classroom for children awaken creative imagination, memory, logical and figurative thinking, which leads to the active development of external and internal speech.

In professional institutions, the main task of musical and speech development is the formation of speech culture. Since for representatives of many professions the main requirement is a good knowledge of the language and the ability to use its richness, at this stage of inclusive education, much attention is paid to speech technology and the development of expressive pronunciation [3, p. 3]. Rhythmic musical, motor tasks and logarithmic exercises are considered the most effective in working with students [1, p. 71].

In conclusion, we emphasize that the systematic use of musical education tools in working with students with TNR at all stages of the vertical of inclusive education contributes to successful correctional work on speech development. The results will be higher if children who enter the integrative environment at an early age are not deprived of the society of normatively developing peers at any stage of their development. It is also important to organize continuity in the content, tasks, forms and methods of pedagogical work between kindergarten, school and college (university).

Literature:

Volkova G. A. Speech therapy rhythm: Proc. for stud. higher studies, institutions - M: Humanit. ed. center VLADOS, 2002.
Katser O.V. Game method of teaching children to sing: Teaching aid. - St. Petersburg: Musical palette, 2005.
Rom N. I want to speak beautifully! Speech techniques. Communication techniques /N. Rum - "ARDIS", - (Sessions of psychotraining).

Basic terms (automatically generated) : musical activity, inclusive education, kindergarten, child, severe speech disorder, game, correctional work, work, development, speech development.

Keywords

inclusive education, children with severe speech disorders, integration of speech and musical activity

children with severe speech disorders, inclusive education, integration of speech and music activities

Music and language development in early childhood

Bright Horizons | Children and Music: Benefits of Music in Child Development

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