Emotional connections matter in English language learning

We get happy tears quite often in the classroom. It’s true. Witnessing firsthand how music can foster emotional connections between a loving caregiver and a child gets us going. Every. Single. Time.

Whether leading a Kindermusik class in activities for toddlers, supporting preschoolers’ early literacy development, or teaching English as a second language, emotional connections matter—and make a difference in early child development.

Toddler’s thrive on “real” conversations

New research shows that responsive interactions and emotional connections are imperative to a toddler’s ability to learn language, including English as a second language. In the study published in the journal of Child Development, 36 two-year-olds learned new words in one of three ways:

Face-to-face conversations with a real person
Video chat, such as FaceTime or Skype, with a real person
Watching a pre-recorded video of an adult teaching another child

With more than 35 years’ in early child development, we were not surprised to see that the pre-recorded video was not the most effective language learning activity for toddlers. Toddlers learned best with live social interactions, whether face-to-face or via video chat. Emotional connections matter!

“The study highlights the importance of responsive interactions for language learning,” explained co-author Kathy Hirsh-Pasek in a press release. “Interactions allow adults and toddlers to respond to each other in a back-and-forth fashion—such as live instruction and the video chats. These types of interactions seem to be central for learning words.”

“The research has important implications for language learning,” Hirsh-Pasek continued. “Children are less likely to learn from videos than from live, back-and-forth responsive interactions with caring adults.”

English language learning that supports emotional connections

In the early childhood development classroom, educators can create connections between teacher and students, parent and child, child and child, and the entire group as a whole. ABC English & Me, our English Language Learners curriculum, uses music to create those emotional connections and foster a healthy learning environment. From the

first song at the start of each class, children quickly become engaged in actively learning English.

Plus, we provide materials for families to use together at home. These monthly interactive materials support the classroom learning, while giving parents the tools they need to continue the English language learning at home, through face-to-face interactions together.

Learn more about bringing ABC English & Me and the power of music to your school!

Seeing the patterns of musical learning and English language learning

What do music, patterns, and language learning have in common? Well, more than you might think. When English language learners play along to the rhythms in English songs for kids or clap their hands to the beat of nursery rhymes, they are practicing active listening and pattern recognition.

Now, new research published in the Psychological Science journal suggests that learning a second language can be predicted by the ability to recognize patterns.

Second language learning and pattern recognition

In the study, the researchers recruited American students to learn Hebrew. During the two semesters, they tested the students’ Hebrew understanding and measured their ability to recognize visual patterns. The data showed a strong link between pattern recognition and language learning. Students who did better recognizing patterns

also spoke more Hebrew at the end of the two semesters.

“It’s surprising that a short 15-minute test involving the perception of visual shapes could predict to such a large extent which of the students who came to study Hebrew would finish the year with a better grasp of the language,” explained lead researcher Ram Frost in a press release.

Using the patterns of musical learning to teach ELL students

In our ESL curriculum, ABC English & Me, we lead young children to experience patterns through movement, listening to English songs for kids, and playing instruments. When we jump, jump, jump, stop during a song or ta, ta, ta, rest with instruments, ESL students learn rhythm patterns (quarter note, quarter note, quarter note, rest), a basic musical concept. Rhythm patterns are combinations of long and short sounds and silences. In musical learning, a child’s whole body involvement with patterning lays a foundation for English language learning.

Learn more about using the patterns found in musical learning to teach young English Language Learners with ABC English & Me!

Early language development: It’s all in the rhythm and beat!

Musical learning and early language development go together like a newborn and a swaddle or a toddler and the words, “I do.” Young children rely almost exclusively on what they hear in order to acquire language. Scientists now know that our brain processes music similarly to how we process language.
In early language and literacy development, young children need to understand that words—like music—are made up of discrete sounds. In early language development, this is called phonemic awareness. Later children use that knowledge of sounds to build words and read. Research shows that children with strong phonemic awareness are more successful learning to read than others.

Ability to move to a steady beat linked to language skills

Under the leadership of Dr. Nina Kraus, a new research study published in The Journal of Neuroscience found that teenagers with more musical training experienced enhanced neural responses to speech sounds when compared to others.
“We know that moving to a steady beat is a fundamental skill not only for music performance but one that has been linked to language skills,” said Nina Kraus, of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University in Illinois in an article for the BBC, “Moving to the rhythm can help language skills.”
In the study, participants were asked to tap their fingers along to a beat while their accuracy was measured. Their brainwaves were also measured to observe how the brain responded to the sound.
“It turns out that kids who are poor readers have a lot of difficulty doing this motor task and following the beat. In both speech and music, rhythm provides a temporal map with signposts to the most likely locations of meaningful input,” Dr. Kraus told BBC News.

Musical learning and language development in Kindermusik

Kindermusik provides many opportunities for children to discriminate similarities and differences in sound. So, while children gain musical skills participating in our early childhood curriculum, they also make gains in phonological awareness and early language and literacy development. For example, when parents lift their children high “up, up in the sky” or “twirl around like a leaf” while singing the songs in class, children learn the word and understand the concept. Or when we recite nursery rhymes together or tap out the beat to a song, children hear the music of language. Children’s brains make a connection based on what they experience (being lifted high or twirling around) and hear (“up” or “twirl”). Later, children will discover those words correspond to marks on a page which eventually leads to letter recognition and reading.

Kindermusik is the world’s leader in early childhood curriculum development and musical learning. Find a class near you and experience the many benefits of music on a young child’s development.

November Song Sweepstakes

Share your child’s favorite Kindermusik song this November for your chance to win a $50 Kindermusik Prize Package!

Tell us your child’s favorite song from their Kindermusik album this November for your chance to win!

To Enter Contest:

Simply fill out the form on our November

Song Sweepstakes page.

All entries will be entered into our Grand Prize Drawing at the end of the year to win an iPad.

Good luck to all!

Why teaching English to children at a young age matters

The age at which we begin teaching English as a second language (or any second language for that matter!) to a child makes a difference. Research already indicates that children who learn how to speak a second language at a very young age are more likely to sound like a native speaker. Now, a new joint study by the Montreal Neurological Institute and Oxford University shows that the brains of adults who learn more than one language at an early age look different when compared to the brains of adults who learned another language as older children.

Learning a second language is mind altering (really!)

By comparing MRI scans of bilingual and monolingual participants, the researchers found similar patterns of brain development if an adult learned one or two languages from infancy. For adults who learned a second language later in childhood, researchers found that the left inferior frontal cortex became thicker and the right inferior frontal cortex became thinner. Learning a second language later in life actually changes the brain! These areas of the brain are responsible for certain cognitive functions such as thought, language, consciousness, and memory.
“The later in childhood that the second language is acquired, the greater are the changes in the inferior frontal cortex,” said the lead author of the research study, Dr. Denise Klein, in a press release. “Our results provide structural evidence that age of acquisition is crucial in laying down the structure for language learning.”
The researchers compare acquiring a second language later in childhood to acquiring complex motor skills such as juggling. They predict that these brain changes in older ELL students might help researchers understand why learning a second language later in life can prove to be more difficult.

FOL Fridays – Explore and Discover

The preschool-aged child always seems to be curious, ready to find out more or explore and discover. And they have a big imagination to go along with it! These are some of the great delights of enjoying all kinds of activities with 3 year olds and 4 year olds, but especially the kinds of playful, creative, learning-oriented music activities we do in our Kindermusik classes for this age group.
For example, asking your child to broaden his or her understanding and experience of moving a ball in a way other than bouncing or throwing it opens up new play possibilities. Through repeated exploration experiences, the child can develop the concept that every object has unlimited possibilities for exploration. Becoming aware that an object can be used in many ways allows the child to problem solve – trying new things, making errors and learning from the total process. The child can then transfer this explorer attitude to other activities. This is true ownership of learning and becomes a lifetime tool.
Tips for parents (and fun for kids!): Kindermusik teachers love GERTIE balls for all kinds of ball play, even for toddlers. Gertie balls are easy to grasp and are safer for indoor play than regular balls.
Shared by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

Listening to Music Makes You Smarter

If listening to music while you study makes you smarter, then there must be a powerful link between music and its effects on the brain.

And what better time to get started listening to music than at the very youngest ages, during those critical early years when the brain is developing the most rapidly.
That supposition is why Kindermusik places such an emphasis on exposing children to a rich, varied musical listening environment from birth. And it’s precisely why the Music Album you receive with each new music theme is so invaluable. Kindermusik makes it EASY for you to give your child many happy, enjoyable moments of listening to music of all genres.
As this article suggests, choosing the right kind of music matters – music with variety, complexity, range, and depth is most stimulating and beneficial. That’s exactly what you’ll find in your child’s Kindermusik music library. In fact, many Kindermusik parents secretly confess that they enjoy their child’s Kindermusik as much as their children do!
Here are a few tips for helping your child enjoy the benefits of music listening… and do your part to help him or her become a little smarter too:

Download your Home Album to your phone or MP3 device so that you can take your music with you wherever you go.
Create playlists of different kinds of Kindermusik songs – lullabies, dances, play-alongs, dances, quiet listening, etc.
Burn a CD for the car or CD player if you have one.
Make music listening a part of your every day routines – play music in the car, during play time at home, before naps, at bath time, and before bedtime.

Are you looking to enhance your child’s learning and development through early childhood education in music? Look no further than Kindermusik, the world’s leader in music and movement classes for young children.

Try a free Kindermusik class today and learn more about how music makes your child smarter, more well-rounded, and prepared for life… not to mention that they’ll LOVE the bonding and memories you’ll create together in Kindermusik!

Shared by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

3 benefits of music on early math skills

In early childhood education, the benefits of music include boosts to skills as varied as vocabulary development, gross-motor skills, empathy, phonemic awareness, active listening, and even early math development. Music and movement activities for three year olds (or toddlers or four,- five-, and older!) look like fun and games, but behind all the laughter and smiles is learning.
Consider these examples of the many benefits of music on children.

3 benefits of music on early math development

Spatial awareness. Children who participate in music classes show stronger spatial temporal reasoning skills than those without music instruction.
Counting by rote. Young children learn to count by rote—a memorizing process using routine and repetition. Learning to count by rote helps children develop foundational skills for math, including number vocabulary, memory, patterning, and sequence. Through music and movement activities, children encounter many opportunities to practice counting in a fun, engaging way. In an early childhood education classroom, musical learning examples include counting to three and jumping up during a circle dance or reciting the numbers as children receive (or put away) instruments, or tapping on a drum the beats.
Pattern recognition. The beats, rhythms, and melodies of music lead children to experience patterns through movement, listening, and playing instruments. Listening to music and then matching the steady beat through clapping or instrument play helps children recognize and translate a simple pattern.

Early childhood curriculum uses music to teach early math and language and literacy skills

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) advocates for math learning in contexts that simultaneously supports other types of thinking and problem solving, such as music. Research continues to show the benefits of music on mathematics achievement.
Our early childhood curriculum, ABC Music & Me, uses music and movement to teach children early math skills, such as counting by rote, spatial awareness, and pattern recognition. Whether used as a preschool or daycare curriculum or even an after school curriculum, ABC Music & Me can also boost literacy and language skills, self-control, sharing, turn-taking, and other school readiness skills.

For more information about using ABC Music & Me as a preschool or daycare curriculum, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

Yes! Music education unlocks the door to success (and more!)

A recent article in the New York Times asked the question: Is music the key to success? Of course, at Kindermusik, we would answer a resounding: Yes! We wouldn’t be alone in that exclamation either.
The body of music education research continues to grow concerning how musical learning can increase social-emotional abilities, math skills, language development, inhibitory control, collaboration, empathy, creativity, cultural understanding, and so much more. Studies show music can decrease pain during medical procedures, lower blood pressure, and lift our overall spirits.

Getting personal about the benefits of music

However, the music education research only tells part of the story. Music is personal as much as it is social. Take the case of United States Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. A bullet to her brain left her in critical condition and unable to speak. However, through music therapy, she is learning how to speak again.

In the above television interview, Dr. Oliver Sacks, Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at Columbia University sums up the benefits of music on language by explaining: “Nothing activates the brain so extensively as music to it to have been possible to create new language areas in the right hemisphere.”
The New York Times article provides more personal stories from individuals who credit the benefits of music to their success in other areas:

The television broadcaster Paula Zahn (cello) and the NBC chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd (French horn) both attended college on music scholarships.
Larry Page, a co-founder of Google, played saxophone in high school.
Steven Spielberg is a clarinetist and son of a pianist.
Condoleezza Rice trained to be a concert pianist.
Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, was a professional clarinet and saxophone player.
The former World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn has played cello at Carnegie Hall.

(Source: WorldBank.org James Wolfensohn performs with Bank/IMF Choral Group at Christmas Concert, 2004)

Music provides balance, explains Mr. Wolfensohn in the New York Times article, who began cello lessons as an adult. “You aren’t trying to win any races or be the leader of this or the leader of that. You’re enjoying it because of the satisfaction and joy you get out of music, which is totally unrelated to your professional status.”
So, again, we answer the question, “Is music the key to success?” with a resounding, Yes…and so much more!

Come experience for yourself how music education can unlock the doors of success for your child. Find a local Kindermusik and try a free class!

Improving Socialization and Communication for Children with Autism

Sep. 11, 2013 — In a new study looking at toddlers and preschoolers with autism, researchers found that children with better motor skills were more adept at socializing and communicating.

This was the exciting headline in Science Daily just recently, giving fresh insight for those in early childhood special education. Researchers have now identified a clear link between autism and motor skill deficits. Expert Megan MacDonald specifically recommends taking the approach of early intervention by teaching motor skills.
“Even at this early age [14 to 49 months], we are already seeing motor skills mapping on to their social and communicative skills,” MacDonald said. “Motor skills are embedded in everything we do, and for too long they have been studied separately from social and communication skills in children with autism.”
As the world’s leader in music learning for young children, Kindermusik International has long been an advocate of the strong correlation between movement and learning. “You have to move to learn!”, our educators are fond of saying, as they encourage the parents and children not only to move, but to explore moving in different and creative ways.
“Movement is a universal, full-time, personal, childhood occupation, and its importance in children’s early learning experiences cannot be overemphasized…” (from Moving and Learning for the Young Child by William J. Stinson, Ed.)
The Kindermusik curricula reflect and embrace the different developmental stages of children, with appropriate motor skills explored, practiced, and enjoyed accordingly. Kindermusik believes strongly in the powerful combination of music and movement that is important for all children, but is especially potent for those with special needs – including autism. The benefits of music on children, especially during the early years, are immeasurable.
Read the full article from Science Daily here.

Improve your child’s motor skills and inspire them with a love of music with Kindermusik. Try a free class today!

Written by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

Category: Uncategorized