Pre-Service Primary General Teacher-Students’ Attitudes Towards Written Language Activities Based on Musical Stimuli

Abstract

The paper investigates pre-service primary general teacher-students’ perceptions of how music can act as a stimulus for writing, through short story group writing activities. More specifically, we look at their attitudes regarding i) team collaboration, ii) the enhancement of their creativity, iii) classroom atmosphere, iv) the suitability of the activities for their implementation in primary school classes in the future and v) the advantages the use of music can have for language development. In our study, pre-service primary general teacher-students’ views were shaped by the experiences they gained from their participation in group activities which were implemented as part of an undergraduate elective course, entitled “Music Education”. The participants recorded their ideas on worksheets. Data were collected through observation, diaries and questionnaires with open and closed-ended questions. The results revealed that the pre-service primary general teacher-students had a positive attitude towards story inventing and story writing activities based on musical stimuli. Such activities boosted their creativity and gave them the opportunity to develop their teamwork skills as well as to participate in a pleasant and innovative classroom atmosphere. Finally, they were positive about the suitability of the activities for their future students and the advantages the use of music can have in language lessons for teachers, students and the educational process.